Ascender vs. promover
When talking about promoting an employee in Spanish, both promover and ascender can be used, but they carry different nuances. The word ascender is the most common and natural choice for moving up in a hierarchy or getting a job promotion. On the other hand, promover is a slightly more formal term focusing on the employer's administrative action of advancing someone, though it is more frequently used to mean promoting ideas, projects, or causes.
Ascender
The word ascender literally means to climb or go up, making it the most direct and everyday translation for an employee receiving a job promotion. It implies an upward movement in rank, salary, or status, and can be used both when a boss promotes someone and when an employee gets promoted.
El gerente decidió ascender a María por su excelente desempeño.
(The manager decided to promote Maria for her excellent performance.)
Después de tres años en la empresa, logré ascender a director.
(After three years in the company, I managed to be promoted to director.)
Si sigues trabajando tan duro, te van a ascender muy pronto.
(If you keep working so hard, they are going to promote you very soon.)
Me acaban de ascender y ahora tengo mi propia oficina.
(I was just promoted and now I have my own office.)
Ascender en esta corporación requiere mucha dedicación y tiempo.
(To be promoted in this corporation requires a lot of dedication and time.)
Esperamos ascender a los mejores candidatos al final del trimestre.
(We hope to promote the best candidates at the end of the quarter.)
Promover
The word promover translates to promote, advance, or foster. When applied to employees, it highlights the action taken by the company or authority to advance a worker to a higher role. It is more formal than ascender and is also the correct word to use when talking about promoting products, health, or ideas.
La junta directiva va a promover a dos supervisores este año.
(The board of directors is going to promote two supervisors this year.)
Fui promovido al departamento de ventas internacionales la semana pasada.
(I was promoted to the international sales department last week.)
El objetivo de recursos humanos es promover a los trabajadores más leales.
(The goal of human resources is to promote the most loyal workers.)
Nuestra empresa busca promover el talento interno antes de contratar afuera.
(Our company seeks to promote internal talent before hiring outside.)
El comité decidió promover a Carlos como líder del nuevo proyecto.
(The committee decided to promote Carlos as the leader of the new project.)
Es importante promover a los empleados que demuestran iniciativa constante.
(It is important to promote employees who show constant initiative.)
Summary
In short, use ascender as your primary, everyday word when discussing someone moving up the corporate ladder or receiving a job promotion. Use promover when you want to sound a bit more formal or emphasize the organizational action of advancing an employee's career, keeping in mind that promover is also the word you need when talking about promoting marketing campaigns or ideas.