Head of Marketing

JMS Technical Solutions•Buffalo, NY

10d•Hybrid

About The Position

Our client in Buffalo, NY, is hiring its first marketing and go-to-market leader as a founding team member. The role owns how the product reaches customers, including positioning, launch, acquisition, activation, retention, and the bank partner channel. The title is Head of Marketing & Go-to-Market, with a path to CMO as the company scales. The role is focused primarily on consumer fintech growth during its first 18 months, while also leading a business-to-business motion with banks as needed. The leader will initially execute hands-on, using AI tools and contractors, and build an in-house team as results justify it. The consumer mandate is to take a debit rewards card from pre-launch waitlist through launch and scale, with goals including acquiring cards, lowering cost per funded card, activating direct deposit, increasing monthly spend per active card, and improving retention. The bank-channel mandate is to position the product as a rewards engine for community banks, explain its economics and fit, build partner marketing through core-provider marketplaces, and develop co-marketing programs that enroll existing bank cardholders. The role is hybrid, full-time, and direct-hire. The salary range is $200,000–$250,000, depending on experience. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. The employer is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on protected bases.

Requirements

At least 7 years in growth or marketing roles, including meaningful ownership of results.
A demonstrated consumer fintech growth record acquiring customers at scale for a card, neobank, rewards, lending, or payments product, with specific knowledge of channels, budgets, CAC, funded-account rates, and outcomes.
Understanding of card economics, including interchange, the distinction between approved and active cards, direct deposit as a retention lever, and the trade-offs between rewards earn rates and margin.
Experience launching a product from its earliest stage and finding market signal before substantial data is available.
Practical B2B go-to-market experience, such as demand generation, product marketing, or sales-led GTM, including the ability to write an effective bank-executive pitch deck.
Full-stack, hands-on ability to write briefs, build campaigns, interpret dashboards, and make adjustments.
Strong analytical foundation in funnel math, unit economics, cohort analysis, attribution, and experimentation.
Experience marketing in a regulated environment and working through compliance reviews with a bank, issuer, or network.
Hands-on familiarity with advertising platforms, marketing automation and CRM, product analytics, CMS and landing-page builders, and current AI tools.
Strong writing and storytelling skills for both consumer-facing rewards-card messaging and bank-facing presentations.
Authorization to work in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a neobank, card issuer, or rewards-focused fintech, particularly owning acquisition or lifecycle for a debit rewards card, travel card, or points program.
Travel or loyalty industry experience, such as airline or hotel programs, an online travel agency, or a points-and-miles brand; credibility with the points community is an asset.
Experience selling into or marketing to community banks and credit unions, or working with Fiserv, Jack Henry, or Q2.
Subscription or premium-tier marketing experience.
Experience in a venture studio, incubator, or zero-to-one environment.
Buffalo or Western New York ties, or a desire to build there.

Responsibilities

Own the consumer go-to-market plan, including positioning, ideal customer profile, messaging, pricing and earn-rate input, channel strategy, and launch planning from waitlist through the first 100,000 cards.
Build and operate acquisition across paid social, paid search, SEO and content, influencers and affiliates, referrals, and travel and loyalty partnerships.
Design and test the pre-launch waitlist, early-access tiers, founding-member offers, and audience and messaging signals.
Own premium-tier positioning, pricing tests, and conversion of cardholders into the AI travel concierge subscription.
Lead activation from card approval through first swipe, direct deposit setup, wallet linking, and first redemption using push, email, SMS, and in-app lifecycle marketing.
Build retention programs featuring points and travel-value visibility, deal alerts, redemption campaigns, and win-back efforts.
Partner with product on in-app marketing surfaces such as push-on-earn, balance cards, and book-travel calls to action.
Develop the bank sales narrative, including pitch decks, interchange economics materials, case studies, and objection handling for bank executives and card product managers.
Run partner marketing with Fiserv, Jack Henry, and Q2, including marketplace listings, co-marketing, and conference and event presence.
Create bank co-marketing playbooks to enroll partner banks’ existing debit cardholders and measure enrollment by bank.
Support bank outbound efforts with target lists, sequences, and content designed to secure introductory meetings.
Own brand voice and visual identity direction, card design input, creative briefs, and management of executing agencies and freelancers.
Establish marketing analytics and a board-facing monthly dashboard covering acquisition costs, activation, direct deposit, spend, lifetime value, retention, payback, and attribution.
Manage marketing compliance with the sponsor bank and card network, including claims review, disclosures, and network brand rules.
Use AI tools across content, creative, analytics, and automation to increase leverage.
Hire and manage contractors and agencies, and build the in-house team as the funnel earns it.