Full-Time
Head of Marketing Operations
Firstup
201-500 employees
Workforce communications platform for employee engagement
Compensation Overview
$140k - $155k/yr
Chicago, IL, USA
Hybrid
Hybrid role; some on-site days required in Chicago, IL.
 Growth & Marketing (1) |
|---|
Get referred to Firstup
Find people who can refer or advise you
- 7+ years of hands-on experience with marketing automation platforms (Marketo) including platform administration, optimization, and integration
- 5+ years of revenue operations or marketing operations experience in B2B SaaS with demonstrated ability to improve pipeline velocity and drive bookings growth
- Advanced proficiency with Salesforce, particularly around lead management, custom objects, and integration scenarios
- Hands-on experience building and optimizing lead scoring models, attribution frameworks, and predictive analytics
- Experience integrating and customizing marketing automation platforms with third-party tools (CRM, intent data, analytics, etc.)
- Strong understanding of B2B sales funnels, pipeline velocity metrics, ABM strategies, and demand generation principles
- Proven ability to analyze complex data, identify trends and opportunities, and translate insights into actionable recommendations
- Exceptional project management, cross-functional collaboration, and problem-solving skills with a bias toward continuous improvement
- Drive measurable improvements in pipeline velocity through operational optimization—reducing lead cycle time, improving lead quality scoring, and streamlining handoff processes between marketing and sales
- Design and maintain comprehensive multi-touch attribution models that connect marketing activities to pipeline influence and revenue outcomes, enabling data-driven investment decisions
- Oversee and optimize the entire marketing technology infrastructure (Marketo, Qualified, Clay, Salesforce, intent data platforms, analytics tools, and third-party integrations) to ensure reliability, scalability, and alignment with business needs
- Own all aspects of lead management: scoring models, routing logic, enrichment processes, and data quality assurance from initial capture through sales handoff
- Evaluate, pilot, and implement AI-powered solutions across the marketing tech stack—including predictive lead scoring, AI-driven attribution, generative AI for insights, and agentic workflows that automate complex tasks
- Prepare monthly C-level briefings and board-ready materials that translate marketing performance into revenue impact, including pipeline velocity trends, pipeline contribution, and strategic KPIs aligned with company goals
- Drive sales-marketing alignment by ensuring seamless lead handoff, effective lead routing, and ongoing collaboration on pipeline optimization and velocity
- Demonstrated experience evaluating and implementing AI-powered marketing tools, including predictive analytics, AI-driven attribution, or generative AI applications
- Experience with revenue ops tools and ecosystems (Clay, Clari, Hockeystack) and proven ability to extract actionable insights
- Track record of identifying and acting on key trends in marketing performance data that led to pipeline or revenue improvements
- Ability to translate complex data and technical concepts for C-suite audiences and experience presenting insights to executive stakeholders
- Successful track record inheriting and optimizing existing marketing tech stacks and instances
Firstup offers a Workforce Communication Platform that improves internal communications within organizations by helping them reach, connect, and engage every employee across locations. The platform provides a fully branded experience to orchestrate messages, target employees on the right channels and devices, and automate campaigns, with integration to other workplace tools. The subscription model includes access to features, premium support, eLearning, and a library of resources, along with webinars and thought leadership content. Firstup differentiates itself by serving a large enterprise base (including many Fortune 100 companies) and focusing on authentic employee engagement and digital transformation of workplace communications. The company's goal is to enhance the digital employee experience and make organizational communications more effective and timely.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Series E
Total Funding
$126.8M
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2006
Get referred to Firstup
Find people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Over 40% of Fortune 100 companies already use Firstup.
- AI Search, AI Insights, and AI Actions deepen workflow automation.
- Enhanced reporting helps teams prove ROI to leadership and analytics stacks.
What critics are saying
- Microsoft, Workday, and ServiceNow can bundle similar communication workflows.
- Enterprise identity complexity raises login failures after acquisitions and restructurings.
- CEO transition and $100M ARR pressure increase execution risk during renewal cycles.
What makes Firstup unique
- Firstup targets enterprise workforce communication across desk and frontline employees.
- It integrates with Microsoft, Workday, ServiceNow, and other core systems.
