Director of Performance and Optimization

The Pork Checkoff is looking for a Director of Performance & Optimization to help the Communications team better understand what is working, what audiences need, and how digital channels can perform more effectively.

About the role

In this role, you will lead analytics, optimization, SEO, and AI discoverability strategy across owned digital channels, including web, email, landing pages, and nurture experiences. You will turn audience behavior, search trends, and performance data into clear insights that help improve content effectiveness, audience engagement, and communications outcomes. This role serves as the Communications team’s audience intelligence engine and is ideal for someone who enjoys connecting data, strategy, and storytelling to help teams make smarter decisions and create more useful audience experiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead audience measurement, segmentation, and analytics across owned digital channels.
• Help teams use performance data to make informed decisions across web, email, landing pages, and nurture experiences.
• Own SEO and AI discoverability strategy, including search intent analysis, keyword insights, and organic visibility.
• Optimize content and digital experiences for AI-generated search results, answer engines, and large language model discoverability.
• Build and manage experimentation programs across journeys, landing pages, calls to action, and engagement pathways.
• Design tests, analyze results, and turn findings into practical recommendations.
• Define digital performance KPIs and reporting standards that align with Communications and organizational goals.
• Establish tagging, measurement, and data quality standards across CRM, analytics, and digital engagement systems.
• Translate audience and performance insights into clear recommendations for leadership, stakeholders, and content teams.
• Identify discoverability opportunities, engagement trends, and performance improvement priorities.
• Support privacy-conscious first-party data practices that help improve communications effectiveness.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Analytics, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• 8+ years of experience in digital analytics, optimization, SEO, performance marketing, audience intelligence, or lifecycle analytics.
• Experience owning or significantly contributing to measurement frameworks, audience insights programs, or digital performance strategies.
• Significant HubSpot experience, including reporting, segmentation, campaign analytics, dashboards, and lifecycle performance measurement.
• Advanced experience with Google Analytics 4, including event-based measurement, conversion tracking, audience segmentation, reporting, and attribution modeling.
• Experience using analytics and executive reporting tools such as Looker Studio, Power BI, or similar platforms.
• Ability to translate complex data into clear, useful, and decision-ready insights.
• Experience applying SEO, AI discoverability, search behavior, and digital performance optimization strategies.
• Understanding of AI-generated search results, answer engine optimization, and large language model discoverability (AEO/GEO).
• Experience building analytics frameworks, optimization programs, and structured experimentation strategies.
• Experience with first-party audience data strategy and data governance practices, including CRM-connected data quality, tagging standards, and reporting consistency.
• Demonstrated ability to use audience and performance data to influence strategy and improve communications outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with behavioral analytics platforms such as Hotjar or similar tools.
• Experience using discoverability and search intelligence platforms such as Semrush or similar tools.
• Experience with personalization systems, audience scoring, or advanced segmentation approaches.
• Experience with attribution modeling and CRM-connected audience measurement.
• Experience in agriculture, trade associations, membership organizations, or other information-driven nonprofit environments.

Schedule

• Hybrid schedule (at least 3 days per week) in the Clive, Iowa office preferred; remote candidates may be considered.
• Approximately 10-15% travel required.

Pay

Full-time starting salary range is $115-$145K. Individual salary decisions take into account factors including business and local market considerations, internal equity, and overall candidate skills, education, and experience.

Benefits

The National Pork Board offers an exceptional benefits package and work environment.

About the organization

The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion, and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety, and environmental management. Applicants should be able to support the mission of the organization with enthusiasm to serve U.S. pork producers.