Vice President of Strategic Marketing & Insights

Graco manufactures and markets premium equipment to move, measure, control, dispense and spray a wide variety of fluid and powder materials. What does that mean? Well, we pump peanut butter into your jar, and the oil in your car. We glue the soles of your shoes, the glass in your windows and the screen on your phone. We spray the finish on your vehicle, coatings on your pills, the paint on your house and texture on your walls. Graco is part of your daily life.

The Vice President (VP) of Strategic Marketing and Insights is a senior leadership role responsible for guiding the strategic marketing efforts across the organization. This position is part of a centralized marketing team and will act as a center of excellence for strategic marketing by providing expertise, guidance, and support to business units in developing and executing their own strategic marketing plans. This role involves leveraging market research, customer feedback, and data analytics to provide actionable insights and enhance the customer experience, optimize the marketing strategies, and identify new market opportunities. The VP will work closely with business leaders to ensure alignment with company-wide objectives and will oversee key initiatives such as Voice of Customer (VoC) programs, market research, and strategic pricing to drive data-driven, customer-centric marketing strategies.

What You Will Do At Graco

• Strategic Marketing Leadership & Center of Excellence:
• Lead and foster a center of excellence for strategic marketing within the centralized marketing team, providing thought leadership, best practices, and tools for creating high-impact marketing strategies.
• Partner with business units to support and guide the development of strategic marketing plans that are aligned with corporate objectives, customer needs, and market trends.
• Ensure consistent application of strategic marketing principles across business units while tailoring approaches to each unit’s unique goals and challenges.
• Provide ongoing strategic direction, coaching, and mentorship to business units, helping them navigate the complexities of developing and executing effective marketing strategies.
• Align business unit marketing activities with the company’s broader vision, ensuring cohesive messaging and resource allocation across all efforts.
• Market Research Leadership & Analysis:
• Develop and lead a comprehensive market and customer insights strategy aligned with the company’s business objectives.
• Lead the development and implementation of market research processes to generate actionable insights about market trends, customer needs, preferences and competitive landscapes.
• Provide strategic insights and reports to business units, enabling them to adjust their marketing plans based on data-driven insights.
• Synthesize market research to guide the creation of tailored marketing strategies and ensure business units are positioned effectively in their respective markets.
• Encourage business units to apply research findings in shaping their marketing initiatives, product development, and customer engagement efforts.
• Collaborate with IT teams to enhance data collection, integration and analysis capabilities.
• Voice of Customer (VoC) Programs:
• Establish and manage Voice of Customer (VoC) programs to gather and analyze both qualitative and quantitative customer insights.
• Serve as the point of contact for VoC-related strategy and execution, ensuring the business units are equipped with the tools and knowledge to leverage customer insights effectively.
• Guide business units in utilizing VoC data to enhance customer engagement, improve product offerings, and refine marketing strategies.
• Facilitate the integration of customer feedback into the decision-making process across business units, ensuring that marketing initiatives are customer-centric and responsive to changing needs.
• Strategic Pricing:
• Lead the creation of strategic pricing models that optimize revenue and market competitiveness.
• Partner with business units to develop and refine pricing strategies based on market research, customer demand, and competitive analysis.
• Ensure that pricing strategies are aligned with the company’s overarching goals and pricing structure, providing guidance and support to business units on pricing decisions for new products, services, and promotions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
• Work closely with other departments, including product, engineering, sales, finance, and operations, to align marketing strategies with broader company objectives.
• Collaborate with business unit leaders to assess marketing performance, identify areas for improvement, and develop corrective action plans to ensure marketing efforts achieve desired outcomes.
• Act as a strategic advisor to business units, helping them navigate challenges and leverage marketing strategies for success.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration across business units and the centralized marketing team, ensuring seamless integration of efforts across all marketing disciplines.
• Leadership:
• Lead and mentor, the marketing teams to promote a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
• Support the development of marketing talent across business units by providing guidance on best practices, training, and encouraging professional development opportunities.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration between the centralized marketing team and business unit teams to ensure strategic marketing goals are achieved.
• Communication & Reporting:
• Communicate strategic marketing initiatives, results, and recommendations to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
• Provide regular updates on the effectiveness of marketing strategies across business units, highlighting successes, challenges, and areas for improvement.
• Prepare and present comprehensive reports and strategic insights to the executive team and board of directors.
  

What You Will Bring To Graco

• Education:
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Business, or a related field.
• Experience:
• Minimum of 10-15 years of experience in strategic marketing, with at least 5-7 years in a senior leadership role, preferably within a similar industry.
• Proven ability to develop and execute strategic marketing plans in partnership with business units.
• Strong experience in market research, Voice of Customer (VoC) programs, strategic pricing, and customer engagement strategies.
• Solid understanding of digital marketing capabilities and how to integrate them into broader marketing strategies.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and providing strategic marketing guidance to business units.
• Skills & Competencies:
• Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate with senior leadership and business units.
• Ability to analyze market trends, customer insights, and competitive data to inform marketing strategies.
• Deep understanding of pricing strategies and ability to provide guidance on implementing effective pricing models.
• Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities and initiatives simultaneously.
  

Accelerators

• MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Experience in a centralized marketing organization or with a distributed marketing model.
• Familiarity with pricing and VoC platforms.
• Expertise in budget management and financial acumen.
• Experience in B2B or B2C marketing, depending on the company's target market.
  
  

At Graco, you truly make a difference. Your unique talents contribute to our organizational growth and future. Not only do you make a difference, but Graco’s culture empowers employees to create their own career path. Whether you choose to advance within your current department or explore new opportunities in different divisions, you have the ability to build your future. Our managers are here to provide support and guidance as you continue to grow within your career.

Graco has excellent opportunities available to individuals who want to be part of a fast-moving, growing company that is committed to quality, innovation and solving fluid handling problems for our customers. Graco is proud to be named a Best Place to Work by Fortune Magazine in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 & 2022. Graco offers attractive compensation, benefits and career development opportunities. Graco’s comprehensive benefits include medical, dental, stock purchase plan, 401(k), tuition reimbursement and more.

Our company uses E-Verify to confirm the employment and eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.

The base pay range for this position is listed below, exclusive of fringe benefits or other compensation. If you are hired, your final base hourly rate will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, competencies, education, and/or experience. In addition to those factors, we will also consider internal equity of our current employees. Please keep in mind that the range provided is the full base salary range for the role. Hiring at or near the maximum of the range would not be typical to allow for future and continued salary growth.

$158,000.00 - $276,600.00