Director of Marketing in Newport Beach, CA

Why This Role, Why Now

GoldenComm has strong bones — a 30-year reputation, a technical team that builds real systems, and a founder network that keeps opportunities flowing. But we don’t currently have a marketing leader running the practice, and it shows. Clients who could grow their engagement require more strategic attention than our current situtation allows. Campaigns that should be driving measurable results need strategic attention and accountability.

We’re hiring a Director of Marketing to shore up what we have and grow from there. The immediate job is getting back to basics and crushing them — client retention, measurable ROI, proactive account management, team leadership. The longer-term opportunity is building a modern, efficient marketing practice that punches above its weight and operates from first-principles.

This is an honest pitch: the foundation is solid but the marketing practice needs a leader who will own it. If you’re the kind of person who sees a fixable problem and gets energized, this is your role.

The Role

This is a player-coach position. You’ll lead the marketing team AND stay hands-on — building workflows, running campaigns, getting in the weeds with your team. Success is measured by whether clients hit their goals and grow their engagement over time. If you’re looking for a “strategy only” role, this isn’t it.

Key Responsibilities

Client Delivery & Retention

• Own marketing performance across the client portfolio — paid ads (Meta lead gen, Google Ads), SEO, email, and conversion rate optimization
• Set clear, measurable goals per client (KPIs, cost per lead, lead volume — not deliverables)
• Build proactive monitoring — know when accounts are off-track before the client says something
• Drive Net Revenue Retention — clients buying more over time
• Manage retainer-based client relationships with regular reporting and strategic check-ins
• Partner with the dev team on integrated campaigns for web platform clients
• dentify and develop strategic partnerships that expand GC’s reach and service offerings

Team Leadership

• Manage and grow a small team (currently 2 marketers + contractor support)
• Build secondary account coverage so no single person is a single point of failure
• Establish accountability tied to client outcomes, not just activity
• Hire 1-2 additional coordinator-level people for the team
• Create a collaborative problem-solving environment

Innovation & Growth

• Build 80/20 playbooks — identify the 20% of tactics driving 80% of results and systematize them
• Develop a differentiated point of view on how GC does marketing — not AI slop, but real expertise that shows up in client work, sales materials, and content
• Build efficient processes that let a small team punch above its weight
• Test AI-augmented workflows where they improve client outcomes (reporting automation, lead scoring, content)
• Develop repeatable service packages (e.g., lead gen flywheels: Meta → Zapier → email/CRM sequences)
• Leverage GC’s in-house podcast studio to build thought leadership content and client-facing programming

Who You Are

• Client-obsessed operator who measures success by whether clients hit their goals
• Agency-proven — you’ve managed multiple client accounts and know the rhythm of retainers, renewals, and upsells
• Excellent people manager who builds teams that don’t need pushing
• Deep in demand gen: paid ads, CRO, email
• Strong client-facing skillz — clients trust you because you deliver AND you’re good to work with
• Low-ego, high-output: You don’t take yourself too seriously. You get stuff done.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years in digital marketing, 3+ years leading a team at an agency or start up wearing many hats
• Proven client goal achievement track record — can speak to percentage of clients hitting targets
• Demonstrated upsells and renewals — clients grew their spend under your management
• Deep expertise across at least one of these and general experience across the others: Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, email marketing, CRO
• Campaign and budget management ($500K+)
• Strong people management — built and developed teams, not just managed them
• Data-driven: conservative goal setting, KPI pacing, early course-correction when off-track
• Excellent client-facing presence and communication skills

Nice to Have

• GTM automation tools (Clay, n8n, Zapier)
• Comfort with AI tools in marketing workflows (important, but not the defining trait)
• Knowledge of web development and how it intersects with marketing
• Agency, startup or high-growth company experience definatly helps (agency work is different than singular company work)