Digital Acquisition Specialist

Virginia Information Technologies Agency•Richmond, VA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

For more than three decades, the Virginia Lottery has worked to build a strong reputation, one synonymous with providing fun, entertaining experiences and doing so responsibly and with integrity. Proceeds from traditional Lottery games support K-12 public education in Virginia. Taxes generated by sports wagering and casino gaming, which are regulated by the Lottery, benefit other priorities of the Commonwealth. The Virginia Lottery is currently seeking a Digital Acquisition Specialist to join our Marketing Department. The Digital Acquisition Specialist is primarily responsible for driving acquisition of new players by planning, designing, executing, and reporting on in-house digital advertising initiatives and the iLottery Affiliate Program, with responsibilities distributed across these two core acquisition channels. These efforts support acquisition strategies and priorities established by the CRM & Loyalty Manager. In-house digital advertising responsibilities focus on driving new player registrations and Rewards program enrollment through paid digital media across Meta and Google platforms. The Affiliate Program supports player acquisition through a growing mix of digital promotions, promotional code strategies, and retail collaboration initiatives, and leverages vendor platforms to create campaigns designed to expand reach and performance across affiliate partners. The role also provides limited support for CRM and Loyalty initiatives, as needed, to assist with broader acquisition, retention, and winback objectives. In addition, the Digital Acquisition Specialist is responsible for designing, executing, and reporting on ad hoc digital advertising or affiliate-related projects as assigned. by the CRM & Loyalty Manager. This position requires strong attention to detail and analytical rigor, with responsibilities that include audience segmentation and targeting, performance reporting against goals, benchmarks, and KPIs, budget management for digital advertising efforts, and operational ownership of affiliate program execution.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited 4-year college with major studies in Marketing, Communication, Business or related field required.
4+ years of experience in digital advertising, customer acquisition strategies, and vendor management.
Proficient use of web and campaign analytics tools, including Google Analytics (GA4 preferred) and Outflink dashboard, to analyze traffic, conversion funnels, and acquisition performance; ability to translate data into actionable insights.
Hands-on experience managing paid digital advertising platforms, including Meta Ads Manager and Google Ads, with responsibility for campaign execution, optimization, and performance reporting.
Direct experience managing affiliate marketing programs and affiliate platforms.
Experience developing, implementing, and optimizing user acquisition strategies, including data-driven optimization.
Solid technical and functional knowledge across digital channels, including web, mobile, paid social, paid search, affiliate marketing, and data management and analytics.
Experience using data to inform strategy, tactics, and budget allocation.
Experience managing external vendors and agency partners.
Experience with budget management
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while working across departments and functional teams and thrive within an agile, deadline-driven environment.
Strong organizational and attention-to-detail skills.
Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly document strategies, results, and recommendations.
Strong interpersonal and relationship‑building skills, including the ability to collaborate effectively with internal stakeholders and external partners.
Experience supporting digital customer engagement or CRM campaigns, including execution in marketing platforms such as Zeta or Bloomreach.
Working knowledge of creative tools (e.g., Photoshop) or experience collaborating with creative teams on digital advertising assets.
Strong communicator with the ability to present findings, strategies, plans and recommendations to leadership.
A comparable amount of training and experience may be substituted for the minimum qualifications.

Nice To Haves

Course work and/or experience in digital advertising, strategy, and design preferred.
Working knowledge in Income Access, Zeta, and Bloomreach preferred.
Lottery experience is preferred.
Experience in e-commerce with a focus on customer acquisition a plus.
Experience with conversion optimization, landing page performance, or tagging/HTML basics, preferred.
Familiarity with mobile applications, digital gaming, or digital entertainment platforms, preferred.

Responsibilities

Execute and manage in-house paid digital advertising across Meta and Google platforms, ensuring sustained in-market presence in support of online play, Rewards, and VAL acquisition objectives, in alignment with provided strategic direction.
Manage the digital advertising budget, including pacing, allocation, and optimization across paid media channels to support acquisition performance and fiscal accountability.
Develop, maintain, and publish in-house digital advertising calendar.
Apply a structured, test-and-learn approach to campaign execution and optimization, regularly evaluating platform tools, strategies, variations, and formats to support annual acquisition goals.
Ensure paid media efforts support the full marketing funnel across channels such as display, video, paid social, and search.
Collaborate with the in-house Creative Services team to develop and submit creative briefs and coordinate production of digital assets.
Produce regular reporting and for in-house advertising efforts, including weekly and monthly summaries and year-end evaluations, highlighting results, trends, and optimization recommendations.
Manage day-to-day execution of the affiliate program, including setup and administration of promotional mechanics such as promo codes, QR codes, and custom URLs to support partner-specific campaigns.
Support growth of the retail affiliate program by actively recruiting and onboarding new partners in collaboration with the Business Development Team (BDT) and by identifying new opportunities to expand participation.
Partner with internal stakeholders to develop and implement affiliate-specific program components that align with acquisition objectives.
Maintain ongoing relationships with affiliate partners to support current campaigns and identify future collaboration opportunities.
Monitor affiliate performance and provide regular reporting and analysis.
Manage the day-to-day relationship with external digital advertising vendors, providing guidance on campaign priorities, execution planning, and performance expectations.
Develop and maintain campaign schedules to support timely launches, coordination across channels, and alignment with overall marketing and acquisition objectives.
Coordinate with internal Creative Services to ensure delivery of approved creative assets to vendors.
Oversee vendor-related advertising budgets, including allocation by campaign and channel, spend monitoring, and performance alignment.
Review campaign results with vendors and collaborate on optimization strategies to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and return on investment.
Serve as liaison between vendors and internal teams.
Provide support for engagement initiatives as needed, including coordination of GROW engagement activities within Zeta.
Lead management and coordination of creative materials for the quarterly Playbook.
Assist with execution of CRM campaigns within Zeta and Bloomreach, as needed.