Country Marketing Manager, Nigeria (Contractor) at Duolingo

Job description

Our mission Our mission at Duolingo is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available. But we’ve got more left to do and that's where you come in! Duolingo is the most popular language-learning application in the world, with over 500 million users and over half a billion exercises completed daily. Beyond our core learning product, we have also entered into English proficiency testing with the Duolingo English Test, Math, Music and now Chess. We are passionate about educating our users, making fact-based decisions, and finding innovative solutions to complex problems. We offer meaningful work, limitless learning opportunities, and collaboration with world-class minds. Come brighten your life and over half a billion more! What this role is really about Make Duolingo a culturally relevant and loved brand among Nigerian audiences, driving awareness and growth in a mobile-first, fast-evolving digital landscape. We are seeking a creative marketer to help us build awareness and accelerate our growth across Nigeria. As our resident expert on the market, you will use your skills including social media, influencer marketing, and high-impact local partnerships to drive awareness, build a loved brand and bring new users to Duolingo. Reporting to the Country Marketing Manager France, you will partner closely with Global Marketing and Product teams in Pittsburgh, New York, and Country Marketing Managers around the world to find opportunities and come up with new, creative tactics and campaigns relevant to the Nigerian consumer. Year one has one clear priority: build Duolingo's presence in Nigeria from scratch and make it matter. That means launching and owning @DuolingoNigeria, finding the tone of voice that resonates with Nigerian audiences, building relationships with creators and communities, and creating moments that earn attention rather than buy it. Partnerships, PR, and broader strategy will grow from that foundation. But social comes first. Your first job: hire the right agency: Before anything goes live, you'll source, pitch, and select a Nigerian social media agency to handle content execution. This is your first and most important hire. • Define the agency brief: tone of voice, platform strategy, content pillars, creator approach • Run the selection process: identify candidates, evaluate cultural fit and social media craft, negotiate terms • Onboard the agency: share Duolingo's brand world, set up workflows, align on KPIs and reporting cadence Once the agency is in place: • Own the strategic direction: you set the brief, the agency executes • Review and approve content before it goes live, ensuring it's on-brand and culturally sharp • Oversee the launch of @DuolingoNigeria across TikTok, Instagram, and relevant platforms • Identify and activate creator/influencer relationships • Hold the agency accountable: performance reviews, course corrections, ongoing feedback Once the social foundation is solid, you'll expand your scope: • Develop and execute a wider brand awareness strategy for Nigeria • Identify and pitch strategic partnerships with brands, institutions, platforms and communities built on earned value rather than paid media • Lead PR efforts • Work with HQ Marketing and Product teams on localised messaging for feature launches You You're the person in the room who already knows what's going viral in Nigeria before anyone else. You make things happen without waiting for a big budget or a green light on everything. You have… • 5+ years of consumer marketing experience, with social media at the core • Proven experience briefing, selecting, and managing creative or social media agencies: you know what good looks like and how to get it out of a partner • A track record of getting results through ideas, not spend earned media, organic growth, word of mouth • Deep knowledge of Nigerian digital culture: the platforms, the creators, the humour, the references • Strong strategic and writing skills you can craft a brief that an agency actually understands and runs with • Experience working remotely and building strong relationships with a global HQ team • Excellent English, spoken and written Bonus points for… • Experience scaling international or regional brands in Nigeria • Fluency in Pidgin, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, or other local languages • A genuine love of language learning (or at least Duo's social presence) • Experience with mobile apps and subscription products Interview process We keep it focused and respectful of your time: • Hiring Manager chat (30–45 min) - your experience, your read on the Nigerian market, overall fit • Take-home case study + case presentation (45 min) - how would you approach launching Duolingo on social in Nigeria Please note that this is a remote contractor position based in Nigeria. If you're passionate about marketing and excited about the opportunity to shape Duolingo's growth in Nigeria, we'd love to hear from you! We will do everything we can within reason to make sure that your interview takes place in an environment that fairly and accurately assesses your skills. If you need assistance or accommodation, please contact your recruiter. Duolingo is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon 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. By applying for this position your data will be processed as per the Duolingo Applicant Privacy Notice .

Requirements

Must-haves

Before anything goes live, you'll source, pitch, and select a Nigerian social media agency to handle content execution. This is your first and most important hire.
Define the agency brief: tone of voice, platform strategy, content pillars, creator approach
Run the selection process: identify candidates, evaluate cultural fit and social media craft, negotiate terms
Onboard the agency: share Duolingo's brand world, set up workflows, align on KPIs and reporting cadence
Own the strategic direction: you set the brief, the agency executes
Review and approve content before it goes live, ensuring it's on-brand and culturally sharp
Oversee the launch of @DuolingoNigeria across TikTok, Instagram, and relevant platforms
Identify and activate creator/influencer relationships
Hold the agency accountable: performance reviews, course corrections, ongoing feedback
Once the social foundation is solid, you'll expand your scope:
Develop and execute a wider brand awareness strategy for Nigeria
Identify and pitch strategic partnerships with brands, institutions, platforms and communities built on earned value rather than paid media
Lead PR efforts
Work with HQ Marketing and Product teams on localised messaging for feature launches
You're the person in the room who already knows what's going viral in Nigeria before anyone else. You make things happen without waiting for a big budget or a green light on everything.
5+ years of consumer marketing experience, with social media at the core
Proven experience briefing, selecting, and managing creative or social media agencies: you know what good looks like and how to get it out of a partner
A track record of getting results through ideas, not spend earned media, organic growth, word of mouth
Deep knowledge of Nigerian digital culture: the platforms, the creators, the humour, the references
Strong strategic and writing skills you can craft a brief that an agency actually understands and runs with
Experience working remotely and building strong relationships with a global HQ team
Excellent English, spoken and written
Experience scaling international or regional brands in Nigeria

Nice-to-haves

Bonus points for…

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Platform: breezy
Effort: medium