Marketing Strategy & Planning Director

Company Description

Freshworks makes it fast and easy for businesses to delight their customers and employees. We do this by taking a fresh approach to building and delivering software that is affordable, quick to implement, and designed for the end user. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freshworks has a global team operating from 13 global locations to serve more than 65,000 companies, from startups to public companies, that rely on Freshworks software-as-a-service to enable a better customer experience (CRM, CX) and employee experience (ITSM).

Freshworks’ cloud-based software suite includes Freshdesk (omni-channel customer support), Freshsales (sales automation), Freshmarketer (marketing automation), Freshservice (IT service desk), Freshchat (AI-powered bots), supported by Neo, our underlying platform of shared services.

Freshworks is featured in global national press including CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg and has been a BuiltIn Best Place to work in San Francisco and Denver for the last 3 years. Our customer ratings have earned Freshworks products TrustRadius Top Rated Software ratings and G2 Best of Awards for Best Feature Set, Best Value for the Price and Best Relationship.

Job Description

This role will be in the CCMO's (Chief Customer and Marketing Officer) organization, responsible for driving Freshworks’ marketing initiatives, focusing on the priorities, operational excellence, and delivery on our Objectives and Key Results (OKR’s) and annual plans, and operating rhythm for our global marketing team. This role is pivotal in ensuring that marketing strategy, execution, and cross-functional collaboration come together seamlessly, enabling the team to operate at peak performance and maximize impact to our annual goals and objectives. You will work closely with the marketing leadership team, the CCMO and key internal stakeholders to drive alignment to ensure timely and successful strategy execution. You will also shepherd several key marketing initiatives that will serve to help us evolve and mature our practices. 

The ideal candidate has proven experience navigating and optimizing marketing strategy & operations at scale, ensuring efficiency, reliability, and sustainable growth.

Key Responsibilities:

Ensure the marketing team runs like an operational machine:

• Drive operational efficiency by identifying areas for improvement, removing roadblocks, and implementing streamlined processes working with across key stakeholders, including operations
• Work closely with operations, sales and marketing teams (brand, digital, product marketing) to ensure that campaigns and programs are executed efficiently and aligned with overall business goals
• Establish templates to build, measure and assess impact of marketing initiatives
• Help drive visibility into the accountability and performance of key stakeholders to deliver impact 
• Manage the marketing team’s rhythm of business, and employee engagement efforts, refining it through the year

Ensure the marketing strategy is executed against to support business goals:

• Collaborate with marketing leaders to develop and translate high-level marketing strategies into actionable plans and initiatives
• Lead annual and long-term marketing planning, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives
• Regularly engage with the Chief of Staff to ensure the marketing strategy and projects align with broader org and company goals, and provide regular updates
• Collaborate with the marketing leadership team on ongoing benchmarking of marketing spend and performance to identify and share best practices
• Where needed in partnership with marketing leadership, conduct benchmarking, competitive analysis, and consumer insights to inform marketing decisions
• In partnership with FP&A, Human Resources and Talent acquisition, optimize spending across channels to maximize ROI on marketing investments

Qualifications

• A minimum of 12-15 years' experience in marketing-related positions in the software/technology sector
• Prior experience in SaaS-based organizations
• In-depth knowledge of the B2B SaaS marketing, including market trends, competition, and emerging technologies, with experience in $1B ARR companies preferred
• Proven ability to build and lead a marketing strategies
• Effective project management skills, and broad execution capabilities
• Strong business acumen with a data-driven decision-making approach
• Experience managing large-scale marketing budgets, with a focus on ROI-driven decision-making
• Collaborative mindset with a strong inclination towards continuous learning
• Ability to stay ahead of industry trends and marketing best practices to drive continuous improvement
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and persuasively
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, adapting to changing circumstances with resilience and composure
• Embraces accountability, customer-centricity, and fosters a collaborative, inclusive team culture

Additional Information

The annual base salary range for this position is $189,000 — $272,000 USD

Compensation is based on a variety of factors including but not limited to location, experience, job-related skills, and level. Bonus/equity may be available.

Please note this is a hybrid role that requires an in-office presence 3 days/week (Tuesday-Thursday).

Freshworks offers multiple options for dental, medical, vision, disability and life insurances. Equity ESPP, flexible PTO, flexible spending, commuter benefits and wellness benefits are also offered. Freshworks also offers adoption and parental leave benefits.

At Freshworks, we are creating a global workplace that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. We are committed to providing equal opportunity for all and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer work environment that advances the goals of our employees, communities and the business.