Position Title: Marketing Manager
Reports to: Regional Marketing Director, North America
Location: Richmond, VA (preferred) or Remote
Position Summary:
KSB manufactures pumps, seals, and valves that help move and manage water around the world. Our Water business serves municipal water and wastewater utilities across North America through a network of independent sales representatives.
In this market, projects are often won long before equipment is purchased—when consulting engineers develop specifications and utilities determine the solutions, they will rely on for decades. Reaching the right audiences, understanding their priorities, and equipping our sales network to influence these decisions are central to our growth.
As Marketing Manager, Water, you will own marketing strategy and execution for this market area, translating business priorities and customer insights into integrated campaigns, digital programs, sales enablement, and thought leadership that generate measurable results. You will work closely with the Water business, regional sales leadership, independent representatives, and the North American marketing team to strengthen KSB’s brand, influence specifications, and create demand.
Marketing and digital are strategic levers for growth at KSB, not simply support functions. This role offers meaningful autonomy, direct exposure to business leadership, and accountability for results. It is a hands-on, individual-contributor position within a five-person marketing department, requiring someone who can set direction, influence stakeholders, manage priorities, and execute high-quality work independently.
Duties/Responsibilities:
Market Strategy and Demand Generation
- Translate Water business objectives and the broader North American marketing strategy into actionable marketing plans, priorities, and campaigns that drive growth, strengthen brand awareness, and generate qualified demand.
- Develop and execute two complementary campaign strategies: one focused on consulting engineers and specifiers, and another on utility owners, operators, and other end users, tailoring messaging and content to their distinct needs and decision-making processes.
- Build a deep understanding of market dynamics, customer challenges, competitive positioning, and emerging opportunities to identify where marketing can have the greatest commercial impact.
- Lead market research, competitive analysis, customer feedback initiatives, and campaign performance reviews to guide investment and continuously improve results.
- Manage the Water market area's marketing budget, prioritize spending against business objectives, and report on campaign performance, return on investment, and contribution to growth.
Digital Marketing and Lead Management
- Develop and implement digital marketing and lead management programs that engage the full buying center, including independent representatives, OEMs, consulting engineers, utility customers, and KSB sales teams.
- Leverage CRM, marketing automation, content management, analytics, and other digital tools to improve audience targeting, customer engagement, lead nurturing, and marketing efficiency.
- Establish clear processes for lead qualification, routing, and follow-up, ensuring qualified leads reach the appropriate regional manager within five business days.
- Monitor digital engagement and campaign performance, using data and insights to optimize content, channels, conversion, and future marketing investments.
Sales and Representative Enablement
- Partner with regional sales teams and independent representatives to understand territory priorities, customer needs, and opportunities to influence projects early in the buying process.
- Develop practical sales enablement programs that help representatives engage consulting engineers, utility decision-makers, and other stakeholders with relevant, compelling information.
- Support a focused account-based approach by identifying and packaging actionable market intelligence around priority utilities, engineering firms, and projects within each territory.
- Create standardized, customer-facing tools and materials that strengthen the consistency, quality, and effectiveness of KSB's market presence across the representative network.
- Drive adoption of marketing programs and materials by making them relevant, accessible, and useful to the people responsible for customer relationships.
Thought Leadership and Content Development
- Identify important industry issues and emerging market trends—including alternative project delivery methods and other topics influencing municipal water and wastewater projects—and develop thought leadership programs that position KSB as a knowledgeable industry partner.
- Collaborate with Water business leaders, subject-matter experts, and sales teams to develop and publish relevant content that addresses customer challenges and supports KSB's market position.
- Oversee and produce content for websites, social media, brochures, presentations, trade publications, advertising, campaigns, and other customer-facing channels.
- Maintain consistent brand messaging and visual standards across marketing materials while adapting content to the needs of different audiences and stages of the buying process.
Events and Integrated Marketing
- Plan and execute trade shows, conferences, customer events, and other industry programs that strengthen customer relationships and generate meaningful sales opportunities.
- Shift event planning toward proactive customer engagement by identifying target attendees, coordinating outreach, and scheduling meetings with consulting engineers, utility end users, and other priority prospects before events begin.
- Integrate events with digital campaigns, sales outreach, and post-event follow-up to maximize engagement and measurable business outcomes.
- Coordinate with the broader North American marketing team to align programs, share best practices, and ensure consistency with KSB's overall brand and marketing strategy.
Project Management and Execution
- Manage multiple campaigns, content initiatives, events, and business requests simultaneously, balancing strategic priorities with changing market needs.
- Take projects from planning through execution and performance measurement, maintaining quality, timelines, and budget discipline.
- Independently develop and produce marketing materials, including presentations, brochures, digital assets, and other visual communications, using standard graphic design tools.
- Continuously improve marketing processes, content standards, and ways of working to make marketing more effective, consistent, and accountable to the Water business.
Required Skills and Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Demonstrated experience owning and executing marketing programs for a product line, market area, business unit, or comparable B2B portfolio, with accountability across strategy, execution, and results.
- Experience in industrial, technical, or B2B marketing, ideally involving complex products, long sales cycles, multiple decision-makers, or specification-driven purchasing.
- Experience marketing through an indirect sales channel, such as independent representatives, distributors, dealers, agents, or other channel partners, with the ability to influence sales teams outside your direct reporting structure.
- Strong campaign development and execution skills, with the ability to connect customer insights and business priorities to effective messaging, content, and integrated marketing programs.
- Hands-on content development and production capabilities, including presentations, brochures, digital content, and other marketing materials, along with working knowledge of standard graphic design software.
- Proficiency with digital marketing tools, including analytics platforms, content management systems, social media, CRM systems, and marketing automation technologies.
- Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret campaign data, evaluate performance, measure return on investment, and make informed recommendations.
- Excellent project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to changing business needs.
- Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to present ideas, influence stakeholders, and communicate confidently with colleagues and business leaders at all levels.
- A proactive, resourceful, and commercially minded approach, with the creativity and initiative to identify opportunities, develop solutions, and deliver results independently.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in the water and wastewater industry, municipal infrastructure, utilities, or related markets.
- Experience with HubSpot or a comparable CRM and marketing automation platform.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite or similar graphic design tools.
- Experience leading trade shows, conferences, customer events, or integrated event marketing programs.
- Experience developing thought leadership content or marketing programs for technical audiences, consulting engineers, or specifiers.
