Director, Experiential Marketing
Volterra
At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation.
Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive.
At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation.
Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to improve our customers' and their customers' lives. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where every individual can thrive.
Position Summary
The Director, Experiential Marketing for the Experiential Marketing organization leads a talented team of event and customer briefing center managers, creating extraordinary experiences for our customers, partners, and employees while contributing directly to the financial success of our company with an intentional focus on being customer-centric. This leader will work closely with key stakeholders across the business to design consistent and engaging hosted and sponsored experiences worldwide. This leader will oversee the management of our state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center (CEC), accelerating sales through deep customer engagements. Equally motivated by creative excellence, audience needs, and ROI, this leader will transform F5 experiential programs.
This position requires tight collaboration and functional interlocks across executive leadership, Sales, Product, Business Development, Worldwide Integrated Marketing, Brand Strategy, Creative Studio, Analyst Relations, Communications and Public Relations, Theaters, and the Growth and Demand teams. This role will manage two distinct functions and associated teams within Experiential Marketing, including the team managing the Seattle CEC and the team executing hosted and sponsored global events. This role will oversee the management of key global agency partners and vendors.
We are looking for a leader who thinks strategically about customer experiences, creating high-impact touchpoints throughout the customer journey to achieve business results. This person deeply understands global events and customer briefings, inspires cross-team participation, builds strong talent benches, leads, and guides their team to deliver programs on schedule, on brand, and within budget.
Responsibilities:
You are Strategic. Creative. Analytical. Organized. An Influencer and Advocate. Dynamic. Data-driven. You are a strategic thinker at your core and a fearless leader who can bring the best out of teams and peers. You know how to push without being pushy and thrive in complex environments. You have a passion for high-impact customer experiences grounded in creative excellence and business objectives, with solid experience in global event execution, customer briefings, and agency management. You will spearhead the new F5 Experiential Events and Program strategy, introducing the world to the new F5. You will provide leadership and direction for F5's Experiential programs around the world.
You will lead the "Reimagine and Transform F5 Events and Programs" mission.
To do this you will have a player/coach role leading teams to achieve the following:
- Build and drive a new Experiential Marketing strategy, From our annual flagship event to hosted events worldwide that bring the best of F5 to each region. A robust portfolio of in-person, hybrid, interactive experiences that foster trust in our brand, build relationships, and create community with our customers and partners.
- Measurement & Insights: Define, track, and meet/exceed the events operational and business impact metrics. Develop and apply comprehensive operational standards, and act as key advisor to the team and other stakeholders to ensure delivery on the event goals and optional business outcomes for F5.
- Orchestrate strategic event communications: Achieve the audience acquisition goals with concise, effective messaging through all appropriate channels (promotion campaigns, social, paid search, print media, etc.). Manage cross-functional development, design, and execution of the event themes, targeting/promotion plans, content/speakers, customer experience, and creative elements. Ensure innovative amplification across various digital platforms and cross channels (Web, Social, etc.).
- Drive operational excellence: Develop technical requirements for tools and platforms supporting the events and our CEC, evaluate third-party providers, negotiate service level agreements, and mitigate the execution risks. Set, manage, and optimize budgets aligned to business priorities.
- Collaboration for impact: Partner across F5 to drive end-to-end connectivity across events and briefings. Develop strong relationships with cross-functional teams. Effectively lead the team, creating a positive and inspirational workplace.
- Delivery of results: Identify friction points across F5 and demonstrate the learning and value of CX—shared accountabilities for revenue growth in existing customer base. Help identify, prioritize, and resolve customer experience gaps.
- Propose and pilot new ways to organize and scale customer interactions with F5 experts and executives.
- Cultivate the community of F5 speakers who interact with customers in the Seattle CEC and at global marketing events.
- Implement scalable processes and tools to match customer engagement opportunities with the right experts and executives.
Knowledge and Skills:
- Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, including the ability to present and effectively interact with all levels of the organization.
- Ability to meet objectives through influence, facilitation, and consensus building.
- Proven Thought Leadership capabilities.
- Strong project management experience with emphasis on setting goals, budgets, and timelines, mitigating risks, and managing delivery through multiple partners and dependencies.
- Strong analytical and quantitative skills, using data to assess the program performance and objectively recognizing improvement opportunities.
- Experience with maximizing ROI, driving continuous improvements of tools and processes, raising the bar on the level of customer experience, and amplifying business impact for the company.
- Excellent oral and written skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Loves using data to make intelligent decisions
- Strong project and program management skills
- Ability to build, manage, and influence distributed teams
- Ability to work within tight deadlines, adjust to changes in priorities, and balance short-term needs with long-term strategic initiatives
- A natural problem solver who's open to experimentation and comfortable
- With a "fail fast" mentality
- Ability to interface effectively with and influence all levels of management and functional disciplines
- Expert knowledge of global events management and execution and customer briefings
Background / Experience:
Minimum of 10 years successful marketing and/or event management experience. Preferably for a high-tech Global/Fortune 1000 company.
Proven experience with hosted customer engagements and participation in third-party events (trade shows). Experience with Global events is desired.
Understanding of digital and virtual event technologies and tools that enable effective event management, attendee registration, content delivery, exhibit management, mobile experience, and managing timlines and budgets.
Success in managing and negotiating third-party contracts.
History of collaboration and teamwork across cross-functional teams that are not direct reports.
Minimum of 5 years people management
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience.
Basic understanding of the IT industry, market categories, and F5 offerings/strategy
#LI-CC1
#LI-Hybrid1
#LI-Remote1
The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.
The annual U.S. base pay range for this position is: $182,364.00 - $273,546.00F5 maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, geographic locations, and market conditions, as well as to reflect F5’s differing products, industries, and lines of business. The pay range referenced is as of the time of the job posting and is subject to change.
You may also be offered incentive compensation, bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. More details about F5’s benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.f5.com/company/careers/benefits. F5 reserves the right to change or terminate any benefit plan without notice.
Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Yello/Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com).
Equal Employment Opportunity