Director of Audience Development

Emerald is seeking a dynamic and results-oriented Director of Audience Development to lead the growth strategy for our diverse portfolio of event and content brands. This is a leadership role for a strategic thinker who is passionate about building engaging and retaining audiences. You will be the central force driving our audience acquisition and engagement engine overseeing a multi-channel strategy designed for significant and measurable growth. The successful candidate will demonstrate deep expertise coupled with strong execution skills.

Working closely with Emeralds brand marketing and editorial teams you will own the full funnel audience journey from initial awareness to brand loyalty. This position requires a transformative data-driven leader who can scale a sophisticated growth machine by integrating SEO/AEO/GEO organic social performance marketing content development and advanced email/CRM strategies. If you are an expert at turning analytics into action and are experienced managing both on and offshore teams we want to hear from you.

This position will be based in our Alpharetta GA office.

As the Director of Audience Development you will own a comprehensive strategy to expand our reach and deepen engagement across all platforms. The successful candidate will:

• Manage specialized teams including offshore resources - responsible for the execution of Emeralds brand marketing audience strategy.
• Oversee successful deployment of agentic audience and attendee solutions
• Oversee collection integration and activation of first-party audience data across events media and digital channels to drive acquisition retention and monetization strategies.
• Lead SEO/AEO/GEO to capture intent and capitalize on organic traffic by creating unknown to known journeys. Keep up to date on the rapid developments in this space.
• Inform organic social media strategy transforming our channels into key sources of audience engagement and acquisition.
• Lead attribution tracking and accountability data & measurement.

Requirements:

• 6-8 years of progressive experience in audience development growth marketing or a related field.
• A proven track record of significant audience growth with demonstrable wins in both SEO and Email.
• Direct experience managing performance media budgets across multiple channels.
• Deep expertise with marketing automation and CRM platforms (e.g. HubSpot Marketo).
• Mastery of the modern analytics stack including GA4 BI tools (PowerBI) and Customer Data Platforms (CDPs).
• Extensive experience designing and executing marketing experiments including A/B testing and incrementality studies.
• Strong understanding of data privacy regulations and best practices for compliant data collection and usage.
• Leadership skills with a history of building mentoring and inspiring high-performing teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in both B2B and B2C marketing environments.
• Background in events agency media or publishing industries.
• Hands-on experience with BI report interpretation.

About Emerald

At Emerald we strive to foster a diverse and inclusive community. We actively recruit and champion candidates who bring new perspectives from varied professional backgrounds and experiences and we are intentional about ensuring a positive hiring experience for everyone. Our job postings dont contain experience inflation and most dont require college degrees. Instead theyre crafted to focus on outcomes and transferable experiences that are assessed in a structured interview process carried out by trained hiring teams.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Target Compensation: $125000

Please note that this range reflects a reasonable estimate of the target compensation for this position. This range may ultimately vary based on a candidates qualifications and may be higher where required by applicable law.

We offer a competitive benefits package designed to strengthen our employees physical and mental health including unlimited vacation for exempt employees flexible working locations 401(k) plan with a company match medical/dental/vision coverage with inclusive provisions including transgender services and fertility benefits parental and caregiver leave dependent commuter and FSA benefits professional development programs like Toastmasters and mental wellness tools.

If you need accommodation in our application process or have questions about our posted salary range please email our Talent Acquisition team at

Required Experience:

Director