Director External Relations Jobs in Indiana (NOW HIRING)

Begin a fulfilling career with the State of Indiana by joining one of the largest employers in the state, offering a range of opportunities across 60+ agencies. At the state, you'll find competitive compensation, a robust benefits package and a commitment to work-life balance. Most importantly, you'll have the chance to make a real and measurable impact on the lives of Hoosiers across Indiana.

Bring your biggest and boldest ideas to life as an employee of the IEDC. We are a fast-paced and forward-thinking team charged with pursuing economic development opportunities for current and future Hoosiers in our state and around the world. Our culture embodies the spirit of being bold and working collaboratively to create the economy of the future.   

The IEDC is organized as a public private partnership led by the Secretary of Commerce and governed by a board chaired by the Governor of Indiana.  

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has been recognized as one of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 Top Workplaces by Indianapolis Star.   

The IEDC Director of Marketing & Brand leads the agency’s integrated marketing and brand strategy in support of stateside business development, stakeholder engagement and Indiana’s overall economic development positioning.

This role is responsible for marketing strategy, brand stewardship, industry and audience-focused campaigns, creative direction and experiential marketing. The Director ensures Indiana’s brand is consistently and effectively represented across campaigns, advertising, collateral, presentations, digital assets, events, trade shows and other external-facing touchpoints.

The Director partners closely with the Chief Communications Officer and IEDC department leadership to ensure marketing investments directly support organizational priorities and measurable business objectives. The Director also leads the marketing and experiential events team and manages key agency and creative partners.

A Day in the Life:   

• Develop and implement comprehensive marketing and brand strategies aligned with IEDC and Office of Commerce priorities and economic development goals.
• Serve as the primary steward of the IEDC/Indiana economic development brand, ensuring consistent positioning, messaging, visual identity and brand standards across channels and audiences.
• Lead sector- and audience-focused marketing initiatives supporting priority industries, business attraction, expansion and retention.
• Oversee campaign planning, strategy, advertising, media strategy, creative development and brand activation in collaboration with internal and external agency partners.
• Provide creative direction and oversight for major collateral, presentations, business development materials, trade show environments and other branded assets.
• Collaborate with the Business Development team to align marketing activities with attraction, expansion and retention strategies.
• Lead IEDC’s experiential marketing and events strategy, ensuring events and activations advance business objectives, strengthen the Indiana brand and create meaningful engagement with target audiences.
• Ensure that events support defined business objectives and measurable outcomes.
• Manage marketing budgets and agency contracts, procurement processes and vendor performance, ensuring effective stewardship of resources.
• Establish marketing and brand performance measures and use data and insights to evaluate effectiveness and optimize investments.
• Serve as a senior advisor to the Chief Communications Officer.

What You’ll Need for Success:  

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business, advertising, public relations or related field

Experience:

• 8+ years of progressive marketing, brand, communications or related experience
• 3+ years of supervisory or team leadership experience
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading integrated marketing and brand strategies
• Demonstrated experience managing brands and maintaining consistency across multiple channels and audiences
• Experience overseeing creative development, campaigns, agencies and/or external partners
• Experience providing strategic oversight of events, experiential marketing or major brand activations
• Experience managing budgets, contracts and vendor relationships
• Experience working in economic development, government or B2B marketing
• Experience partnering with business attraction, sales or business development teams preferred

Ability To:

• Translate organizational and business development priorities into effective marketing and brand strategies
• Provide strong creative and brand direction while empowering team members and partners to execute
• Manage multiple high-profile projects, campaigns and events simultaneously withing tight deadlines
• Develop and maintain stakeholder relationships
• Use performance data to evaluate marketing effectiveness and inform decisions
• Lead and develop a high-performing marketing and experiential events team
• Work effectively within a quickly evolving environment
• Travel in-state, nationally and/or internationally as necessary