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Job Definition: The Director of Marketing leads the operational engine behind Creative Co-Op’s marketing output — keeping projects on schedule, ensuring every creative asset is faithful to the brand. This role oversees photography, marketing project management, and the digital production team responsible for our printed collateral (catalogs and supporting materials), and partners closely with Product Development, Merchandising, and Sales, and our subsidiary brand teams across home décor, furniture, lighting, gourmet food, candles, laundry, storage, and organization. This is a brand-stewardship and execution leadership role, not a brand-direction role. Once established, this leader will safeguard brand integrity across every customer-facing touchpoint, drive operational excellence across the marketing function, and identify where emerging technologies and AI can meaningfully improve speed, quality, and consistency. The right candidate brings an eye for trend, is equal parts traffic cop, brand watchdog, public-facing communicator, and continuous-improvement leader, and is comfortable operating in a wholesale-first business with significant eCommerce and Key Account complexity.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Learn the Creative Co-Op portfolio of brands deeply during the initial ramp — customer, voice, aesthetic, channel mix, and seasonal rhythm.
• Serve as the steward of brand fidelity, under the direction of Product Development, across all printed collateral, photography, digital assets, packaging support materials, and customer-facing communications, executing and safeguarding the creative vision set by the PD leaders against established brand guidelines.
• Build and maintain production schedules, lead status meetings, escalate risks early, balance competing priorities across brands, and hold internal teams and external partners accountable to deadlines.
• Serve as a reference to ensure photography lifestyle direction adheres to brand standards based on the intention and audience of the output, and partner with Photography to plan shoot calendars, prop and product availability, and post-production timing.
• Partner with the Digital-Production Artist team to manage catalog page flow, proofing rounds, version control, and print vendor handoff.
• Establish and refine intake processes so Product Development, Merchandising, and Sales have a clear, predictable path to request marketing support.
• Build and maintain relationships with trade, design, lifestyle, and retail industry media; coordinate press samples and product loans.
• Manage PR and trade ad spend; secure approved marketing images and locations for elevators, signage, buyer’s guide, and additional marketing opportunities.
• Tailor marketing deliverables by channel — catalog and ordering tools for independent retailers, asset packages and PDP content for eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces, and customized presentations and selling collateral for Key Account partners.
• Continuously evaluate workflows, tools, and output for inefficiencies; pilot and recommend AI and emerging technologies that improve speed, quality, consistency, or cost; and lead change management thoughtfully.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Photography, Marketing Project Management, and Digital-Production Artist teams; set clear priorities and performance expectations; and foster strong cross-functional collaboration.
• Oversee email and social marketing messaging (concepts + execution) as growth channels.
• Travel as needed for Market, the National Sales Meeting, photo shoots, and key partner meetings.
• Respect and maintain brand integrity with each brand’s core customer base.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Essential skills and experience required:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Brand Management, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

Experience: 

• 8+ years of progressive marketing experience, including 3+ years leading teams that combine creative production, project management, and external-facing brand work; experience in wholesale, home décor, furniture, lighting, gift, gourmet, or other consumer/lifestyle categories preferred.

Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated experience as a brand steward — protecting and enforcing brand standards across multiple deliverables, teams, or sub-brands — rather than originating brand direction.
• Strong project management skills with a proven ability to keep cross-functional teams and external partners on schedule against fixed, immovable deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience managing high-volume marketing production cycles — catalogs, campaigns, trade shows, or comparable seasonal/recurring deliverables.
• Direct experience handling media inquiries, press relations, or PR responsibilities, including preparing statements and managing spokesperson logistics.
• Working knowledge of marketing differences across channels (independent retail, eCommerce/marketplaces, Key Accounts, or analogous wholesale/B2B/D2C distinctions).
• An eye for trend, with an awareness of where home, lifestyle, and consumer aesthetics are moving.
• Hands-on familiarity with AI tools applied to marketing, creative, or content workflows, with a thoughtful point of view on responsible adoption.
• Experience leading and developing creative production teams; proven ability to inspire, coach, and hold team members accountable.
• Familiarity with photography direction, catalog production workflows, print vendor management, and digital pre-press.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to represent the company externally with composure and clarity.
• Curious and humble in the ramp — listens first, learns brand nuance deeply, and earns the right to recommend changes.
• Computer proficiency, especially in Microsoft Excel, Word, and creative/marketing operations tools.
• Ability to execute plans under time constraints.
• Ability to work independently under minimal supervision.