Where does this role fit in?
The Director of Pipeline Marketing is the strategic engine behind our conversion and customer growth capability. Reporting to the VP of Demand Generation, you will lead a hybrid high-performance team comprising Lifecycle Marketing and Global Inbound Business Development (BDRs). Your mandate is to eliminate the gap between marketing automation and human outreach, creating a seamless, unified conversion machine.
This role represents a major evolution in our operating model. You will be responsible for breaking down the silos between the BDR function and the wider marketing department. By working closely with the Product Aligned Squads, you will architect the "Motions" (evergreen journeys) that drive Net New ARR, while simultaneously deploying retention and expansion strategies that secure our base. You are the owner of the "Mid-Funnel" and "Customer" stages, using data, AI-driven automation, and human ingenuity to turn interest
What will you do?
- Lead a Unified Conversion Team: Manage and mentor a global team of Lifecycle Marketers and Inbound BDR Managers (Americas/APAC & EMEA), fostering a culture where automation and human outreach work in perfect lockstep.
- Architect "Always-On" Motions: Collaborate with Product Squads to design and implement sophisticated, evergreen marketing journeys that nurture MQLs into SQLs and drive existing customers toward adoption and cross-sell opportunities.
- Integrate the BDR Function: transform the BDR team from an isolated unit into a strategic arm of the squads, ensuring they are equipped with squad-produced content, battlecards, and insights to execute highly relevant outreach.
- Modernize Rules of Engagement (ROE): Overhaul the existing BDR ROE to define clear "Product Qualified Lead" (PQL) thresholds, ensuring low-tier PLG leads are handled by AI agents while BDRs focus exclusively on high-value territory accounts.
- Drive Customer Revenue (NDR): Own the lifecycle strategy for existing customers, deploying automated "Win-Back" motions (e.g., Old Deal Outreach / ODO) and "Expansion Plays" that utilize BDRs to re-engage stalled deals or upsell usage tiers.
- Innovate with AI & Ops: Partner with the Marketing Operations team to deploy AI-driven agents and process flows that automate lead qualification and personalization, allowing your BDRs to focus solely on high-value interactions.
- Own the Conversion Playbooks: Define, document, and optimize the Playbooks for Email Nurture and BDR Outreach, creating the standard for how UpGuard communicates with prospects and customers across these channels.
- Analyze and Optimize: Obsess over pipeline metrics—specifically MQL to SQL conversion rates, velocity, and customer retention rates—continuously iterating on your Motions to improve efficiency and CAC payback.
What will you bring?
- 10+ years of B2B marketing experience, with specific expertise in managing both Marketing Automation/Lifecycle functions and Sales Development (BDR/SDR) teams.
- A proven track record of designing complex customer journeys that seamlessly blend automated digital touches (email, in-app) with human sales intervention.
- Deep proficiency with HubSpot, having used it not just for email sending, but as an orchestration engine for the entire sales and marketing funnel.
- Strong leadership experience managing "managers," with the ability to coach BDR leadership on operational rigor while guiding Lifecycle experts on strategy.
- A "Revenue First" mindset: you understand that MQLs are a means to an end, and you measure success in Pipeline ARR, Expansion Revenue, and Retention.
- Exceptional collaboration skills, capable of working with Product Marketing Squads to extract the core messaging needed to fuel your conversion engines.
What will give you an edge?
- Experience implementing AI Sales Agents or advanced PLG (Product-Led Growth) routing logic that dynamically segments users between self-service and sales-assisted paths.
- Background in the Cybersecurity or GRC industry, with an understanding of the specific buyer personas and long sales cycles typical of this market.
- Experience restructuring a siloed BDR team into an integrated marketing function, specifically within a Matrix or Squad-based organizational structure.
What's in it for you?
- Monthly Lifestyle subsidy: use this for financial, physical and mental wellbeing (all regions)
- WFH set-up allowance: to ensure you have the right environment to work in, we will help you get set-up within your first 3 months at UpGuard (all regions)
- $1500 USD annual Learning & Development allowance: to support your career development all team members will be able to expense development opportunities against this allowance (all regions)
- Generous Annual Leave/PTO allowances: time to recharge your batteries (all regions)
- 18 weeks paid Parental Leave: irrespective of parenting role (all regions)
- Personal Leave allowance: this includes sick & carer’s leave (all regions)
- Fully remote working environment: whilst we have physical offices in Sydney & Hobart, we do not mandate compulsory attendance (all regions)
- Top spec hardware: all team members will be provided with top-spec laptops for their role (all regions)
- Personal device security & online privacy protection subsidy: UpGuard provides team members with a paid subscription to personal device security & online privacy protection platform (all regions)
- Generative AI subsidy: UpGuard provides paid subscriptions for all team members to access generative AI tools to support their work (all regions)
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