Direct Mail Acquisition Marketing Director

About Ethos

Ethos is a leading life insurance technology company on a mission to protect families by democratizing access to life insurance and empowering agents at scale. With its robust three-sided technology platform, Ethos is transforming the life insurance experience for consumers, agents, and carriers alike. Ethos offers instant, accessible products and a seamless online process that requires no medical exams and just a few health questions; it eliminates traditional barriers, making it easier than ever for everyone to protect their families. Ethos is redefining how life insurance is bought, sold, and underwritten.

About the role

As the Direct Mail Acquisition Marketing Director at Ethos, you will own and be accountable for building and scaling our direct mail program from the ground up. This is a senior individual contributor role spanning both strategy and hands-on execution with full ownership of program performance, budget, list strategy, vendor relationships, creative testing, and measurement.

Ethos is destined for big things and we are betting that you will take the initiative and contribute to our success! As Ethos is a fast-growing startup, you will work closely with colleagues across multiple teams and senior management.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design and own the end-to-end direct mail acquisition strategy, building the program from the ground up with a clear roadmap for scale in the first 60 days
• Manage data append partnerships and partner with Data Science to develop propensity models
• Own creative strategy including form factors, messaging, personalization, paper stock with a rigorous A/B testing roadmap grounded in performance data
• Manage print vendors, negotiating pricing to hit CPP targets based on mail volume commitments
• Define send volumes and cadence based on marginal profitability analysis; track weekly and monthly performance across the full funnel and make adjustments to improve KPIs
• Drive executive communications by presenting program performance and forward-looking strategies in biweekly and quarterly meetings with senior leadership
• Function as the expert in direct mail and stay current on industry trends, data vendors, creative best practices, and competitive programs
• Partner with internal teams (e.g. Creative, Data Science, MarTech, Product, Finance) to effectively drive all aspects of the program

Qualifications and Skills:

• 7+ years of direct response marketing experience with 5+ years specifically in direct mail, where user acquisition was critical to the company’s growth. Ideally managing $20M+ annual spend
• Deep expertise leading in-house direct mail programs with sophisticated data strategy
• Strong command of direct mail economics (e.g. CPP targets, print & postage cost structures)
• Track record of owning creative strategy with rigorous testing & documented learning agendas
• Proven ability to operate as a senior IC: working autonomously to set strategy, execute hands-on, prioritize effectively, and drive results
• Executive presence and communication skills to influence senior leaders, drive cross-functional alignment, and build buy-in for high impact growth strategies
• Fintech or Insurtech industry background strongly preferred
• Advanced Excel and ability to work effectively with AI tools (Hex, Claude, Gemini)
• Excited by the chance to build a program from scratch in a fast-paced startup environment