Director of Marketing and PR (Contract-to-Hire)

About the Outdoorsy Group

Founded in 2015, Outdoorsy Group pioneered access to the outdoors by building the world’s leading outdoor travel ecosystem. Millions of guests trust Outdoorsy to create lifelong family memories, while hosts rely on its products and innovations to grow their businesses and unlock life-changing sources of income. Outdoorsy Group’s portfolio includes Outdoorsy.com, the largest outdoor travel and hospitality marketplace; the Destination Network, a growing collection of campgrounds and glamping retreats set in some of the country’s most iconic landscapes; and Roamly, its proprietary insurtech platform powering Outdoorsy.com and enabling insurance infrastructure for global marketplaces. Together, Outdoorsy Group’s businesses are united by a long-term mission: to restore our relationship with the outdoors—and with one another.

Our platform has facilitated over 9 million nights spent outdoors across almost 2 million trips, establishing us as the leader in experiential travel. We anticipate a significant surge in U.S. leisure travel this summer, driven by the World Cup, America 250 Celebrations, and the Route 66 Centennial. We require a leader to accelerate brand awareness and fuel top-of-funnel demand beginning immediately in Q1. This role requires a leader with strategic depth, execution ability, and a proven bias for action to capitalize on this market opportunity.

The Role: Demand Creation and Market Activation

This is a high-impact, 6-month contract position with the potential to convert to a full-time Director role. The objective is to optimize our brand presence, cultural relevance, and awareness ahead of the peak summer season. The Director will drive marketing activity, help direct an earned PR strategy to establish high-impact demand that integrates directly with mid-to-lower funnel conversion activities.

This role reports directly to the VP of Brand Marketing and is hands-on. The Director must be prepared to utilize emerging channels, strategic partnerships, and focused content marketing techniques.

Key Cross-Functional & Management Relationships

• Reporting To: VP of Brand Marketing
• Key Internal Partners: Content Strategy, Creative, Performance Marketing, and Product Teams
• External Partners: PR Agency (management and budget oversight)

Key Responsibilities & Deliverables

• Top-of-Funnel Demand Creation: Design and execute integrated marketing campaigns focused on building brand awareness and driving qualified traffic. Ensure messaging consistency across all Owned and Earned channels.
• Integrated Funnel Coordination: Work closely with the Content Strategy and Performance Marketing teams to ensure awareness activities deliver an engaged audience, improving conversion velocity in the lower funnel.
• Market Activation & Earned Media: Design and execute PR-worthy and grassroots marketing activations that align with cultural trends and travel demand. Manage the working relationship and budget with our retained PR agency, ensuring efforts are aligned with integrated campaign objectives and maximizing Earned Media Value (EMV).
• New Product Launch Coordination: Lead marketing efforts for key product and platform feature launches, partnering directly with the Product Team to develop narratives and coordinate readiness across marketing channels to maximize adoption.
• Channel & Content Strategy: Identify, test, and scale high-potential emerging marketing channels (e.g., creator partnerships, platform-specific content) and develop a content strategy focused on driving demand.
• Strategic Partnerships: Identify and execute high-impact brand, media, and influencer partnerships that broaden Outdoorsy's market reach.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Earned Media Value (EMV) & Brand Sentiment: Volume and quality of earned media placements generated by activations.
• Brand Awareness & Recall: Lift in key tracking metrics (unaided/aided awareness).
• Branded Search Volume: Measurable increase in search queries for Outdoorsy and related brand terms.
• Qualified Traffic Volume: Lift in organic and brand-driven website traffic.
• Demand Efficiency: Correlation between top-funnel activity and efficiency metrics (e.g., reduced mid-funnel CPA).

Candidate Profile

Required Qualifications:

• Experience: 8+ years of experience in Marketing leadership, specializing in brand, integrated campaigns, and demand creation, preferably within high-growth marketplaces or with consumer travel and leisure brands.
• Channel Expertise: Direct experience identifying and utilizing emerging digital channels, creator partnerships, and sophisticated content marketing techniques.
• PR/Agency Management: Proven experience managing, budgeting, and driving results from external Public Relations agencies to achieve targeted Earned Media Value.
• Cultural Activation: A track record of creating market buzz, driving conversation, and securing high-value earned media through non-traditional, culture-forward activations.
• Execution & Action: Demonstrated ability to perform in a rapid-deployment, contract environment, transitioning quickly from strategy to execution and delivering measurable results.
• Location: Ability to work from our Austin, TX headquarters in a hybrid capacity is required.

The Opportunity: Strategic Leadership at an Inflection Point

This is a high-impact, 6-month contract-to-hire position designed for a marketing leader who thrives on building brand equity through cultural relevance and integrated demand. As we approach a historic surge in U.S. leisure travel, you will have the unique opportunity to pilot Outdoorsy’s brand presence through major cultural milestones like the World Cup and Route 66 Centennial.

You will join our Austin-based leadership team at a critical inflection point, with the direct mandate to accelerate brand awareness and fuel top-of-funnel growth beginning immediately in Q1. While this role begins as a strategic 6-month contract, it is designed with the clear potential to convert to a permanent Director-level position for the leader who successfully optimizes our market activation and establishes a scalable demand engine.

Work Environment & Flexibility Located in our downtown Austin headquarters, this role offers a hybrid work model that balances high-intensity, in-person collaboration with the autonomy needed to execute complex, multi-channel campaigns. You will report directly to the VP of Brand Marketing and work cross-functionally with Content, Creative, and Product teams to ensure our brand narrative is consistent and high-converting.

Position Details

• Classification: 6-Month Contract-to-Hire
• Compensation: $125.00 – $135.00 per hour
• Location: Austin, TX (Hybrid)