The director of growth is a key marketing role focused on expanding a company's marketing efforts. Learn more about this lucrative career opportunity and how to grow toward it.
A director of growth—sometimes called a head of growth—is a marketing leadership role responsible for expanding a company's marketing presence and increasing revenue. It requires a deep understanding of different marketing efforts, including scaling efforts to drive customer acquisition, as well as analytical thinking and communication. If you enjoy marketing, thinking critically and creatively, and leading teams, this may be a good fit for you.
Learn more about this multifaceted role, including job duties, skills, and salary potential. If you're interested in building key skills in growth marketing, consider enrolling in the Meta Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate, where you'll learn how to collect, sort, evaluate, and visualize marketing data.
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Launch Your Career in Marketing Analytics. Build job-ready skills – and must-have AI skills – for an in-demand career. Earn a credential from Meta in 7 months or less. No degree or prior experience required.
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Statistics for Marketing, Performance marketing, Data Analysis, Advertising Effectiveness Evaluation, Marketing Mix Optimization, Generative AI in Marketing Analytics, Marketing Plan, Linear Regression, Marketing, Marketing Mix Modeling, Python Programming, Pandas, Data Visualization, Spreadsheet, SQL, Tableau Software, Data Management, Marketing Science, Social Media Marketing, Ads Manager, Facebook Advertising, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Digital Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Meta advertising, A/B Testing
The director of growth—sometimes referred to as director of growth marketing or head of growth—is a marketing management role responsible for growing a company's business through marketing and sales efforts primarily focused on acquiring new customers. To achieve that goal, they may be tasked with expanding a company's marketing to new channels or new geographic locations.
The director of growth often has to analyze data to formulate an expansion strategy and then identify which marketing initiatives will best achieve that expansion. This could include expanding marketing to a new social media channel that hasn't been active yet or launching content marketing efforts in a new country using translation.
Typical duties include:
Using data to model growth opportunities
Developing a company's growth strategy
Analyzing areas of improvement for marketing strategies
Communicating your findings and planning
Using marketing levers like email marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) to increase revenue
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In this course, you will further examine how businesses create value for customers. In Developing a Winning Marketing Strategy, you learned the major ...
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Leadership and Management, Market Research, Marketing, Strategy, Communication, Design and Product, Supply Chain and Logistics, Planning
A director of growth requires an interconnected skill set that pulls from marketing, data analysis, sales, and more. Let's review the more common technical and workplace skills you'll need in this role:
Technical skills
Digital marketing
SEO and SEM
CRM
ROI monitoring and reporting
Business intelligence
Workplace skills
Leadership
Collaboration
Communication
Analytical thinking
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Get on the fast track to a career in Data Analytics. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills, and get AI training from Google experts. Learn at your own pace, no degree or experience required.
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Average time: 6 month(s)
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Data Analysis, Creating case studies, Data Visualization, Data Cleansing, Developing a portfolio, Data Collection, Spreadsheet, Metadata, SQL, Data Ethics, Data Aggregation, Data Calculations, R Markdown, R Programming, Rstudio, Tableau Software, Presentation, Data Integrity, Sample Size Determination, Decision-Making, Problem Solving, Questioning
According to Glassdoor, the estimated annual salary for a director of growth in the United States is $126,476 [1]. However, depending on the company you for work, you may also be entitled to additional pay, such as bonuses and profit-sharing.
This role falls under the larger umbrella of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers, which the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates will grow by 6 percent from 2022 to 2032 [2]. That is faster than average.
While a director of growth primarily focuses on marketing and sales efforts to drive customer acquisition and increase revenue, a business development manager is responsible for finding new business opportunities—often via sales channels—that a company can pursue.
Being a director of growth often means acquiring around 7-10 years of experience. If you're interested in advancing your career to become a director of growth, it can be helpful to start off in an entry-level marketing, sales, or business role and gain experience from there. Let's review some of the steps that can lead toward this position.
