Senior Manager, Marketing Operations

Zendesk • Austin, TX

48d • Hybrid

About The Position

As a pivotal leader within Zendesk's Marketing Operations team, the Senior Manager, Marketing Operations will drive business growth & MarTech maturity. This role is focused on scaling and innovating - experimenting boldly with new ideas, piloting cutting-edge approaches, and continually refining our lead funnel processes to maximize business impact. Reporting to the Director of Marketing Operations, you will lead a small, agile team responsible for managing and optimizing lead flow from creation through MQL qualification and seamless routing to our SDRs, BDRs, and AEs. You'll coach and inspire your team to connect their daily work to broader business goals, while embracing a hands-on approach when details demand it. Collaboration and clear communication with marketers, xDRs, and cross-functional stakeholders will be key as you accelerate Zendesk's pipeline growth through data-driven experimentation and operational excellence.

Requirements

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to coach, mentor, and engage a small team towards shared goals.
• A hands-on mindset that welcomes rolling up your sleeves to tackle complex challenges alongside your team.
• Exceptional communication skills, able to clearly articulate plans, insights, and impacts to diverse stakeholders.
• Collaborative spirit and a customer-centric approach to working with marketers, SDRs, BDRs, and other cross-functional teams.
• Strategic and analytical thinker with the ability to translate data into meaningful business outcomes.
• Comfort with experimentation, piloting new ideas, iterating based on feedback, and driving continuous improvement.
• Deep understanding of marketing operations, especially lead funnel management and marketing technology ecosystems.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field.
• 7+ years in Marketing Operations or related roles, with demonstrable leadership experience managing teams.
• Hands-on expertise with Marketo, LeanData, 6sense, and Salesforce.com (SFDC).
• Proven track record in owning and optimizing lead funnel processes from creation to routing.
• Strong analytical skills paired with experience communicating complex data insights clearly to stakeholders.
• Experience fostering collaboration across marketing, sales, and revenue operations teams.
• Demonstrated ability to drive process improvements and innovation in fast-paced, growth-oriented environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and mentor a specialized Marketing Operations team, balancing strategic leadership with hands-on execution.
• Own and continuously optimize the end-to-end lead funnel lifecycle, including lead creation, MQL qualification, scoring, and routing to SDRs and BDRs.
• Champion a culture of experimentation by piloting new processes and technologies, actively gathering feedback from marketers and xDRs to iterate and enhance lead operations.
• Collaborate closely with marketing, sales, and revenue operations leaders to align lead management efforts with broader business objectives.
• Translate complex funnel data and metrics into clear, actionable insights and communicate results effectively to stakeholders at all levels.
• Inspire your team to understand the "why" behind their work, fostering analytical thinking that drives smart decision-making.
• Manage and enhance critical marketing technology platforms including Marketo, LeanData, 6sense, and Salesforce.com (SFDC), ensuring system scalability and robustness.
• Develop and implement best practices, process frameworks, and playbooks that enable scalable growth and consistent operational efficiency.
• Partner with data and analytics teams to maintain data hygiene and evolve lead scoring and routing models based on ongoing analysis.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Industry: Publishing Industries
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees