Senior Director of Performance Marketing

EF Ultimate Break; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional growth trainings

Four weeks paid vacation

Business travel opportunities

401(k) company match

Comprehensive health coverage

Employee discounts

Job summary

EF Ultimate Break is seeking a Senior Director of Growth Marketing to own and scale our largest growth channels—Paid Media, Ecommerce, and CRM. You will lead an AI-enabled growth engine to improve decision-making, accelerate execution, and boost team output across campaigns.

In a fast-paced environment you will define strategy and build a high-performing team, partnering with Product, Creative, and Analytics to drive full-funnel performance and consistently hit KPI targets.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in performance or growth marketing with budgets ownership.
• 3+ years leading high-performing digital marketing teams.
• Hands-on across paid social, paid search, and digital acquisition.
• Experience developing full-funnel marketing strategies beyond lower-funnel optimization.
• Hands-on AI to improve marketing execution and automation.
• Strong analytical skills; ability to translate data into recommendations.
• Experience building teams in fast-paced, data-rich environments.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional influence.

Responsibilities

• Forecast, plan, and allocate multi-million-dollar growth investment.
• Lead and scale paid media across Meta, Google, TikTok.
• Own onsite conversion strategy with Ecommerce for end-to-end funnel.
• Drive lifecycle marketing across CRM to improve repeat rate and LTV.
• Partner with cross-teams to optimize site, pages, flows, offers.
• Establish operating model across Paid, Ecommerce, CRM.
• Use AI to improve decision making, insights, production, optimization.
• Redesign workflows to speed up and enable test-and-learn culture.
• Define measurement and incrementality frameworks.
• Translate performance data into actionable insights.
• Collaborate with Product, Creative, Analytics on roadmap/execution.
• Build and execute a robust testing roadmap.
• Identify and scale new channels, betas, opportunities.
• Lead a high-performing Growth organization with accountability.

Skills

Performance marketing

Growth leadership

Paid social & search

Full-funnel strategy

AI in marketing

Analytics & data

Team leadership

Job description

Job Description

We’re looking for a performance marketing leader to own and scale our largest growth channels—Paid Media, Ecommerce, and CRM. This role is responsible for driving efficient, sustainable growth across the full funnel, from acquisition through lifecycle engagement.

A core mandate is building an AI-enabled growth engine—using AI to improve decision-making, accelerate execution, and increase team output. You will define how AI is embedded across marketing workflows, from insights to creative production to campaign execution.

The ideal candidate thrives in fast‑paced, high‑growth environments and can balance strategy with execution. You know how to balance strategy with hands‑on execution. You bring a strong point of view on offers, funnels, and creative, and you’re obsessed with hitting target KPIs.

You Will

• Own forecasting, planning, and allocation of multi-million-dollar growth investment across channels
• Lead and scale paid media (Meta, Google, TikTok, and emerging platforms), continually pushing new audiences, creative, and offers.
• Own onsite conversion strategy and roadmap in partnership with Ecommerce optimizing end‑to‑end funnel performance
• Drive lifecycle marketing strategy across CRM, improving repeat rate, LTV, and customer engagement
• Partner with cross‑teams to improve site performance, testing landing pages, flows, merchandising, and offers to maximize conversion
• Establish the operating model across Paid, Ecommerce, and CRM to drive full‑funnel performance
• Use AI across Growth to improve & accelerate decision making, insights generation, creative production, campaign execution, and performance optimization
• Redesign workflows and tooling to increase speed, reduce manual work, and enable a high‑output, test‑and‑learn culture
• Define measurement and incrementality frameworks (experimentation, attribution, cohort analysis) to guide investment decisions
• Translate performance data into clear, actionable insights that inform strategy and cross‑functional decision‑making
• Partner cross‑functionally with Product, Creative, and Analytics to align on roadmap, conversion optimization, and execution
• Build and execute a robust testing roadmap across creative, targeting, and platform optimization
• Identify and scale new channels, betas, and growth opportunities
• Lead a high‑performing Growth organization, setting clear accountability, operating rhythms, and performance standards

You Have

• 10+ years of experience in performance or growth marketing, with a track record of owning and scaling large budgets
• 3+ years of experience managing high performing digital marketing teams
• Deep hands‑on experience across paid social, paid search, and digital acquisition channels
• Proven ability to develop and execute full‑funnel marketing strategies, beyond lower‑funnel optimization
• Hands‑on experience applying AI to improve marketing execution, automate workflows, and scale output across functions (e.g., analysis, creative, CRM, experimentation)
• Very strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to turn complex data into clear recommendations
• Experience building and leading high‑performing teams in fast‑paced, data‑rich environments
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence across teams

Why you’ll love working here: Perks, Benefits, and more!

This is the most fun, high‑caliber place you’ll ever work. Ask any employee why they love EF (whether they’ve been here 10 minutes or 10 years) and they’ll probably tell you the same thing: it’s the people. When you work at EF, you join a purpose‑driven, international and energetic community that thrives on continuous learning, fearless innovation and mutual support.

• Commitment to professional growth: robust monthly calendar of trainings and workshops
• Four weeks paid vacation your first year, ten paid holidays, and two floating holidays
• Exciting business travel opportunities
• 25% company match on your 401(k) contributions
• Market‑leading medical, dental and vision coverage, along with options for life and disability insurance, accident and hospital insurance, legal and pet insurance
• Dependent care, healthcare and commuter Flex Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• Access to fertility care and family‑building support
• Wellness benefits including a yearly fitness reimbursement
• Frequent social and learning events, including access to our employee‑run resource groups
• Robust Employee Assistance Program
• Tenure‑based sabbatical eligibility
• EF Product Discounts (discounts on travel, international language schools, Au Pair program and more)
• Discounts at local venues and businesses
• Amazing offices designed to match the caliber of the people who work there, plus the flexibility of working from home one day a week.
• This role is posted at the Senior Director level with an anticipated compensation range of $190,000-$205,000 based on experience.

About Us

Some companies are in the business of banking. Others are in the business of shoes. Or sports. Or soft drinks. At EF, we’re in a different kind of business. One that’s a little less tangible, and a lot more important. Because our business, what we make, makes everything else possible. We’re in the business of understanding. Between people. Between cultures.

For over half a century we’ve been the leader in international educational programs and experiences designed to foster such understanding. Through language, cultural exchange, academic studies, and educational travel, we create the kinds of immersive experiences that challenge biases, open minds, and pave the way for a more understanding world.

You’ll find our offices and schools located in some of the world’s greatest cities, and filled with smart, driven people (over 50,000 of us) who push each other to be better every day. But it’s what we do together - building greater understanding, breaking down barriers, and creating a better world - that makes all the difference.

Founded in 1965 in Sweden, EF (Education First) is a global association of education companies that share a common mission of opening the world through education. EF has been recognized on Forbes 2025 and 2024 World’s Best Employers and 2024 Top Companies for Women lists, Fast Company’s 2025 Next Big Things In Tech, and was a 2024 App Store Award winner in Cultural Impact.

About The Team

At EF Ultimate Break, we’re about way more than collecting passport stamps. Our guided tours empower young adults aged 18‑35 to explore a world outside their comfort zones. Each immersive tour creates experiences that last a lifetime, building bonds with fellow travelers that go beyond borders and cultures, and help bring the world a little bit closer. WARNING: Working at Ultimate Break may inspire your own desire to experience the world, good news is- we’ll help with that! Learn more about EF Ultimate Break: https://www.efultimatebreak.com/