While you may not need a bachelor's degree to get started in a marketing or sales career, you may find that employers expect that credential as you advance. For instance, 75.4 percent of marketing managers have a bachelor's degree and 12.8 percent have a master's degree, according to Zippia [3].
Consider earning a degree in marketing or a related field, such as business administration or data analysis.
Some jobs that can eventually lead to a director of growth role include:
Marketing coordinator
Social media manager
Junior business analyst
SEO analyst
Once you've gained experience, you can move into management roles, including marketing manager, sales manager, brand manager, or SEO manager, and continue developing your skills in business intelligence, data analysis, and marketing.
A director of growth has a unique skill set. If you're set on this role, you can work on strengthening this skill set as you move through more junior and mid-level positions. It may be useful to search job boards for this title, making a note of the skills required.
Some helpful skills to develop will be: data analysis, marketing strategy, and revenue growth.
professional certificate
Get on the fast track to a career in digital marketing. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills, and get AI training from Google experts. Learn at your own pace, no degree or experience required.
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Average time: 6 month(s)
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Skills you'll build:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), E-Commerce, Email Marketing, display advertising, Marketing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Portfolio preparation, Building customer loyalty, E-commerce store optimization, Job preparedness, Social Media Branding, Social Media Analytics, Social Listening, Customer Engagement, Social Media Bidding, Google, Search Engine Marketing, Customer Awareness, Website Structure, Email marketing analytics, Email Writing, Contact management, Email marketing strategy, Email list segmentation, E-Commerce Strategy, Seasonality, E-commerce platforms, Fulfillment and delivery, Customer loyalty, Customer Outreach, Marketing Analytics, Media planning and strategies, Spreadsheet management, Presenting to stakeholders, Digital marketing KPIs
You'll find lots of opportunities to develop your marketing, data, and business skills on Coursera. Here are two ways to get started:
Learn about important marketing channels with the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate, where you'll learn to attract and engage customers through search and email.
Build valuable marketing data skills with the Meta Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate, where you'll learn how to collect, sort, evaluate, and visualize marketing data.
professional certificate
Get on the fast track to a career in digital marketing. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills, and get AI training from Google experts. Learn at your own pace, no degree or experience required.
4.8
(31,496 ratings)
898,970 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 6 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), E-Commerce, Email Marketing, display advertising, Marketing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Portfolio preparation, Building customer loyalty, E-commerce store optimization, Job preparedness, Social Media Branding, Social Media Analytics, Social Listening, Customer Engagement, Social Media Bidding, Google, Search Engine Marketing, Customer Awareness, Website Structure, Email marketing analytics, Email Writing, Contact management, Email marketing strategy, Email list segmentation, E-Commerce Strategy, Seasonality, E-commerce platforms, Fulfillment and delivery, Customer loyalty, Customer Outreach, Marketing Analytics, Media planning and strategies, Spreadsheet management, Presenting to stakeholders, Digital marketing KPIs
professional certificate
Launch Your Career in Marketing Analytics. Build job-ready skills – and must-have AI skills – for an in-demand career. Earn a credential from Meta in 7 months or less. No degree or prior experience required.
4.7
(2,449 ratings)
78,865 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 7 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Statistics for Marketing, Performance marketing, Data Analysis, Advertising Effectiveness Evaluation, Marketing Mix Optimization, Generative AI in Marketing Analytics, Marketing Plan, Linear Regression, Marketing, Marketing Mix Modeling, Python Programming, Pandas, Data Visualization, Spreadsheet, SQL, Tableau Software, Data Management, Marketing Science, Social Media Marketing, Ads Manager, Facebook Advertising, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Digital Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Meta advertising, A/B Testing
Glassdoor. “How much does a Director of Growth make?, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/director-of-growth-salary-SRCH_KO0,18.htm?clickSource=searchBtn.” Accessed November 20, 2024.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/advertising-promotions-and-marketing-managers.htm.” Accessed November 20, 2024.
Zippia. "What is a Marketing Manager and How to Become One, https://www.zippia.com/marketing-manager-jobs/." Accessed November 20, 2024.
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