Startup Growth & Campaign Manager

About the Role: Zendesk for Startups helps early-stage companies build exceptional customer experiences from day one by providing the AI-first customer service technology, resources, and support they need to scale. We’re looking for a strategic, hands-on Startup Growth & Campaign Manager who owns end-to-end funnel execution for the Zendesk for Startups program. In this role, you will bridge top-of-funnel acquisition with mid-funnel activation, designing and executing integrated marketing campaigns that attract startup founders, drive qualified program applications, and nurture admitted accounts through product onboarding, go-live, and paid subscription conversion. You are an equal parts growth marketer, creative storyteller, and lifecycle operator. You know how to launch compelling top-of-funnel campaigns across paid, organic, partner, and community channels to capture founder mindshare, while simultaneously building the mid-funnel nurture tracks, founder-centric content, and automated customer journeys required to turn trial accounts into active, high-value Zendesk users. You leverage AI to work nimbly—accelerating creative development, copy production, audience testing, and workflow automation. You deeply understand what motivates early-stage teams and can build end-to-end campaign motions that speak authentically to founders, accelerate Zendesk AI adoption, and deliver measurable revenue impact. What You’ll Do: Drive End-to-End Campaign Strategy & Execution Own the Full-Funnel Campaign Engine: Strategy, execution, and optimization of multi-channel marketing campaigns designed to reach, engage, and convert startup founders at every stage—from first touch through program application, product deployment, and paid conversion. Top-of-Funnel Demand Generation: Launch targeted acquisition campaigns across paid channels (search, social, display), organic social, SEO/AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), ABM, startup communities (e.g., Reddit, Product Hunt), and VC co-marketing partnerships to drive qualified traffic and program applications. Mid-Funnel Activation & Nurture: Design and run mid-funnel campaign streams, targeted email nurtures, retargeting sequences, and behavioral triggers that keep admitted founders engaged throughout their extended trial runway and push accounts to reach official go-live milestones. Founder-Centric Copywriting & Content: Write authentic, high-converting copy across ad assets, campaign briefs, landing pages, founder playbooks, customer spotlights, webinar abstracts, and email workflows tailored to startup operators and CX leaders. Deliver Mid-Funnel Programming & Product Activation Digital Programming & Virtual Events: Conceptualize and host founder-focused workshops, virtual webinars, AI immersion sessions, and product deep-dives that guide startups through workspace setup and rapid deployment of Zendesk AI capabilities (e.g., AI Agents, Copilot, omnichannel routing). Segmented Campaign Motions: Build differentiated campaign tracks tailored to high-value T0/T1 VC-backed startup portfolios versus high-volume self-serve segments, ensuring high-conviction accounts receive targeted touchpoints and executive engagement. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Run PLG experiments, landing page optimizations, messaging tests, and friction-reduction initiatives in partnership with web, product, and analytics teams to improve funnel conversion at every step. What You Bring 6+ years of experience in growth marketing, demand generation, lifecycle marketing, product marketing, or performance marketing—ideally in B2B SaaS, high-growth technology, or a startup-focused business. Experience marketing to founders, startup operators, or SMB audiences. Demonstrated experience driving acquisition through a mix of paid, organic, content, events, ABM, and digital channels. Strong campaign ownership skills, with experience taking programs from initial strategy through launch, reporting, and