Job Title: Vice President - Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) – Insurance
Location: Chicago, IL - Remote
Reports To: Chief Growth Officer; President of Rate Insurance; dotted line to Director of Marketing for Insurance
Department: Marketing, with additional dotted lines to Product, Technology, and Operations
About the Role
We’re seeking a strategic, data-driven leader to own and scale our Direct-to-Consumer insurance business. You will build and execute a comprehensive DTC strategy including lead acquisition and how Rate Insurance will position itself in this competitive marketplace, collaborate with cross-functional teams, optimize the digital customer journey, and drive revenue growth through performance marketing, product and tech integration, and superior customer experience. This role requires strong analytics, budget management, and the ability to translate insights into measurable improvements in lifetime value (LTV), conversion rate (CVR), average order value (AOV) and customer acquisition cost (CAC)
What You’ll Do (Key Responsibilities)
Strategy & Leadership
Develop and execute a holistic DTC and lead acquisition strategy aligned to company growth goals.
Design the strategy in how Rate Insurance will position itself in the DTC marketplace.
Define objectives, KPIs, and budgets; manage and optimize P&L for the DTC.
Collaborate with and evolve cross-functional teams (Sales, Marketing, Operations) to deliver on strategic objectives.
Maintain dotted-line collaboration with the Director of Marketing for Insurance to ensure alignment of DTC initiatives with the insurance marketing strategy and market direction.
Maintain dotted-line alignment with the Rate corporate marketing team to ensure brand consistency and market coherence.
Customer Experience
Own the end-to-end digital customer journey (web, mobile, and emerging channels).
Ensure a frictionless, accessible, and compliant experience that builds trust and loyalty.
Champion a customer-centric culture, with ongoing feedback loops and journey optimizations.
Digital Marketing, Acquisition & Lead Generation
Architect and manage performance DTC marketing programs focused on paid search and paid social to generate high-quality DTC leads and drive conversions.
Oversee full-funnel performance marketing (paid search, social, programmatic, email, affiliates) and optimize campaigns for lead generation and incremental sales.
Optimize funnels from awareness to conversion and retention; implement robust A/B testing for offers, landing pages, and messaging.
Collaborate with corporate brand and performance partners to maximize ROI and scale spend efficiently.
Performance & Analytics
Monitor and own core metrics: LTV, CVR, AOV, CAC, retention, and churn.
Leverage customer data to identify growth opportunities, optimize retention, and improve lifetime value.
Build and maintain dashboards, run analyses, and present actionable insights to leadership.
Product & Tech Integration
Partner with Product and Tech to design and scale digital tools (e-commerce platform, CRM, analytics stack, AI/ML solutions) that support the DTC model.
Ensure seamless integration with back-end systems, data governance, and security/compliance standards.
RC3 (Rate Call 3) integration: Leverage RC3 as part of the product/tech stack to enhance pricing transparency, rate negotiation capabilities, and decision-support within the digital journey. Define governance, data integrity, and compliant use of RC3 in pricing and communications.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Align with internal stakeholders (Insurance Marketing, Product, Sales, Tech, Customer Service, Compliance) and external partners to execute initiatives.
Influence roadmaps and prioritization to maximize customer value and revenue growth.
Digital Tools Governance
Evaluate, implement, and optimize digital tools that support DTC efforts, including marketing automation, CRM, analytics, and customer support platforms.
Establish governance for tool selection, data integrity, and compliant use of tools in pricing and communications.
What Success Looks Like
Measurable growth in DTC revenue and contribution margin.
Improved key metrics: LTV, CVR, AOV, and reduced CAC.
A scalable, data-driven, compliant DTC engine with strong cross-functional collaboration.
A superior digital customer experience evidenced by retention and NPS trends.
Qualifications
Proven leadership experience in digital marketing, e-commerce, and performance optimization (e.g., Google Analytics, CRM platforms, Shopify/Magento or equivalent).
Strong strategic thinking with hands-on execution ability; comfortable operating in a fast-paced, growth-focused environment.
Expertise in full-funnel campaign management and conversion rate optimization (CRO).
Demonstrated budget management and P&L responsibility; ability to forecast, monitor, and optimize financial performance.
Experience with insurance or financial services is a strong plus; familiarity with regulatory and compliance considerations in the digital sales process.
Data-driven mindset with excellent analytical and storytelling abilities; proficient in translating data into clear action plans.
Excellent cross-functional collaboration, stakeholder management, and leadership of diverse teams.
Nice-to-Have
Familiarity with AI/ML applications for personalization, pricing, or customer segmentation.
Experience with e-commerce platforms, CRM ecosystems, CDPs, and marketing automation tools.
Knowledge of data privacy regulations and industry-specific compliance requirements.
The company offers a comprehensive benefits program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; critical care insurance; personal accidental insurance; commuter benefits; pet insurance; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program); and other supplemental benefits (e.g. legal planning assistance; identity theft protection; pet insurance; wellness resources).
Please click this link to learn more about our benefit offerings for Washington State: https://www.rate.com/careers/open-positions/disclosures
Applications are being accepted on an ongoing basis.
Guaranteed Rate is an Equal Opportunity Employer that welcomes and encourages all applicants to apply regardless of age, race, sex, religion, color, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital or parental status, ancestry, citizenship status, pregnancy or other reason protected by law.
