Head of Marketing
About Backpack Healthcare
Backpack Healthcare is transforming access to mental and behavioral health care for under-served populations through high-quality virtual care delivery. We serve Medicaid-insured adolescents, adults, and maternal populations across multiple states, partnering with healthcare providers and community organizations to break down barriers to care. As we scale our impact and expand our footprint, we're building a world-class marketing function to amplify our mission and accelerate growth.
Role Overview
The Head of Marketing is a senior strategic leader responsible for building and executing Backpack's comprehensive marketing vision. You will architect the marketing function from the ground up, simultaneously elevating brand positioning, creating scalable demand generation systems, and unifying our story across B2B (payer, provider, schools, and government partnerships) and D2C (patient acquisition) channels.
This is a roll-up-your-sleeves leadership role requiring equal parts strategic vision and tactical execution. You'll partner closely with commercial, clinical, and product leadership to translate Backpack's clinical outcomes and impact into compelling narratives that drive referral partner growth, patient enrollment, and market differentiation. You'll build the processes, systems, and eventually the team that positions Backpack as the leading virtual behavioral health solution for Medicaid populations.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Foundation & Positioning
- Develop and own the comprehensive marketing strategy in partnership with Growth, Sales, Clinical, and Product teams, aligning marketing initiatives to business objectives and revenue targets
- Evolve Backpack's brand positioning, value proposition, and competitive differentiation for distinct audiences: healthcare providers, payers, patients, and community partners
- Establish clear product marketing frameworks that translate clinical outcomes, quality metrics, and patient testimonials into proof points that resonate with B2B and D2C audiences
- Create the strategic roadmap for marketing maturity - from foundational brand and messaging to scaled demand generation and thought leadership
Demand Generation & Growth Marketing
- Build and execute a multi-channel demand generation engine to drive qualified leads for the referral partnership sales team and patient acquisition funnels
- Design and implement marketing programs across digital channels (paid search, paid social, SEO, email, content) to generate awareness and conversions
- Partner with Sales and Referral Partnership teams to create enablement materials, case studies, ROI calculators, and sales collateral that move prospects through the funnel
- Develop and optimize patient acquisition strategies, including digital campaigns targeting Medicaid-eligible populations and community-based outreach support
- Establish marketing attribution models, performance dashboards, and closed-loop reporting to measure ROI and optimize spend
Brand Execution & Content Development
- Lead comprehensive refresh of Backpack's website, ensuring messaging clarity, user experience optimization, and conversion-focused design
- Elevate existing marketing assets (presentations, one-pagers, partner toolkits) to reflect professional, consistent, and compelling brand standards
- Develop content strategy and thought leadership platform, including white papers, blog content, webinars, and industry conference presentations
- Identify and secure earned media opportunities, speaking engagements, and industry recognition to build brand authority in digital behavioral health
- Create ongoing communications strategies to engage and activate referral partners, including newsletters, success stories, and educational resources
Hands-On Execution
- Personally create and execute marketing materials, campaigns, and content, this is not a delegation-only role
- Manage relationships with external agencies, freelancers, and vendors to extend capabilities as needed
- Own event strategy and execution, including industry conferences, community events, and partnership activation
- Manage social media presence and community engagement across platforms
- Lead public relations efforts and serve as brand spokesperson when appropriate
Infrastructure & Team Building
- Establish marketing operations infrastructure including tech stack (CRM integration, marketing automation, analytics), workflows, and project management systems
- Define metrics, KPIs, and reporting cadence to track marketing effectiveness and business impact
- Build business cases for marketing budget allocation and manage spend with fiscal discipline
- Position the marketing function for future scale, including documenting processes and identifying when to hire additional team members
Success Metrics
- B2B Pipeline Growth: Qualified leads generated for referral partnership sales team; contribution to partnership acquisition targets
- D2C Patient Acquisition: Cost per acquisition (CPA), conversion rates, and patient enrollment volume from marketing channels
- Brand & Awareness: Website traffic growth, search rankings, social media engagement, and brand recognition in target markets
- Content & Thought Leadership: Earned media placements, speaking engagements, and industry visibility
- Marketing ROI: Revenue influenced by marketing; marketing spend efficiency and budget management
- Operational Excellence: Marketing infrastructure built; documented processes and playbooks; cross-functional stakeholder satisfaction
Qualifications
Required:
- 15+ years of marketing experience in healthcare, with demonstrated progression to senior leadership roles
- Digital health marketing expertise required, proven track record building and scaling marketing functions at healthcare technology, telehealth, or digital health companies
- Dual B2B and D2C marketing mastery: deep experience marketing to healthcare providers/organizations AND direct-to-consumer patient populations
- Demonstrated success developing brand positioning and go-to-market strategies in complex, regulated industries
- Expert-level knowledge of demand generation, growth marketing, and full-funnel campaign management
- Strong analytical capabilities and comfort with marketing metrics, attribution modeling, and data-driven decision making
- Exceptional storytelling and communication skills, ability to translate clinical and business complexity into clear, compelling narratives
- Hands-on execution mindset with willingness to do the work, not just direct it
Highly Preferred:
- Mental health or behavioral health industry experience highly preferred
- Medicaid, value-based care, or underserved population marketing experience
- Experience marketing to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), health systems, or primary care practices
- Background in mission-driven or social impact organizations
- MBA or advanced degree in marketing, business, or related field
- Existing relationships in digital behavioral health ecosystem
Compensation & Benefits
- Base Salary Range: $180,000 - $200,000 (commensurate with experience)
- Equity: Competitive stock option package reflecting senior leadership role
- Performance Bonus: Annual performance-based bonus tied to company and individual goals
- Benefits Package:
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) with company match
- Flexible PTO policy
- Remote work flexibility
Why Backpack Healthcare
This is a rare opportunity to build a marketing function from the ground up at a mission-driven company making a measurable impact on mental health access. You'll have the autonomy to shape strategy, the resources to execute, and the leadership partnership to drive real business results. If you're a seasoned marketing leader ready to apply your healthcare expertise to a high-growth digital health company addressing one of society's most pressing challenges, we want to hear from you.
Backpack Healthcare is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.
Please apply directly through the Backpack Healthcare Careers page.