- Q2 2026 added Multiple SSO, Mandatory Auto-Follow, and Static List Audiences.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Remote Work Options
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -13%1 year growth
↓ -13%2 year growth
↓ -13%Firstup wins Lighthouse Tech Award for Employee Experience platform innovation. Recognition highlights HR solutions shaping hiring, development, performance and retention of the global workforce SAN FRANCISCO, March 18, 2026, Firstup, the pioneer of intelligent communication and engagement platforms for the workforce, today announced it has been named a winner of the 2026 Lighthouse Tech Awards for Best Comprehensive Employee Experience Solution, presented by Lighthouse Research & Advisory. Firstup was honored for its platform that helps organizations cut through information overload and reach employees through personalized, data-driven communication journeys. By delivering the right information to the right employee at the right time, the platform ensures employees understand what actions to take and why those actions matter to the business. For many organizations, the biggest barrier to improving employee experience is simply reaching employees in the first place. Traditional internal communication tools like email and intranets often fail to reach large portions of the workforce, particularly frontline and deskless employees who may not have regular access to those channels. When communication fails to reach the people doing the work, alignment breaks down and even the best strategies fail to lead to results. "Winning a Lighthouse Tech Award is a meaningful validation of the impact our customers are achieving with Firstup," said Bill Schuh, CEO of Firstup. "Organizations today are navigating constant change, and employees need clarity more than ever. When employees receive the information relevant to their role through the channel that works best for them, it drives engagement and boosts morale and productivity, helping them contribute more effectively to business success." "Firstup shows how a unified platform can improve the employee experience by delivering personalized communication and actionable insights at scale," said Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer of Lighthouse Research & Advisory. "Its combination of AI-driven targeting and strong governance helps organizations engage employees with greater confidence." The company continues to innovate in AI, including the recent launch of Firstup AI, a comprehensive AI suite purpose-built to drive strategic outcomes across the enterprise. Today, Firstup connects more than 17 million employees globally and is trusted by organizations including Boeing, Colgate-Palmolive, Dow, Providence, Tesco and Toyota to improve workforce alignment, engagement and business performance. To see the full list of 2026 winning companies, visit HRTechAwards.org. About Firstup Firstup is the leading platform for intelligent communication and engagement that powers meaningful business outcomes. As a true "mission control" for workforce communications, Firstup is built for organizations with critically important frontline employees, delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. The platform enables hyper-personalized, data-driven journeys across channels (email, mobile, intranet, digital signage and more), bringing alignment, clarity and engagement to every level of the organization. With integrations to core HR, IT and business systems, Firstup reduces digital noise, surfaces actionable insights, strengthens employee experience and helps clients maximize productivity and retention. Trusted by large enterprises worldwide, Firstup transforms internal communication into measurable impact. Learn more at www.firstup.io.
Firstup wins Lighthouse Tech Award for Employee Experience platform innovation. PR Newswire Recognition highlights HR solutions shaping hiring, development, performance and retention of the global workforce SAN FRANCISCO, March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Firstup, the pioneer of intelligent communication and engagement platforms for the workforce, today announced it has been named a winner of the 2026 Lighthouse Tech Awards for Best Comprehensive Employee Experience Solution, presented by Lighthouse Research & Advisory. Firstup was honored for its platform that helps organizations cut through information overload and reach employees through personalized, data-driven communication journeys. By delivering the right information to the right employee at the right time, the platform ensures employees understand what actions to take and why those actions matter to the business. For many organizations, the biggest barrier to improving employee experience is simply reaching employees in the first place. Traditional internal communication tools like email and intranets often fail to reach large portions of the workforce, particularly frontline and deskless employees who may not have regular access to those channels. When communication fails to reach the people doing the work, alignment breaks down and even the best strategies fail to lead to results. "Winning a Lighthouse Tech Award is a meaningful validation of the impact our customers are achieving with Firstup," said Bill Schuh, CEO of Firstup. "Organizations today are navigating constant change, and employees need clarity more than ever. When employees receive the information relevant to their role through the channel that works best for them, it drives engagement and boosts morale and productivity, helping them contribute more effectively to business success." "Firstup shows how a unified platform can improve the employee experience by delivering personalized communication and actionable insights at scale," said Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer of Lighthouse Research & Advisory. "Its combination of AI-driven targeting and strong governance helps organizations engage employees with greater confidence." The company continues to innovate in AI, including the recent launch of Firstup AI, a comprehensive AI suite purpose-built to drive strategic outcomes across the enterprise. Today, Firstup connects more than 17 million employees globally and is trusted by organizations including Boeing, Colgate-Palmolive, Dow, Providence, Tesco and Toyota to improve workforce alignment, engagement and business performance. To see the full list of 2026 winning companies, visit HRTechAwards.org.
