Growth Marketing Lead

About Cloud9

Cloud9 is an AI-native luxury short-term rental operator. We turn long-term luxury rentals into exceptional short-term stays, delivering hotel-grade quality to guests while helping property managers unlock the top-line potential of their buildings. We run 60+ units across 13 Class-A residential buildings in Chicago, and we're expanding city by city across the U.S. We exist to reinvent hospitality with AI-driven execution.

How we work: a small, AI-native team that builds 4:1 leverage. You work alongside Claude every day; AI is a co-pilot, not a buzzword. The team is distributed, some in Chicago, some in Latam. We move fast, decide fast, and cut politics. We don't hire to fill seats. We hire to pull levers that move numbers. Outcomes beat effort beats intentions.

We run on C.L.O.U.D.9, our culture operating system:

• C
• Customer Obsession. If they're not raving, we missed it.
• L
• Leadership Through Ownership. No passengers, only drivers.
• O
• Operational Excellence. How we do one thing is how we do everything.
• U
• Urgency With Intelligence. Act now, iterate later.
• D
• Do the Right Thing. Character over convenience.
• 9
• The 9x Mindset. 10% better is safe; 9x better is unforgettable.

Cloud9 is building a scalable direct-booking engine within the hospitality space, focused on driving measurable, high-quality revenue through performance marketing and conversion optimization.

Growth at Cloud9 is defined by outcomes—efficient customer acquisition, strong conversion rates, and sustainable revenue expansion.

About The Role

We’re looking for a Growth Lead to own and scale direct-booked revenue through paid acquisition channels.

This role is responsible for the full funnel—from traffic generation to conversion—ensuring that every step is optimized for performance. You’ll work across paid media, landing pages, messaging, and analytics to build a predictable and scalable growth engine.

You’ll step into an existing foundation of tools, budget, and brand traction, with the opportunity to refine, rebuild, and scale what drives results.

What You’ll Own

Revenue & Performance

• Own direct-booked revenue generated through paid channels
• Define and manage key metrics including CAC, conversion rates, and payback periods
• Track and report performance, identifying opportunities for optimization and growth

Funnel Strategy & Execution

• Build and optimize end-to-end funnels (paid ads → landing pages → booking flow)
• Develop and test new creatives, messaging, and offers
• Continuously improve conversion rates across all funnel stages

Experimentation & Systems

• Establish a structured testing framework across creatives, copy, and landing pages
• Design and document scalable processes (e.g., testing cadence, optimization workflows)
• Ensure all initiatives are driven by clear hypotheses and measurable outcomes

Tools, Data & Automation

• Leverage and evolve the current stack (Meta Ads, HubSpot, analytics tools, AI solutions)
• Improve tracking, attribution, and reporting accuracy
• Use automation and AI tools to increase speed and output across campaigns and testing

Team Development

• Support the hiring and development of a junior growth team member
• Over time, transition from primarily execution to a mix of strategy, systems, and team leadership
• Contribute to building a scalable growth function

What Success Looks Like

First 30 Days

• Complete a full audit of the current funnel, campaigns, and tracking
• Establish baseline performance metrics
• Launch initial test campaigns and define a growth roadmap

First 90 Days

• Improve key performance metrics (e.g., CAC, conversion rates)
• Implement structured testing and reporting processes
• Begin identifying repeatable growth patterns

12 Months

• Direct bookings represent a meaningful and growing share of total revenue
• The funnel is stable, scalable, and continuously optimized
• A junior team member is contributing to execution
• The role evolves toward strategic ownership of growth

Requirements

• Proven experience managing $20k–$50k+/month paid media budgets (Meta required)
• Strong experience building and optimizing high-converting landing pages
• Background in performance marketing and direct-response principles
• Solid understanding of key metrics (CAC, CVR, LTV, payback period)
• Hands-on experience with tools such as Meta Ads, HubSpot, analytics platforms, and AI tools
• Analytical mindset with a structured approach to testing and measurement
• Strong execution skills with the ability to move quickly and iterate
• Fluency in English (written and spoken)

What We’re Looking For

• A systems-oriented thinker who builds repeatable growth processes
• A balance of creative judgment and analytical rigor
• Proactive problem-solving and ownership mindset
• Comfort operating in a performance-driven environment with clear targets
• Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with leadership

Considerations

• This role is focused on performance marketing and revenue generation, rather than brand-only marketing
• Experience owning or directly influencing revenue outcomes is important
• Candidates should be comfortable with hands-on execution as well as strategic thinking

What You’ll Have

• Access to leadership and visibility into business performance
• An established tech stack including Meta Ads, HubSpot, and analytics tools
• Existing paid media budget to manage and scale
• A growing brand with strong fundamentals and expansion opportunities
• A fast-paced environment with minimal operational friction

Growth & Career Path

This role offers a clear path toward broader growth leadership as the company scales, including the opportunity to build and lead a larger team over time.

Why Cloud9

If you want to own a number, move fast, and build with AI instead of around it, this is the place. Small team, real leverage, high standards, and the people who build the systems get to run them as we scale city by city. If you want a comfortable seat where effort counts more than outcomes, we are not it.

Cloud9 does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.