Senior Manager, Performance Marketing

Mueller Communications; Milwaukee (WI); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) plan

Profit sharing

Hybrid work model

Professional development

Job summary

Mueller Communications in Milwaukee, WI is seeking a Senior Manager-Performance Marketing to lead search-led demand generation and optimize campaign performance for diverse clients. You will direct junior staff, own strategy, and deliver ROI-focused results across SEM, SEO, and AI visibility.

This role blends hands-on execution with client-facing leadership in a flexible hybrid setup. Ideal candidates bring 7+ years in digital marketing, strong attribution skills, and experience guiding complex

Qualifications

• 7+ years in digital marketing with hands-on paid search (SEM) expertise.
• CRM-connected measurement and lead scoring with full-funnel reporting.
• Experience translating analyses into actionable, revenue-focused recommendations.
• Experience directing and developing junior staff; strong mentorship.
• B2B or niche-industry experience preferred; agency experience a plus.

Responsibilities

• Set strategy and lead builds of paid search campaigns (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads), plus paid social and programmatic when appropriate.
• Hands-on management of complex accounts: architecture, budgeting, bidding, audience/keyword dev, testing.
• Lead generation focus with ROAS-driven optimization and pipeline contribution.

Skills

Paid search strategy

Lead gen attribution

Client relationship mgmt

Team leadership

B2B/niche industries

Tools

HubSpot

Salesforce

Google Analytics

Google Tag Manager

Google Data Studio

SEMrush

CallRail

Job description

ABOUT MUELLER COMMUNICATIONS

Mueller Communications is a full-service communications, public relations and marketing firm based in Milwaukee. For more than 40 years, we've helped organizations, leaders and influencers tell their stories and amplify their impact through comprehensive marketing campaigns, media relations, public affairs, creative, and crisis communications. Today, our team of nearly 50 professionals serves clients across a diverse set of industries, and we're proud that many of our senior staff have called Mueller home for a decade or more.

With integrity at the heart of everything we do, our team of strategic communicators and problem solvers is committed to doing right by our clients, our community and each other.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Senior Manager-Performance Marketing is a collaborative problem solver who strategizes, builds, and optimizes campaigns to achieve measurable client goals. They set search-led demand generation strategy, direct junior campaign staff on execution, stay hands-on with our most complex accounts, and deliver and clearly communicate the results clients care about: qualified leads and pipeline.

The performance marketing function at Mueller Communications serves a diverse set of organizations including local, national, B2B, B2C, non-profit, for-profit, professional services, and eCommerce. Much of our work is lead generation for B2B and niche-industry clients, where a qualified lead is worth real money and attribution is the difference between a campaign that looks good and one that proves ROI.

Today, roughly two-thirds of Google searches end without a click. Winning there takes a ‘search everywhere’ approach: paid (SEM), organic (SEO), and AI visibility (AIO / GEO / AEO) managed as one program, fed by authoritative content, made credible by third-party coverage and endorsement. Mueller's elite talent works across every discipline that shapes search; we are seeking a performance marketer who can lead clients through this shift, seeing around the next corner before their competitors do.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

Paid Media Campaign Management

• Set strategy for and lead the builds of best-in-class paid search campaigns (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads), plus paid social and programmatic where client goals warrant


• Stay hands-on with our most complex accounts: campaign architecture, budget pacing, bidding strategy, audience and keyword development, and structured testing


• Drive lead generation as the primary outcome, and eCommerce revenue where clients sell direct, optimizing to cost per qualified lead, pipeline contribution, and ROAS rather than platform metrics alone.

Demand Generation & Lead Gen Attribution

• Build demand as well as capture it, shaping audience strategy, nurture sequencing, and the content programs that reach buyers before they start searching


• Architect full-funnel attribution: connect ad platforms to CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce and similar) and, where needed, systems like ERPs, so lead scoring and qualification tie spend to opportunities and revenue


• Provide actionable insights, direct optimization response, and set strategy using analytics platforms such as Google Analytics/Tag Manager/Search Console, SEMRush, CallRail, Google Data Studio, and Mueller’s internal suite of tracking and analysis tools.


• Lead client-facing performance summary presentations that articulate key takeaways and showcase campaign impact in alignment with client goals

Search & AI Visibility

• Work with our SEO team to guide organic strategy and direct its execution, ensuring paid and organic search work as one program rather than two silos


• Continue to evolve the firm's approach to AI search visibility: how clients appear in AI Overviews and in answers generated by LLMs, and how we measure and grow that presence


• Work with Mueller's proprietary, industry-leading AI search visibility and optimization platform, and help drive its continued evolution

Team & Project Management

• Direct and develop junior campaign staff, delegating execution while owning strategy and quality


• Own the firm's performance reporting, providing humanized communication of ROI in alignment with client goals


• Optimize the firm's campaign planning and delivery process


• Lead campaign activities in collaboration with the Client Lead (goal setting and reporting, projections, monthly planning, and regular internal client reviews)

Client Management

• Be a strategic and analytical voice of the firm on our most complex campaigns


• Collaborate with the Client Lead, or in some cases act as Client Lead, to ensure the Mueller team is a trusted partner, proactively providing clients with timely, useful, trusted information

Strategy Development | Entrepreneurial Mindset

• Set and manage big-picture goals for clients and the firm and demonstrate passion for and ownership of achieving them


• Contribute proactive ideas and suggestions for how to grow business from current clients


• Pursue new business opportunities for the firm, including participation in pitch meetings and proposal development


• Keep the firm at the forefront of the search industry by identifying technology, trends, and insights to be leveraged in both work delivery and business development

QUALIFICATIONS THAT WILL MAKE YOU STAND OUT

• 7+ years in digital marketing with deep, hands-on paid search (SEM) expertise: you have owned strategy, budgets, and performance on complex accounts


• Lead gen attribution you have built yourself: CRM-connected measurement (HubSpot, Salesforce or similar), lead scoring, full-funnel reporting, and comfort speaking in pipeline and revenue terms. Demand generation experience beyond capture is a plus.


• A search everywhere mindset: working knowledge of SEO, a genuine point of view on AI search visibility (AIO/GEO), and an instinct for managing paid, organic, and AI presence as one program. Organic and AI search expertise will make you stand out, but we are willing to develop it in someone whose paid search and attribution credentials are proven.


• Experience directing and developing junior staff, with a demonstrated desire to teach, mentor, and promote a positive team mentality


• B2B or niche-industry experience preferred


• Prior agency experience preferred, but not required


• Proven ability to translate complex analyses into actionable recommendations that drive tangible results


• Intrinsic sense of ownership of your domain and pride in your impact on the success of clients and the firm


• Experience in client-facing roles with a strong track record of building long-tenured relationships that deliver on shared goals


• This is a flexible hybrid role based in Milwaukee, WI.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE WORKING HERE

• Total Rewards offering that includes a competitive salary, 401(k) and profit-sharing, bonuses, and comprehensive health and wellness benefits


• Award-winning culture that earned us Milwaukee Business Journal's Best Place to Work 7 years running (2020 - 2026)


• Beautiful newly-renovated modern workspace perfected for collaboration


• Flexible hybrid working model that prioritizes work/life balance so you can live your best life at work and at home


• Emphasis on professional development that includes paid membership in professional associations, internal lunches to support company growth and other career ambitions


• One-of-a-kind concierge program dedicated to help the entire Mueller team discover an improved sense of workplace satisfaction, celebration, and organization


• Regular Happy Hours and company outings to socialize with colleagues, have fun, and strengthen the team


• Fully stocked kitchen so no one ever has to skip breakfast or lunch to meet their deadlines