Associate Director, Acquisition

About AIChE

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals. With more than 53,000 members across 110 countries, AIChE advances the chemical engineering profession through education, conferences, and community. Our revenue-generating programs—including the AIChE Annual Meeting, Spring Meeting & Global Congress on Process Safety, specialty conferences, and Academy’s portfolio of e-learning and instructor-led training—are central to fulfilling our mission and sustaining the association.

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Acquisition is responsible for driving attendee and learner growth across AIChE’s full portfolio of learning and events products. This role owns end-to-end acquisition strategy and execution for the AIChE Spring Meeting & Global Congress on Process Safety, the AIChE Annual Meeting, specialty and topical conferences, and Academy’s full suite of professional development offerings—including e-learning courses, webinars, and instructor-led training.

A key strategic priority for this role is evolving AIChE’s marketing approach from product-centric campaigns toward integrated, persona-based audience journeys—connecting the right professional with the right AIChE experience at the right moment in their career. For example, a process safety professional might engage with an Academy webinar, encounter a relevant CEP article, and ultimately register for the Spring Meeting & GCPS as part of a cohesive, value-building experience rather than a series of disconnected promotions.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Marketing, this person will serve as the primary marketing partner for the Conferences and Academy business units, translating registration and enrollment goals into integrated, audience-first campaigns that deliver measurable results. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role that sits at the intersection of strategy, data, and execution.

Key Responsibilities

Acquisition Strategy & Campaign Leadership

• Develop and own the annual acquisition marketing plan for all conferences and Academy, aligned to attendance and revenue targets
• Build integrated, multi-channel campaign strategies that move beyond product-by-product promotion toward audience-first journeys—engaging professionals based on their technical focus area, career stage, and development needs
• Establish audience segmentation and persona frameworks to target chemical engineers and adjacent professionals at the right stage of the funnel
• Partner with business unit leaders to align marketing plans with programming calendars, pricing strategies, and registration timelines

Conference Marketing – Annual & Spring Meetings

• Lead all attendee acquisition marketing for AIChE’s two flagship conferences, including campaign planning, messaging, creative briefing, and channel deployment
• Manage registration funnel performance, identifying drop-off points and optimizing conversion through testing and iteration
• Collaborate with the program and conference operations teams to surface compelling content and speaker highlights that drive registration
• Oversee promotional timelines and coordinate with the brand team on design assets and email production

Specialty & Topical Conference Marketing

• Develop scalable, repeatable marketing frameworks for specialty conferences across various technical divisions and practice areas
• Manage concurrent campaigns across a portfolio of smaller events, ensuring each has a tailored acquisition approach aligned to its niche audience
• Identify cross-promotion and bundling opportunities across the conference portfolio

Academy Acquisition

• Drive enrollment growth across Academy’s full portfolio—including on-demand e-learning, live and recorded webinars, and instructor-led training —through targeted digital campaigns, email nurture sequences, and audience re-engagement strategies
• Develop messaging that positions Academy as the premier professional development resource for chemical engineers and process industry professionals, across multiple learning formats and delivery modes
• Design audience journeys that connect Academy offerings with related AIChE touchpoints—surfacing the right course, webinar, or training program to the right professional at the right time, and creating natural pathways to deeper engagement with AIChE
• Identify and pursue new audience segments, including corporate learners, Young Professionals, and international audiences

Analytics & Performance Management

• Own the performance dashboard for conference and Academy acquisition, tracking leads, registrations, enrollments, and marketing-attributed revenue
• Conduct post-campaign analyses and present findings and recommendations to senior leadership
• Leverage marketing automation (Omeda) and CRM data to optimize audience targeting and campaign sequencing

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the primary marketing POC for Conferences and Academy business unit leaders, fostering strong working relationships and shared accountability for revenue goals
• Brief and manage internal creative resources (brand/design team) and external vendors or agencies as needed
• Coordinate with the membership team to identify audience overlap and cross-sell opportunities

• 5-7 years of progressive marketing experience, with a strong focus on acquisition, demand generation, or event marketing
• Demonstrated success developing and executing multi-channel campaigns that drive measurable registration, attendance, or enrollment growth
• Experience managing a portfolio of concurrent campaigns across multiple products or events
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret performance data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions
• Proficiency with marketing automation platforms (experience with Omeda a plus) and CRM tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to translate complex programs into compelling, audience-relevant messaging
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Experience with paid digital advertising (Google, LinkedIn, Meta) and SEO/SEM strategy

Preferred

• Experience in association, nonprofit, or professional society marketing
• Background in event or conference marketing, including large-scale B2B or professional conferences
• Familiarity with the chemical engineering, STEM, or scientific professional community
• Experience marketing across multiple learning formats, including e-learning, webinars, and instructor-led training
• Exposure to audience journey mapping or persona-based marketing strategy

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer-paid life insurance and disability coverage
• Paid time off, including vacation, sick time, and personal days
• Retirement plan with employer matching contributions
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare and Dependent Care)
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Tuition reimbursement and professional development support

Compensation

The annual salary range for this role is $95,000 to $125,000, commensurate with experience.