Marketing Principal

Punchcard is a digital transformation studio that helps organizations modernize operations, decision-making, and service delivery through custom digital systems and AI-enabled transformation. We work with clients who want to do things differently, and we build teams that reflect that same standard. We are looking for a Marketing Principal to lead Punchcard’s marketing strategy and growth initiatives. This is a senior individual contributor role with no direct reports, but full ownership of strategy, positioning, and the systems that drive growth. You will work directly with the CEO to shape how Punchcard is positioned in the market, how its services are packaged and communicated, and how the company generates pipeline. Several execution partners are in place to support marketing. Your job is not to replace them; it is to lead them. You set the strategy, own the brief, and hold the results. This role succeeds by prioritization, leverage, and orchestration; not by personally producing every asset. Punchcard has a strong referral base and a respected brand in its market. You are not starting from zero. You are building a modern, scalable marketing function on top of a foundation that already works. Success is measured in qualified organic leads per month: a number you will help set in your first 30 days, and own from there. This role will be evaluated first and foremost on its ability to generate qualified pipeline and consistently increase inbound lead volume over time.Areas of PracticeThis role spans five interconnected areas. You will not be executing everything manually; you will be designing the systems, leading the partners, and using AI tools to operate at a level of leverage that a traditional single-person marketing function cannot reach.Market Positioning and StrategyThis is the foundation everything else is built on. You will own how Punchcard is understood in the market.Define and maintain Punchcard's positioning: who we are for, what problem we solve, and why we are the right choiceDevelop and refine ideal client profiles (ICPs) based on data, client interviews, and market researchLead competitive and market analysis to surface opportunities and threatsOwn the annual marketing plan and ensure it connects directly to business objectivesBring a point of view on where the market is going and what Punchcard should be saying about itSolution Offering DesignPunchcard's services need to be packaged in ways that resonate with buyers, not just practitioners. You will work closely with the CEO and delivery leads to shape that.Translate Punchcard's capabilities into clearly articulated service offerings that buyers can understand and act onDevelop the language, framing, and narrative for each offering across all channelsIdentify gaps between what Punchcard delivers and what the market is asking for, and surface those as strategic inputsEnsure pricing, packaging, and positioning are coherent and competitiveContent, Digital Channels, and Lead GenerationThe primary measurable output of this function is qualified organic leads per month: a baseline established in your first 30 days, a target set collaboratively, and a number you own from there.Own content strategy across blogs, case studies, white papers, newsletter, and LinkedInDrive SEO and LLM-based discoverability: Punchcard should surface when the right buyers are asking the right questions, in search engines and in AI-assisted researchBuild and manage email nurture sequences that move prospects from awareness to conversationOversee website strategy, content, and performance in partnership with the development teamOrchestrate AI workflows (Claude, Perplexity, n8n, and equivalents) to produce and distribute content at a scale and speed a traditional one-person function cannot matchTrack funnel performance and iterate relentlessly based on what the data showsBrand, PR, and Campaign ManagementYou will own Punchcard's brand integrity and its presence in earned and paid channels.Own brand management: voice, visual standards, and consistency across all touchpointsLead Category Communications (PR agency): strategy, briefs, media relationships, and resultsOwn campaign planning and management across organic and paid channelsBrief and manage paid search and social execution through external partnersManage awards submissions and recognition programsOversee Clutch, Google Reviews, and other social proof channelsSales Enablement and Internal CommunicationsMarketing at Punchcard does not stop at top of funnel. You will ensure the sales team is equipped and that the broader team understands and can articulate what Punchcard does.Support the development of sales collateral, one-pagers, and presentation materials in collaboration with BDBuild content that helps prospects understand Punchcard's process and what working with us looks likeCreate a feedback loop with sales to understand recurring objections and questions, and turn those into content and collateralOwn internal communications: ensuring the team is aligned on positioning, offerings, and market narrativeSupport speaking engagements, events, and webinars as neededMeasuring SuccessWithin this role, we'll look at several KPIs to understand what success looks like:Organic lead generation: qualified leads per month, tracked from baseline and grown over timePipeline contribution: percentage of deals with marketing-attributed touchpointsContent performance: organic traffic, search rankings, newsletter engagementBrand presence: share of voice in relevant media, awards, and recognitionSales enablement quality: feedback from BD team on collateral and content usefulnessWhat We Are Looking ForYou think strategically and execute precisely. You can develop a positioning framework in the morning and write the blog post that expresses it in the afternoon.You are AI-native. You use Claude, Perplexity, n8n, or equivalent tools as a normal part of how you work. You build workflows and systems, not one-off prompts.You have driven measurable B2B pipeline from content or organic channels. You can point to the work, explain the strategy behind it, and show the result it produced.You write with authority. You can take a complex idea, find its core, and express it in language that lands with a senior buyer.You hold vendors accountable. You know how to brief an agency, evaluate their output, and have the hard conversation when the work is not good enough.You are comfortable with ambiguity. Punchcard is building something new. You will not always have a clear playbook and that should excite you, not slow you down.Background and Experience7-10 years of B2B marketing experience, with at least a portion in technology, professional services, or a digital agencyDemonstrated experience owning positioning and messaging for a complex service or product, not just executing someone else's strategyExperience working as a senior individual contributor with broad functional ownershipStrong understanding of SEO, content strategy, and digital analytics; genuine curiosity about LLM-based discoverability as an emerging channelExperience managing external agency or vendor relationships at a strategic levelComfort with paid search and social at the briefing and accountability level; you do not need to execute, but you need to leadThe signals we're looking for fitYou have worked in a company where the sales cycle is long, relationship-driven, and complex, and you have found ways to shorten or supplement it through marketingYou have done ICP or market segmentation work and can describe what the business did differently as a resultYou publish under your own name: a newsletter, a LinkedIn presence, a blog, or something that demonstrates how you think in publicYou have an informed point of view on how AI is changing marketing operations, not just content creationWhat You Can Expect at PunchcardA direct working relationship with the CEO on strategy, positioning, and business directionFull ownership of the marketing function with the authority to make real decisionsA clear mandate and measurable goals, not a vague list of responsibilitiesInteresting client work in digital transformation that gives you genuine expertise to draw on and write aboutA distributed team across Canada that operates on outcomes, not hoursFlexible hours and a remote-first workplaceEmployee group benefits including health, dental, disability, and life insuranceA team that values craft, supports each other, and does not tolerate internal politicsThis role will grow with Punchcard. As the company scales, the Marketing Principal becomes the foundation of a marketing function, not a permanent one-person band. The right person will have the opportunity to shape what that function looks like.How to ApplySkip the generic cover letter. Send us two things instead:A brief description of a positioning or content initiative you owned: what the strategic problem was, what you did, and what changed as a result.One specific observation about how Punchcard could improve its market positioning or digital presence, and why.Punchcard is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need.  Salary: 80000 - 100000 CAD Per annum