Growth Marketing Manager @ High-Growth Consumer Marketplace Startup

Role: Growth Marketing Manager

Location: Hybrid office environment in Santa Monica

Salary: $100k–$130k

Our client is a leading Gen Z career platform democratizing access to professional experience for the next generation. Backed by top venture capital investors, they’ve built a tech-enabled marketplace connecting over 100,000 students with paid opportunities at hundreds of well-known brands. Their mission is rooted in access; 90% of college students graduate without professional experience, and they are solving this through flexible opportunities that provide both income and career-building skills while helping brands authentically engage Gen Z talent.

Position Overview:

They are seeking a Growth Marketing Manager to drive scalable acquisition and retention across both sides of their marketplace – student users and brand partners. This person will own full-funnel campaign execution spanning paid media, organic channels, and AI-powered growth tactics while optimizing for sustainable unit economics.

This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives at the intersection of data-driven optimization and creative experimentation. The Growth Marketing Manager will work directly with leadership on growth strategy while personally executing campaigns across multiple channels and emerging AI-driven acquisition methods.

Key Responsibilities:

• Paid Media & Channel Optimization

• Own execution and optimization of paid campaigns across LinkedIn, Google Search/YouTube, Meta (Instagram), TikTok, and retargeting
• Rapidly test new creative, audiences, and placements to improve conversion efficiency
• Manage budget allocation across channels while maintaining target ROAS and LTV:CAC ratios
• Scale winning campaigns and pause underperforming initiatives with data-driven decisions

• AI-Driven Growth Innovation

• Leverage AI tools for campaign ideation, creative production, copywriting, targeting experiments, and automated reporting
• Experiment with AI as an acquisition channel through answer engine optimization (AEO) and conversational marketing
• Use predictive analytics and machine learning for audience segmentation and forecasting
• Stay ahead of AI marketing trends and implement tools before mainstream adoption

• Full-Funnel Campaign Execution

• Design and execute campaigns that move both students and brands from awareness through conversion and retention
• Collaborate with sales team to align B2B campaigns with pipeline goals and revenue targets
• Build and optimize student acquisition programs including referrals and ambassador initiatives
• Create and iterate nurture sequences to improve lead quality and reduce time-to-conversion

• Organic Growth & Experimentation

• Explore unconventional growth tactics across SEO/AEO, social media, partnerships, and product-led growth
• Test organic content strategies that drive authentic engagement without paid investment
• Identify and activate viral growth loops to reduce dependency on paid acquisition
• Partner with product team to implement growth mechanisms and optimize conversion flows

• Performance Analytics & Optimization

• Track and analyze key growth metrics: CAC, CPL, conversion rates, retention, and channel ROI
• Build dashboards and reporting systems for real-time insights
• Run systematic A/B tests across creative, landing pages, and messaging frameworks
• Develop cohort analyses and predictive models to forecast growth opportunities

Qualifications:

This role is for a data-driven, hands-on growth marketer who blends analytical rigor with creative experimentation. You’ll own the performance engine that fuels marketplace expansion — with autonomy, urgency, and room to build.

✅ You likely fit if you:

• Have 3–5 years of experience in growth or performance marketing with a track record of scaling acquisition or revenue.
• Bring hands-on expertise with LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, and Meta Ads (managing $50K /month budgets).
• Have B2B marketing experience (essential) and ideally exposure to consumer tech or marketplaces.
• Use AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc.) as core components of your workflow — not just add-ons.
• Are fluent in analytics platforms like GA4, HubSpot, and ad dashboards; can build and interpret reports.
• Think full-funnel: from awareness to conversion to retention.
• Thrive in startup environments with shifting priorities and limited resources.
• Are motivated by mission-driven work empowering Gen Z and shaping the future of work.

❌ This role isn’t for you if you:

• Prefer established playbooks and heavy structure.
• Have only agency or corporate experience with large support teams.
• Expect to manage agencies more than execute.
• View AI as a “nice-to-have” rather than a strategic growth driver.
• Avoid calculated risk-taking and experimentation.

What they offer:

• Base salary: $100k–$130k
• Performance-based incentive structure
• Meaningful equity in a high-growth startup
• Health, dental, and vision insurance with comprehensive benefits
• Professional development budget for conferences, courses, and AI tools
• Hybrid flexibility with relocation support considered
• AI tool access with budget for cutting-edge platforms

Interested?

• If you’re reading this thinking “this is exactly me”, please DM us on LinkedIn!🔗