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What is a senior director of marketing and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Tobias Sellier,
Richard Tate
introduction image

The role of a senior director of marketing, or marketing director, varies slightly between organizations. However, they are responsible for maintaining the image and consistency of the organization's marketing campaigns. These professionals focus on the big-picture marketing strategy and oversee the operation of the marketing team. Marketing managers are different from marketing directors because managers focus on the day-to-day marketing activities.

Marketing directors are responsible for conducting market research, evaluating current product demand, and creating a company strategy. In some firms, the marketing director may also be involved in developing advertising campaigns and assigning them to various media outlets.

Marketing managers have various educational backgrounds. A bachelor's degree in marketing or business is a great base. Many of these professionals also have an MBA and undergo other marketing-related courses.

What general advice would you give to a senior director of marketing?

Tobias SellierTobias Sellier LinkedIn profile

Senior Director, American Public Power Association

There are exciting opportunities to work for community-owned, not-for-profit, hometown public power. From engineers and customer service representatives to lineworkers and administrative professionals, there are many opportunities. And utility employees, being essential workers, even during these challenging times, there are still many jobs that will need to be filled.
ScoreSenior Director Of MarketingUS Average
Salary
9.2

Avg. Salary $159,916

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 42.06%

male 57.94%

Age - 38
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38
Stress level
7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Senior director of marketing career paths

Key steps to become a senior director of marketing

  1. Explore senior director of marketing education requirements

    Most common senior director of marketing degrees

    Bachelor's

    75.4 %

    Master's

    18.8 %

    Associate

    3.1 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior director of marketing skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Digital Marketing19.26%
    Email Marketing6.68%
    SR6.65%
    Integrated Marketing4.10%
    Marketing Campaigns3.84%
  3. Complete relevant senior director of marketing training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior directors of marketing learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior director of marketing based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior director of marketing resumes.
  4. Research senior director of marketing duties and responsibilities

    • Architect EMEA demand creation/direct response model to manage and measure sales pipeline.
    • Create and lead WW standard deployment of marketing tools for EMEA and APAC.
    • Manage and initiate the development of first marketing department for regional start-up healthcare chain.
    • Lead support of marketing programs for the dealer partner channel co-op programs, MDF and advertising campaigns.
  5. Get senior director of marketing experience

    Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become a senior director of marketing. The most common roles before becoming a senior director of marketing include marketing director, marketing manager team lead and senior manager of marketing.
  6. Prepare your senior director of marketing resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior director of marketing resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior director of marketing resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior director of marketing resume templates

    Build a professional senior director of marketing resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior director of marketing resume.
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
    Senior Director Of Marketing Resume
  7. Apply for senior director of marketing jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior director of marketing job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior director of marketing job

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Average senior director of marketing salary

The average senior director of marketing salary in the United States is $159,916 per year or $77 per hour. Senior director of marketing salaries range between $112,000 and $226,000 per year.

Average senior director of marketing salary
$159,916 Yearly
$76.88 hourly

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How do senior directors of marketing rate their job?

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Senior director of marketing reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019
Pros

Overseeing printing For direct mail. Packaging design Developing hot mail list.

Cons

Unreasonable deadlines.


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A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019
Cons

I do think that depending on where you are employed some companies are not accustomed as to how involved a content department should be. Oftentimes it's either completely dead or pure chaos with workload. I think content director should be given larger authorities, teams and say regarding strategy. Oftentimes, they are overlooked due to old-school employees assuming they're glorified proofreaders or the grammar people.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019
Pros

Autonomy, relationship biolding

Cons

Meetings needs of all parties can be difficult but good negotiation helps!


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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