New Products & Marketing Innovation Director

About the role

The New Products & Marketing Innovation Director leads paid marketing for all new Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) products, including IUL and Annuities, with plans to launch additional products in the second half of 2026. Ethos is a leading life insurance technology company that aims to democratize access to life insurance and empower agents at scale. The role requires autonomous execution, strategic judgment, and deep expertise in paid marketing and new product launches.

Duties & Responsibilities

• New DTC Product Ownership: Lead paid marketing for new DTC products, including IUL and annuities, with additional products launching in H2 2026. Own the paid strategy and roadmap from pre-launch positioning through scale. Work closely with product and brand teams on positioning, creative output, and analytics.
• Autonomous Execution: Run the paid program for new products with strategic input from leadership, making calls on budget allocation, channel mix, testing roadmap, and creative direction. Propose and implement decisions without needing daily oversight.
• Cross-Channel Strategy: Lead the cross-channel strategy for new products across platforms such as Meta, Search, YouTube, TikTok, and other paid channels. Ensure that insights from one channel are immediately applied to others.

Qualifications & Skills

• Proven Track Record: Minimum of 10 years in paid marketing, with 7+ years focused on user acquisition. Experience in fintech or insurtech preferred.
• Deep Paid Marketing Experience: Expertise in Meta, Search, YouTube, and TikTok platforms. Experience leading paid marketing for new product launches or new business lines, ideally multiple times.
• Strategic Judgment: Makes informed decisions without needing to escalate frequently. Understands which trade-offs are critical and when to test new ideas.
• Strategic & Hands-On: Equally comfortable with high-level strategy and hands-on implementation. Prefers to take ownership and lead rather than manage others.
• Measurement Rigor: Strong understanding of MMM, incrementality testing, geo lift, and direct response measurement. Can distinguish between meaningful trends and noise.
• Creative Taste: Good instincts for creating effective direct response (DR) creative. Can communicate with both copywriters and data scientists.
• Operational Agility: Works independently, learns quickly, and prioritizes tasks effectively in a fast-paced startup environment. Proficient in advanced Excel and BI tools (Tableau or similar).
• Technical Proficiency: Advanced Excel skills and comfort working with analytics and engineering partners on platform requirements and measurement needs.