Director of Marketing

Remote Boone, NC

About The Art of Living Retreat Center

Opened in 2012, The Art of Living Retreat Center is the newest outgrowth of the Art of Living Foundation’s 40+ year global commitment to health, happiness and Ayurveda. Nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the center offers immersive wellness experiences inspired by authentic traditions of yoga and Ayurveda. From signature workshops in the life-transforming power of breath and meditation to cleanses that have been practiced for thousands of years, the experiences at the center and its Shankara Ayurveda Wellness center provide timeless tools that help guests tap into their potential for lasting health and happiness.

The community is built around a spiritual and wellness focus. While this is not necessary in an applicant’s background, you should be able to deeply understand and appreciate this approach to life. For those who are inclined towards this lifestyle, there are plenty of opportunities for personal growth. The Director of Marketing will lead a team tasked with increasing brand awareness, attracting and retaining guests and driving growth. Using tactics such as search engine optimization, social media, conversion rate optimization, online advertising, referral programs and email marketing, the Director will grow our guest community and overall organization.

Position Summary:

Seeking Marketing Director with a proven ability to work within a mission-driven organization and help strengthen the bottom line through innovative marketing strategies. Ideal candidates will have the ability to develop engaging ways to connect and communicate with those seeking wellness-based personal and professional development. The Marketing Director will oversee the organizations’ brand development, the marketing department’s strategy and multi- channel marketing plan, website development and upkeep, direct mail, digital marketing, data and survey analysis, and managing the marketing budget. The candidate will be a self-motivated problem-solver, highly collaborative, excellent ability to manage details as well as think strategically. A strong background in business intelligence and data-driven engagement marketing and a track record for meeting revenue and expense objectives is a must.

Responsibilities and Deliverables:

Create content- and engagement-based marketing efforts that capture the awareness and imagination of the public, drive interest in Art of Living Retreat Center, and awaken desire in potential guests for personal and spiritual development.
Facilitate and steward the brand identity for the Art of Living Retreat Center, including both the visual brand expression and the organization’s editorial voice.
Develop and oversee a multichannel marketing and communications strategy that engages consumer and corporate audiences with Art of Living Retreat Center programming. Plan, execute and lead organic and paid campaigns such as paid and organic social, SEM, Display, Podcast, TV, Radio, direct mail, etc.
Build dashboards for measuring and sharing results on business-critical KPIs related to growth (volume, CAC, retention, LTV) and own achievement of weekly and monthly KPIs.
Develop an effective marketing and communications financial investment strategy and annual budget to educate, inspire, drive sales, and extend the Art of Living mission and brand.
Devise a SEO strategy and cross-functional teams to execute programs that drive high-quality organic traffic.
Devise an affiliate marketing strategy and work with Affiliate manager and cross-functional teams to execute programs that increase growth while maintaining KPIs.
Post-launch, design and implement optimization tests across our end-to-end customer funnel (from acquisition through lifecycle retention).
Develop and drive lifecycle retention program, including transactional messaging, trigger programs and large-scale campaigns.
Partner with cross-functional teams (product, creative) to develop advertising assets, landing pages, emails, and reporting needed to manage programs at launch and beyond.
Create, develop, and support the Marketing and Communications departmental culture in alignment with Art of Living core values.
Keep organization in touch with the voice of the customer and market landscape, and ensure that this intelligence is used in marketing strategy. Partner with leaders in programming, sales, and guest service areas so that they can also benefit from this information.
Lead the marketing department, including hiring and supporting employees of the Graphic Design, Editorial, and Operations teams, as well as employees and consultants responsible for digital marketing, social media, website, and public relations.
Budget management and cost analysis: accountable for budgeting and tracking expenses for the Marketing & Communications department.

Experience

At least 8 years working as a marketing and communications leader and Experience working across the full DTC marketing funnel (customer acquisition, conversion and engagement) and across the marketing mix (including online and offline channels) is required
Also must have: a successful track record managing a brand and generating sales in an educational- or wellness-based hospitality setting; fluency in business intelligence, digital-content and engagement marketing, social media, and print and web advertising to generate interest, sales inquiries, and revenues. A background in owning and managing a budget, forecasting, and delivering on monthly goals of spend, CPA, ROAS, Retention and LTV.
Demonstrated experience in leading teams and providing work direction to others a must. Experience with and an understanding of the Wellness and Whole Person Development Market a strong plus. Being a self-starter as well as a highly motivated, passionate, authentic leader are essential.
Deep expertise of ad/web/email reporting and analytics platforms, such as Google AdWords, Facebook, Google Analytics, Optimizely, etc.).
Experienced with channel testing methodology, lifecycle marketing programs and multiple attribution models.

Education:

While having a degree in communications, marketing, business, or affiliated discipline is a plus, successful work experience and acuity of thought will be weighted more heavily in assessing candidates.

We prefer a candidate that has flexibility to work on property and will consider a remote situation for the right candidate. To be successful in this position some time at the property will be important to experience the product, understand the guest, and connect with key stake holders. Will need to travel to property on a monthly basis.