Director of Marketing Strategy & Growth

At Ave Maria Press, our work is about more than books—we exist to set hearts on fire through content that forms, inspires, and serves the Church. Ave Maria Press is seeking a Director of Marketing Strategy & Growth to help shape the next stage of growth for one of the country's most established Catholic publishers.

We're looking for a creative, curious, growth-oriented marketing leader who sees opportunity in change. This person will be both strategic and hands-on, someone who generates ideas but also knows how to make them happen.

This is a senior leadership role for someone who understands audiences, books, content, media, and what makes people pay attention. The right person will combine strong marketing instincts with an entrepreneurial mindset—continually bringing new ideas, identifying opportunities, experimenting, building relationships, and finding ways for Ave's books, authors, and mission to reach more people and set hearts on fire.

The Director of Marketing Strategy & Growth will lead a team of marketing professionals as well as work in close partnership with Ave's Director of Marketing Operations and Digital Performance. Together, they ensure Ave can both create demand and turn that demand into lasting relationships with our audiences.

• Help develop and lead Ave's marketing and growth strategy.
• Maintain a deep understanding of the Catholic publishing and media landscape, competitors, consumer behavior, emerging platforms, and cultural trends.
• Identify new audiences, market opportunities, partnerships, channels, and growth initiatives.
• Bring ideas proactively and turn the strongest opportunities into action.
• Establish and be accountable for achieving established marketing KPIs—including revenue growth, campaign performance, audience and customer growth, and return on marketing investment—using performance insights to continually refine strategy and resource allocation

• Lead positioning, messaging, audience strategy, and go-to-market planning for priority books and publishing initiatives.
• Develop creative, integrated campaigns built around the specific audience and opportunity for each project.
• Develop campaign ideas capable of breaking through a crowded media environment.
• Partner with Ave's digital marketing and operations team to translate strategy into effective digital, email, ecommerce, social, and paid campaigns.
• Use results and audience insights to continually improve marketing strategy.

• Build strong relationships with Ave authors and serve as a strategic marketing partner.
• Help authors understand and grow their audiences, strengthen their platforms, develop compelling content, and connect more effectively with readers.
• Identify opportunities to extend successful authors and ideas beyond an individual book.
• Partner with Editorial during acquisitions and development to assess audience, positioning, platform, competitive environment, and market opportunity.

• Lead Ave's approach to publicity, earned media, creators, influencers, and strategic content.
• Build relationships with Catholic and Christian media, creators, ministries, clergy, thought leaders, organizations, and other potential partners.
• Develop strategies for using social, video, creators, and emerging platforms to increase discovery.
• Identify opportunities to transform Ave's books and intellectual property into compelling content that reaches audiences beyond the book itself.

• Identify and develop strategic partnerships that can significantly expand Ave's audience, impact, or revenue.
• Explore new products, formats, content opportunities, audiences, and business models.
• Develop…