Head of SMB Ads

OpenAI

. Define the end-to-end SMB advertiser marketing strategy across acquisition, activation, retention, expansion, and advocacy for OpenAI’s self-service ads platform.

Posted 4/30/2026full-timeSan Francisco • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $374,000 - $415,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Define the end-to-end SMB advertiser marketing strategy across acquisition, activation, retention, expansion, and advocacy for OpenAI’s self-service ads platform.
Build the SMB advertiser segmentation framework, identifying priority audiences by business size, industry, sophistication, geography, and growth potential.
Develop positioning and messaging that translates OpenAI’s advertising products and self-service tools into clear, compelling business outcomes for SMB owners, operators, and marketers.
Lead self-serve growth initiatives that drive advertiser sign-ups, onboarding completion, first campaign launch, repeat spend, and long-term platform adoption.
Create scalable lifecycle marketing programs across email, in-product surfaces, education, webinars, and community channels.
Partner with Product teams to improve advertiser onboarding flows, campaign creation tools, billing journeys, reporting dashboards, and measurement UX.
Build demand generation programs across paid, owned, and partner channels (including agencies) to efficiently grow the SMB advertiser base.
Develop educational content and thought leadership that helps SMBs learn modern AI-powered marketing best practices and become successful advertisers on the platform.
Establish retention and reactivation strategies that improve cohort health, advertiser ROI, and long-term spend growth.
Develop an approach to define when and how higher-value SMBs transition from self-service to assisted or managed motions.
Build scaled assisted SMB management and upsell motions.
Own core funnel metrics including CAC, activation rate, time-to-first-campaign, repeat advertiser rate, retention, and LTV/CAC efficiency.
Provide customer insight and market feedback to inform roadmap priorities for self-service ad products, tooling, automation, and measurement.
Hire and lead a high-performing team across disciplines over time.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Have 12+ years of experience in growth marketing, product marketing, performance marketing, or SMB go-to-market leadership.
Have built or scaled SMB self-service advertising ecosystems at companies such as Google Ads, Meta, Amazon Ads, Shopify, Intuit, Square, HubSpot, Yelp, TikTok, or similar platforms.
Deeply understand SMB customer behavior, including acquisition economics, self-serve funnels, onboarding friction, and retention dynamics.
Have experience marketing self-service SaaS or advertising platforms where ease of use, conversion, and retention are critical.
Have strong product instincts and can partner closely with PMs and engineers to improve conversion and user experience.
Are fluent in performance marketing concepts including campaign setup, targeting, bidding, attribution, and ROI measurement.
Have experience leading lifecycle marketing and CRM programs at scale.
Are highly analytical and comfortable using experimentation, funnel analysis, and cohort modeling to drive decisions.
Can simplify complex advertising products into clear narratives for non-expert business owners.
Thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments where you are building new functions from scratch.
Are an excellent people leader who can attract top talent and raise the quality bar quickly.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
401(k) retirement plan with employer match
Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
Mental health and wellness support
Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
Relocation support for eligible employees
Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

growth marketingproduct marketingperformance marketinglifecycle marketingCRM programscampaign setuptargetingbiddingattributionROI measurement

Soft Skills

leadershipanalytical skillscommunicationteam buildingstrategic thinkingproblem-solvingadaptabilitycustomer insightcollaborationnarrative simplification