Marketing Manager

Lightwave Dental•Richmond, VA

About The Position

Lightwave Dental was founded in 2016, is a high-growth company building the group model for the future of the dental industry. Lightwave is passionate about doing things the right way with a tight focus on high quality, core values, and taking care of their people. Lightwave is a dental leadership organization that focuses on partnering, training and developing dentists as the natural leaders of the dental practice. Lightwave helps dentists launch their careers, supports dentists leading high-growth dental groups, and assists doctors looking to establish their legacy as they transition into retirement. Lightwave is solving the big problems in dentistry: retirement, management, reimbursements, and partnership by providing the benefits of a group while preserving the essence of private practice. Lightwave currently supports over 80 dental offices in 4 states. For additional information, please visit lightwavedental.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Regional Marketing Manager Reports to: Chief Marketing Officer Role Overview The Regional Marketing Manager is a senior, strategy-first marketing leader responsible for driving regional growth through insight-led planning, portfolio management, and business partnership. Reporting directly to the CMO, the Regional Marketing Manager serves as a strategic advisor to dental practice leadership, guiding decisions that impact patient acquisition, growth velocity, and long-term practice performance. This position is intentionally designed for experienced marketers who have outgrown executional roles and thrive in shaping direction, diagnosing performance, and influencing outcomes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Strategy, or related field
8–10+ years of progressive marketing experience with demonstrated ownership of strategy across markets or regions.
Proven ability to lead through influence and advise senior business leaders or operators.
Strong analytical orientation with experience translating performance data into strategic insights.
Experience guiding agencies and teams at a strategic direction level rather than hands-on execution.
Strategic thinking and structured problem-solving
Business and financial acumen tied to unit-level performance
Insight generation from quantitative and qualitative data
Executive-level communication and presence
Relationship-driven influence and consultative leadership
Comfort operating in ambiguity and making prioritization tradeoffs

Nice To Haves

Background in multi-location, services, healthcare, or consumer growth businesses strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the regional marketing strategy across a portfolio of approximately 16 dental practices, ensuring alignment to enterprise growth objectives and market realities.
Define strategic priorities, investment focus, and success metrics for individual practices and the region overall.
Lead annual and quarterly regional marketing planning, including demand strategy, channel prioritization, and budget allocation recommendations.
Use data, analytics, and market insights to identify growth opportunities and diagnose underperformance.
Interpret patient acquisition, conversion, and efficiency metrics to guide strategic decisions—not simply report results.
Continuously refine regional strategies based on performance trends, test-and-learn outcomes, and changing market conditions.
Build trusted, consultative relationships with practice owners and leaders, positioning marketing as a business growth lever.
Influence decision-making through insight, perspective, and business acumen without direct authority.
Balance portfolio consistency with local market nuance through strategic frameworks and guardrails.
Set strategic direction for internal teams, shared services, and external agencies to ensure execution aligns to outcomes.
Partner with operations, finance, analytics, and growth teams to integrate marketing strategy into broader business planning.
Lead go-to-market strategy for new practice launches and acquisitions, including growth ramp planning.
Own regional marketing investment strategy and evaluate ROI to reprioritize spend based on opportunity.
Establish best practices and decision frameworks that elevate marketing effectiveness across the region.