ventureLAB INNOVATION CENTRE
o/a ventureLAB
Director, Marketing — Job ID 202301
Full-time, Permanent
Position Profile
About ventureLAB
ventureLAB is a not-for-profit leading global founder community for hardware technology and enterprise software companies in Canada. Our organization is led by seasoned entrepreneurs and business leaders with decades of industry experience in building IP-rich start-ups, scale-ups, and global multinationals to help businesses scale. Located at the heart of Ontario’s innovation corridor in York Region, ventureLAB is part of one of the biggest and most diverse tech communities in Canada. Since 2011, ventureLAB has enabled over 2,000 tech ventures to create over 4,000 jobs and raise more than $200 million in investment capital through our initiatives focused on raising capital, talent retention, technology and IP commercialization, and customer acquisition. Together with our community of entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and partners, we enable technology startups to accelerate the commercialization of transformational products on a global scale. ventureLAB is home to the Hardware Catalyst Initiative — Canada’s only lab and incubator for hardware and semiconductor-focused companies. At ventureLAB, we grow globally competitive tech titans that build-to-scale in Canada — for global markets.
Our Mission
We grow globally competitive tech titans that build-to-scale in Canada.
Our Vision
Born Global. Built to Scale. Inclusive by Design. Inspire a new generation of global founders who choose Canada to scale IP-rich tech titans creating innovative hardware and scale-ready enterprise software solutions that transform communities and establish a blueprint for a more sustainable, inclusive tech ecosystem.
Our Values — Team RIVIR
- Relentless: We are tenacious, resilient, resourceful, and open-minded. We follow through and remove barriers so others can succeed.
- Inclusive: We embrace diverse opinions, ideas, and perspectives to make better decisions. We empower each other to do better, we are positive, and we do not judge ourselves or others.
- Visionary: We inspire a prosperous future predicated on diversity and inclusivity for our clients, partners, and community.
- Innovative: We ensure everyone is able to contribute to new innovative ideas and strategies. We are curious and ask questions for clarity.
- Results-Driven: We are proactive and decisive. We do what we say we will do. We are accountable. We have fact-based discussions and challenge each other respectfully.
The Opportunity
ventureLAB is seeking a Director, Marketing to boldly lead the strategy, development, and execution of ventureLAB’s marketing activities, including but not limited to brand, marketing materials, campaigns, and digital engagement (websites, digital marketing, social media) during an exciting time of rapid growth and expansion.
The Director will report to the VP, Marketing & Partnerships, and work collaboratively and cross-functionally with other departments to elevate ventureLAB’s brand(s) and support the organization’s business priorities.
About You:
- Part strategist, part hands-on tactician, you can conceptualize, lead, or implement — whatever the situation requires.
- You’re a self-initiating team player, motivated and driven to seek out new challenges in an evolving, fast-paced environment. You bring a passionate, positive approach with a customer-first, results-oriented mindset.
- You are analytical and have hands-on experience implementing digital marketing strategies. You love digging into facts and data. You know how to manage a budget effectively.
- You enjoy collaborating with others and can communicate effectively. You build relationships, motivate and generate effective action from all levels of the organization.
- You are a critical thinker who can get things done in the immediate term while planning for the future.
- You are a creative storyteller, able to connect people with our brand, build narratives around ventureLAB’s products and client companies by creating compelling content experiences across our digital channels.
- You are passionate about brand development and you know how to gatekeep a brand effectively.
What You’ll Do:
Marketing Strategy & Planning
- Develops, leads, and executes annual marketing strategy and planning activities in collaboration with department heads that will ensure the organization meets business plan objectives and priorities including growth, operational and partner targets.
- Supports the VP in developing the organization's brand, communications and growth strategies and develops executable plans to successfully deliver the planned outcomes, including planning, execution, and optimization of specific marketing campaigns.
