VP of Marketing

We are seeking a Vice President of Marketing to lead and scale the company’s end-to-end

marketing function, with a clear mandate: build a durable, performance-driven growth engine

that delivers measurable business outcomes.

This role sits at the center of Marketplace performance, accountable for the systems that drive

acquisition, activation, and monetization across SMB and mid-market customers - and for

ensuring those systems scale efficiently and predictably.

We have strong foundations: a scaled marketplace, global supply, and growing demand across

key AI categories. What’s needed now is a step-change in how we convert that demand into

durable growth.

This is a senior executive role with significant autonomy and company-wide influence. You will

lead a multi-disciplinary organization and partner closely with Product, Engineering, Data

Science, and Finance to improve the full customer journey.

Responsibilities

*Own and scale the Marketplace growth system for SMB and mid-market customers,

translating company strategy into a multi-year, integrated operating plan across

acquisition, activation, engagement, and monetization, with clear accountability to

business outcomes such as GSV per active client and overall company growth.

*Drive a step-change in how Marketing operates by scaling experimentation, improving

efficiency, and building a more integrated, high-performing system across all

disciplines.

*Define and lead the long-term vision, strategy, and execution roadmap for Marketing,

positioning the function as a core driver of growth, profitability, and competitive

differentiation aligned to Upwork’s enterprise priorities.

*Lead performance marketing and demand generation across channels - including paid,

organic, lifecycle, and emerging surfaces - with a focus on high-intent demand capture,

efficient acquisition, faster time-to-first-hire, and long-term customer value.

*Oversee Product Marketing, Brand, and Content to ensure clear positioning, strong

trust signals, and a seamless path from discovery to hire for SMB and mid-market

buyers.

*Operate as an enterprise leader, influencing company strategy, investment decisions,

and cross-functional priorities as a member of the extended leadership team.

What it takes to catch our eye

*Deep experience building and scaling performance-led growth systems, with

demonstrated ownership of acquisition efficiency, funnel optimization, and long-term

customer value in a scaled marketplace or platform business.

*Proven track record of operating at an enterprise level, setting vision and strategy for a

marketing function or business unit, and delivering measurable impact on company

growth and financial performance.

*Strong command of paid acquisition, SEO, lifecycle marketing, and experimentation,

with the ability to translate data into clear decisions, tradeoffs, and investment

strategies.

*Experience integrating multiple marketing disciplines (performance, brand, product

marketing, content) into a cohesive, high-impact system aligned to business outcomes.

*Deep experience serving SMB and/or mid-market business customers, with a strong

understanding of buyer intent, urgency, budget sensitivity, and the need for fast, trusted

outcomes.

*Fluency in data, experimentation, and marketing analytics, with the ability to partner

effectively with analytics and finance to guide forecasting, capital allocation, and ROI

decisions.

*Comfort operating in an AI-forward environment, using AI to accelerate analysis,

experimentation, and execution while applying strong judgment to guide decisions.

*A leadership style grounded in clarity, accountability, and outcomes, with the ability to

align cross-functional leaders and deliver results at scale through others.