Associate Vice President Marketing

Job description

**Designation - Senior Marketing Leader/AVP -- Online Programs (India)** **Business Unit - Higher Education** **Department - Marketing** **Experience Range - 10 - 16 years** **Location - Bengaluru, Karnataka** **About upGrad:** upGrad is one of India's leading higher edtech platforms, serving**millions of learners across 100 countrie**s with strong university and industry partnerships. With a mission to enable career success through outcome-driven learning, upGrad is now building its next growth engine focused on undergraduate learners across India. **Core Objectives:** **Launch. Scale. Build Brand. Drive Revenue.** This is not a visibility-focused marketing role. This is a high-impact, P\&L-owning leadership position responsible for building and scaling online programs in India. **This role requires:** * Non-linear, first-principles marketing thinking. * Deep 360° marketing exposure (brand performance lifecycle). * Strong commercial ownership of pipeline and revenue. **What You Will Own:** **1. Program Launch \& Go-to-Market** * Lead GTM strategy for new online programs (UG, PG, Executive). * Define positioning, ICPs, messaging architecture, and pricing narratives. * Build integrated launch plans across digital, brand, and partnerships. **2. Growth \& Revenue Accountability** * Own funnel metrics end-to-end: Leads → MQL → Applications → Enrollments → Revenue * Drive both volume and quality of leads. * Optimize CAC, ROI, and channel mix. * Work closely with Admissions \& Sales to maximize conversion efficiency. This is not just a marketing visibility role, thi**s is a business P\&L-impacting role.** **3. 360° Marketing Leadership** You must be equally comfortable with: **Brand Marketing** * Building salience and long-term brand equity. * Designing high-impact campaigns (digital-first, community-led, PR-driven) * Crafting thought leadership narratives. * Building credibility in the online degree space. **Performance Marketing** * Deep understanding of Meta, Google, YouTube, Affiliates, SEO. * Media planning, budget allocation, experimentation framework. * Funnel optimization and attribution models. * Scaling campaigns without compromising efficiency. **4. Non-Linear Growth Thinking** * Identify unconventional growth levers beyond paid media. * Community-led acquisition. * Strategic partnerships. * Masterclasses, webinars, referral engines. * Influencer ecosystems. * Owned media channels (YouTube, Instagram, etc.) We are looking for someone who doesn't default to "increase spend" as the only growth lever. **5. Team \& Agency Leadership** * Build and scale an in-house marketing team. * Manage creative, media, and digital agencies. * Establish execution rigor and performance dashboards. * Drive accountability and speed across teams. **What Success Looks Like** * Strong program launches with measurable enrollment impact. * Sustainable CAC across cohorts. * Improved brand recall in the online degree category. * Marketing that drives pipeline predictably, not episodically. * A team that moves fast and thinks strategically. **Who You Are** * 10 years of marketing experience, with at least 4 years in a leadership role. * Strong **exposure to both brand and performance marketing.** * Proven track record of scaling India-focused businesses (EdTech experience preferred). * Demonstrated experience in program or product launches. * Strong commercial orientation - understands revenue, margins, and cohort economics. * Experience working closely with Sales / Admissions teams. * Ability to operate both strategically and hands-on. **Ideal Profile** * Experience in higher education programs / EdTech / consumer internet. * Built a category or scaled a new vertical from early stage. * Comfortable in high-growth, high-accountability environments. * Data-driven with strong creative instincts. * Thinks in systems, not just campaigns.