Firstup, a workforce communication platform provider, has launched Firstup AI, an agentic AI suite designed to drive productivity and engagement across enterprises, including frontline workers. The expansion moves beyond generative assistance to agentic execution that can anticipate needs and take action. The suite comprises five pillars: AI Search provides instant answers by pulling data from systems like Workday and ServiceNow; AI Content Creator drafts and optimises communications; AI Insights analyses campaign effectiveness through natural language queries; AI Actions will execute tasks like PTO requests directly; and AI Audience Builder will enable natural language audience segmentation. Built on Firstup's existing employee profiles and enterprise integrations, the AI maintains security through encryption and role-based permissions. Key features are available now, with additional capabilities launching later this year.
Firstup announces new leaders to advance innovation and customer outcomes. News provided by. Vinod Malhotra and Jen Franklin join Firstup as CTO and SVP, Customer Value SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Firstup, the pioneer of intelligent communication and engagement platforms for the workforce, today announced the appointment of two proven leaders: Vinod Malhotra as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Jen Franklin as Senior Vice President, Customer Value. These leaders bring superb track records in engineering excellence, agentic and generative AI, and customer success within the HR technology and employee experience landscapes, and with leading SaaS companies more broadly. Their expertise will support Firstup's continued focus on innovation and customer value, ensuring that the company's investments in technology help organizations unlock the full potential of their workforce communications - turning strategic and business imperatives into action and impact. Advancing Innovation As CTO, Vinod Malhotra will lead Firstup's Engineering, AI/ML, CloudOps, and Support teams with a clear mandate to continue delivering enterprise-grade platform availability and scalability, advancing AI capabilities, and delivering innovation to market while maintaining quality and customer trust. "Vinod joins at an important time for Firstup," said Bill Schuh, CEO of Firstup. "His experience and product-centric leadership will help us extend our position as the innovation leader in this market as we work toward our goal of building a company of consequence and delivering enduring value to our customers." With more than 25 years of global product and engineering leadership, Malhotra has driven transformative growth and innovation, including significant revenue expansion at BlackLine, award-winning AI advancements at Perceptyx, and more than 150 percent year-over-year growth at Tally Solutions. Strengthening Customer Value and Adoption As Senior Vice President, Customer Value, Jen Franklin will lead Firstup's global Customer Value team to drive customer adoption of the Firstup platform and deliver tangible business results. "Jen has a deep understanding of how to drive customer value, with expertise in the employee engagement and employee experience domains and a tremendous passion for the business problems we solve for our customers," said Schuh. "Her leadership will help ensure that we build and execute an integrated go-to-market motion that drives customer success and delivers real value for our global user base." Franklin joins Firstup from Medallia, where she drove strategic initiatives across key functions, including Customer Experience, Product, and Sales, as well as the company's Employee Experience product lines. Her deep industry expertise is further evidenced by her successful tenure in sales leadership roles at market-leading organizations like League, Achievers, and Taleo. Today's announcement comes just weeks after Firstup welcomed several additional members to its global leadership team. The company continues to invest in talent and innovation to ensure its platform evolves with customer needs and serves as a catalyst for their most critical business outcomes, such as improved employee engagement, efficiency, productivity, safety, and top-line revenue. "This is a key step in advancing our mission and positioning Firstup for long-term success," said Schuh. "Vinod and Jen bring the leadership to support our customers, accelerate our innovation roadmap, and shape the future of employee communications and engagement." About Firstup Firstup is the leading platform for intelligent communication and engagement that power meaningful business outcomes. As a true "mission control" for workforce communications, Firstup is built for organizations with critically important frontline employees - delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. The platform enables hyper-personalized, data-driven journeys across channels (email, mobile, intranet, digital signage and more), bringing alignment, clarity and engagement to every level of the organization. With integrations to core HR, IT and business systems, Firstup reduces digital noise, surfaces actionable insights, strengthens employee experience and helps clients maximize productivity and retention. Trusted by large enterprises worldwide, Firstup transforms internal communication into measurable impact. Learn more at www.firstup.io. SOURCE Firstup
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Firstup, the leading platform for intelligent workforce communication and engagement, today announced that it has been recognized as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner(R) Magic Quadrant(TM) for Intranet Packaged Solutions (IPS) for the third consecutive year.