About the roleWe're looking for a
Director, Marketing Communications Operations to build the systems, processes, and infrastructure that power Core's marketing and communications engine. This is a high-impact, cross-functional role for someone who thrives on turning complexity into clarity - designing scalable workflows, managing significant contractor budgets, and giving marketing leadership the visibility they need to make smart, fast decisions.
You'll own the operational backbone behind our marketing initiatives: from budget lifecycle management and vendor relationships to KPI dashboards and process governance. If you're energized by building infrastructure that lets creative and strategic teams do their best work - and you want to see your impact reflected directly in campaign performance, enrollment growth, and organizational efficiency - this role is for you.
What you'll do- Own marketing operations end-to-end: Drive operational planning, process design, and workflow optimization across all marketing and communications initiatives.
- Manage the contractor budget lifecycle: Lead forecasting, vendor selection, contract negotiation, project scoping, invoicing, and financial tracking for 1099 contractors.
- Build project management infrastructure: Establish frameworks, timelines, and accountability structures that keep cross-functional marketing campaigns on track and on time.
- Deliver visibility through data: Develop KPI dashboards, attribution methodology, funnel reporting, and measurement standards that inform strategic decisions at the leadership level.
- Manage the MarTech stack: Evaluate, procure, license, and optimize marketing technology platforms and strategic vendors.
- Drive continuous improvement: Identify bottlenecks, propose solutions, and implement process enhancements that increase speed-to-market and campaign quality.
- Set governance standards: Establish SOPs, QA/UAT processes, intake workflows, and knowledge management practices across the marketing function.
- Partner with leadership: Serve as a strategic thought partner on resource planning, capacity management, and operational trade-offs.
Qualifications- 8-10+ years of progressive experience in marketing operations, project management, or a related field
- A proven track record managing marketing budgets of $500K+ with strong fiscal discipline
- Extensive experience managing external contractors, agencies, and vendor relationships
- Advanced project management skills, with hands-on proficiency in tools like Asana, Monday.com, Trello, Jira, or Confluence
- Strong financial acumen - budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and P&L oversight
- Comfort with marketing analytics and reporting tools (Google Analytics, Tableau, Excel, Power BI)
- Experience in fast-paced, high-growth environments - EdTech, SaaS, or higher education strongly preferred
- A collaborative leadership style that builds trust and drives alignment without formal direct reports
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, Operations Management, or related field (MBA or Master's preferred)
- PMP certification preferred; MarTech or marketing operations certifications a plus
