Director or VP, Marketing

Location:

Chicago, IL or Austin, TX |

Reports To:

Chief Operating Officer|

Employment Type:

Full-Time

Kairos Living is a technology-enabled, value-add residential real estate investment fund founded in 2019. We manage a growing portfolio of over 5,300 single-family rental homes across 17 states, and we are now developing and delivering our own purpose-built rental communities. We are revolutionizing the fragmented SFR industry through proprietary technology, data-driven decision-making, and an entrepreneurial, execution-focused culture.

This is a newly created role and Kairos's first dedicated marketing hire. As we lease up new communities alongside our managed portfolio, marketing has never been more central to the business, and this leader will have an immediate, measurable impact on growth.

Kairos Living is seeking an experienced, hands-on marketing leader to serve as Director or VP of Marketing, reporting directly to the COO. The role owns all marketing for Kairos's national SFR portfolio and new development communities, from performance marketing and digital advertising to brand, content, resident communications, and website management. This person owns marketing strategy, manages agency relationships, and builds the infrastructure to scale marketing as the portfolio and community pipeline grow.

This is a senior operating leadership role, not a brand-only position. The ideal candidate is a builder who is equally comfortable optimizing a Google Ads campaign, auditing SEO health, writing sharp copy, and presenting ROI to senior leadership. Success is measured by qualified demand generated, vacancy reduced, lease-up performance, and a marketing function that scales with the business.

In the first 12 months, the Director or VP of Marketing will build the foundation for a scalable, data-driven marketing strategy by:

• Auditing current marketing channels, agency relationships, ILS performance, website and SEO health, paid media, and reputation management processes.
• Building the marketing performance dashboard and attribution framework (see KPI table below), tied to signed leases, not just lead volume.
• Developing a repeatable lease-up marketing playbook for new BTR communities, covering pre-leasing timelines, positioning, paid media, local SEO, and reporting.
• Improving listing quality and consistency across ILS platforms and resetting agency accountability around measurable outcomes and clear KPIs.
• Establishing a regular marketing operating cadence and partnering closely with Leasing and Operations to close lead-flow, conversion, and market-readiness gaps.

• Own all paid digital advertising (Google Ads, paid social, retargeting) and ILS syndication across platforms such as Zillow, , and Zumper, keeping listings accurate and current.
• Develop market-specific demand generation strategies to minimize vacancy days, and provide critical agency oversight, pushing back when results miss expectations.
• Build seasonal and lifecycle campaign plans aligned to turnover timing and development delivery schedules.

• Develop pre-leasing and lease-up marketing plans for each new community beginning 90 to 120 days before delivery, including positioning and collateral.
• Build a scalable lease-up playbook so each new community launch does not require reinvention.
• Partner with Leasing, Development, and Asset Management to align lead flow with leasing capacity, rent targets, and delivery schedules.

• Own organic search strategy, including technical SEO, on-page optimization, and Google Business Profile management across all communities.
• Develop and execute a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategy so Kairos properties surface well in AI-powered search and assistant queries.
• Ensure ILS listings are optimized for each platform's search algorithm and translate search behavior changes into practical improvements.

• Serve as internal owner of the Kairos Living website, responsible for content accuracy, SEO health, and user experience.
• Lead a…