Lead, Lifecycle Marketing - Growth & Acquisition

Upwork Inc.’s (Nasdaq: UPWK) family of companies connects businesses with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent work type including freelance, fractional, and payrolled. This portfolio includes the Upwork Marketplace, which connects businesses with on-demand access to highly skilled talent across the globe, and Lifted, which provides a purpose-built solution for enterprise organizations to source, contract, manage, and pay talent across the full spectrum of contingent work. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, businesses rely on Upwork Inc. to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, the Upwork family of companies enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond.

Since its founding, Upwork Inc. has facilitated more than $30 billion in total transactions and services as it fulfills its purpose to create opportunity in every era of work. Learn more about the Upwork Marketplace at Upwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X; and learn more about Lifted at Go-Lifted and follow on LinkedIn.

Lifecycle Marketing is a horizontal team that shapes how we engage clients and talent across the full journey, and this role sits in our demand-side acquisition lane. We’re hiring a Lifecycle Marketing Lead, Growth & Acquisition to own high-impact lifecycle programs that help close the new-client acquisition gap through smarter demand capture and stronger engagement with SMB audiences. You’ll lead key initiatives across outbound prospecting and always-on content, translate performance signals into clear recommendations, and help shape how lifecycle marketing contributes to Upwork’s 2026 priorities. This is a senior individual contributor role for someone who can independently drive outcomes, build alignment across functions, and advise leadership in a high-visibility area.

Responsibilities

• Lead the outbound prospecting pilot end to end, including sequencing, deliverability, vendor partnership, messaging direction, and a clear recommendation on whether and how to scale the motion.
• Own and drive lifecycle marketing strategy across a portfolio of programs, setting direction, defining success metrics, monitoring performance, and adjusting plans when results fall short.
• Set editorial and content direction across lifecycle marketing initiatives, including managing the ad hoc content calendar and supporting content marketing efforts in partnership with cross-functional teams.
• Translate program performance into clear, decision-ready narratives for leadership, surfacing insights, tradeoffs, and recommendations rather than simple status updates.
• Partner across product marketing, marketing technology, analytics, and creative to align priorities, remove blockers, and keep high-impact programs moving with clarity and momentum.
• Use data and AI-enabled tools thoughtfully to accelerate analysis, refine messaging, and improve campaign planning while maintaining sound judgment and quality standards.

What It Takes to Catch Our Eye

• Several years of lifecycle, CRM, or growth marketing experience with a track record of owning programs end to end and driving measurable business outcomes.
• Strong strategic judgment and structured thinking. You can take an ambiguous goal, define the problem and success criteria, and bring forward clear options with a recommendation.
• Fluency with modern customer engagement platforms such as Braze, Iterable, or Customer.io, plus familiarity with a customer data platform such as HighTouch or a similar tool.
• Strong storytelling and influence skills, with the ability to represent work confidently in cross-functional forums and build alignment without relying on formal authority.
• Experience using AI tools to accelerate drafting, analysis, segmentation, or planning workflows, paired with the judgment to review outputs critically and refine them for accuracy, relevance, and brand quality.
• Bonus points for experience with in-product notifications and for building programs that target SMB audiences.

Come change how the world works.

Upwork is establishing an operational hub in Toronto, Canada. The new office is expected to be fully operational by Q4 2026. This role will require 3 days in office once we have an office open.

This position will initially be employed through a partner to ensure a seamless hiring process while we establish the hub. Once the hub is established, there may be opportunities to transition to employment with Upwork, depending on business needs and other requirements. While employed by the partner, you’ll work as part of Upwork’s team, with access to our resources, culture, and growth opportunities.

Our partner will offer competitive benefits. When Upwork’s hub is established, we will be excited to offer employment and benefits directly as business needs require. 

Upwork is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law.

We use BrightHire, an AI-enabled tool, to record interviews and summarize interview transcripts. The tool allows the interviewer to focus on the discussion and does not score or evaluate candidates or make recommendations. The interview transcripts are reviewed, and decisions are only made by humans. Candidates who prefer not to have their interview recorded through BrightHire can opt out when the interview is scheduled.

To learn more about how Upwork processes and protects your personal information as part of the application process, please review our Global Job Applicant Privacy Notice and the Applicant Privacy Addendum (Canada).