- Grow and champion the ventureLAB brand, and the individual stand-alone brand identities within such as the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, as Canada's thought leader, voice, and expert in hardware technology, elevating the organizational reputation on local, regional, national, and global levels.
- Leads the go-to-market strategies for new and existing programs and services.
- Establishes a measurement and evaluation framework for marketing, capturing stakeholder feedback and identifying actionable insights to further support the organization’s strategic priorities.
- Develop and execute social media strategy, and grow and enhance ventureLAB’s digital presence across all channels, including website (incl. leveraging SEO, UX, etc.).
- Collaborate with the Manager, Campaign Marketing to develop and lead content strategy: optimize written content, video, graphic, photography, etc. to drive business results.
- Deliver high-quality, cohesive brand, positioning, and value propositions across all channels.
Performance Marketing & Operations
- Oversees the development and execution of marketing campaigns, plans, and approaches to reach and engage with multiple audiences.
- Supports the development and maintenance of ventureLAB’s digital presence including websites, social media channels and other public-facing digital assets from a marketing and communications perspective, including content strategy.
- Supports the development and roll out of new initiatives, programs, and partnerships from a marketing perspective.
- Develop new brands for net-new programs, and gatekeep/rebrand existing programs as needed.
- Synchronize all marketing and communications activities and calendars in collaboration with department heads
- Source and manage vendors/agencies to drive marketing activities (e.g., website development, freelance writing, video production, etc.)
- Leverage analytics to continuously improve and drive business results.
- Establish, track and assure adherence to budgets, campaign and marketing objectives and KPIs.
Team Management and Development
- Leads and mentors direct reports, developing team members to advance their areas of expertise and ensure they have the requisite skills to form part of a high-performance team.
- Creates opportunities for individual and team feedback and support with open communication, providing coaching and guidance as needed.
Budget Management
- Manage, monitor, and optimize marketing budget and report variances.
- Establishes benchmarks and monitors cost effectiveness of key activities (e.g. cost per lead, conversion, web performance).
Qualifications
- Minimum 5-7 years equivalent experience working in marketing, communications, or a related field
- Strong leadership skills with a demonstrated ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, as well as with external stakeholders
- Outstanding interpersonal, communication, active listening, and presentation skills
- Experience in developing and executing all forms of digital and traditional communications. Technical proficiency with platforms such as Sprout Social, Mailchimp, Eventbrite, Canva preferred.
- Proficiency with Google Suite, Google Analytics, Adobe Creative Suite, Wordpress (or similar) preferred.
- Solid competency in measuring performance of marketing and communications strategies, including digital, social media and websites, with direct experience owning or driving organic and paid digital channels (SEO, SEM, social) as well as email efforts.
- Strong project management skills with an ability to manage a diverse range of projects and adjust to changing priorities in an ever-evolving work environment while maintaining high efficiency and thorough attention to detail.
- Team player who can also work independently, with an excellent track record of success in matrixed, fast-paced environments.
- Familiarity with Ontario’s innovation ecosystem and/or tech sector an asset
- Demonstrated interest in innovation, technology, and/or entrepreneurship
- Alignment with the ventureLAB mission, vision, and culture
How to Apply
Apply by Tuesday, February 28 2023 to hr@venturelab.ca quoting “Director, Marketing – Job ID 202301” in the subject line. Include your resume, salary expectations, 3 samples of your work or a link to your portfolio, and a brief note telling us why you’d be a great addition to the ventureLAB team. Early submissions are encouraged as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
In addition to salary, ventureLAB offers a comprehensive benefits package, learning and development opportunities, 4 weeks vacation, and 2 weeks holiday time in December.
At ventureLAB, we value diversity, inclusion, and respect. Diverse experience, perspectives, and backgrounds bring great ideas and create stronger teams — we embrace it, because we know that by including everyone, we all thrive. Accommodations are available on request for candidates with disabilities taking part in the recruitment process.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only qualified candidates will be contacted.
