Mgr, Acquisition Marketing – Direct Response _HYBRID Chicago or Carmel

CNO Financial Group, Inc.•Carmel, IN

17d•$118,600 - $178,000•Hybrid

About The Position

CNO Financial Group, Inc. is seeking a Manager, Acquisition Marketing-Direct Response to oversee the day-to-day performance, execution, and continuous improvement of direct response marketing programs aimed at driving profitable customer growth. This role is responsible for translating strategy into action across direct mail and email channels, ensuring high-quality campaign execution, and optimizing performance through data analysis, testing, and decisive decision-making. The Manager Acquisition Marketing – Direct Response will collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Analytics, and Operations teams to achieve measurable results.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, Communications or related field
7 years of relevant experience in acquisition marketing, direct response, performance marketing, or related disciplines.
Strong understanding of direct mail and/or email marketing in an acquisition context.
Highly analytical, comfortable working with performance data and making decisions from it.
Proven ability to manage multiple campaigns and priorities at once.
Strong attention to detail and execution discipline.
Comfortable pushing back and challenging assumptions when needed.
Clear and direct communicator, able to explain performance and next steps in plain English.
Demonstrates ownership mindset (acts like they own the business, not just the task).
Candidate location in Central or Eastern US time zone is preferred OR willingness to work Central or Eastern time zone business hours

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree
10 years of related work experience, including 7+ year of work experience of direct response, product marketing, or related field
Has overseen a large customer acquisition program in retail, travel, insurance, financial services, or other similar data-driven, regulated industries.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end execution and delivery of direct mail and email acquisition programs.
Own performance across leads, conversion, revenue, and cost efficiency.
Translate business objectives into clear campaign plans and priorities.
Develop and manage targeting, segmentation, and contact strategies.
Design and execute test-and-learn plans across audience, offer, and creative.
Analyze performance data and proactively drive insights and optimization.
Manage campaign timelines, dependencies, and cross-functional execution.
Partner with Marketing, Sales, Analytics, Finance, and Operations to deliver results.
Oversee external agencies and vendors to ensure quality, accuracy, and timeliness.
Own budget tracking, forecasting, and spend discipline tied to performance outcomes.
Identify risks, remove blockers, and ensure consistent program delivery.
Lead and develop team members, driving accountability and performance standards.