Director, Marketing

Job Description

About Gagen MacDonald

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Chicago, Gagen MacDonald is a wholly owned subsidiary of APCO, a global advisory and advocacy communications consultancy.

Gagen MacDonald is a woman-owned, people-focused transformation consulting firm and trusted partner to the C-suite. We are dedicated to accelerating human-centered transformation and enhancing business performance by connecting strategy, structure and culture to purpose, brand and reputation.

For more than 25 years, we have been working with organizations to navigate the human struggle of change. By changing the employee experience through culture, communication, leadership and design, we unite employees across all levels of an organization around a single vision, working from the inside out.

At Gagen, we are committed to delivering on our firm's core value, "Our cause is our clients' success," to help organizations build a healthier business for a better world.

To do that, we need highly talented people for whom client service and high-quality change communication is a priority.

About the Role

We are seeking a Director, Marketing to build and implement marketing goals based on business and revenue objectives and to translate those goals into innovative campaign strategies that elicit action and purchase consideration.

The role requires a unique blend of creativity and analytical acumen and know how to develop full funnel marketing programs that build the brand, encourage consideration and drive demand.

You will be part of a collaborative team that supports works to expand our reach to C-Suite and other priority buyers in our key market segments.

Reports to Executive Director, Thought Leadership and Client Delivery; dotted line to Senior Director, Marketing & Communications, APCO. The role will be based in Chicago or Washington, D.C.

What You'll Do

Join us and make a positive impact with some of the world's most admired brands using your expertise in marketing and marketing communications.

How you'll make an impact:

Integrated Marketing

• Aiding firm leadership to build a strong market profile and digital presence; socializing marketing strategies and plans with stakeholders, securing alignment and agreement
• Developing marketing strategies deploying a full suite of integrated marketing programs (traditional channels, digital channels including paid, earned, shared and owned media, experiential event marketing) along with a solid knowledge of content marketing approaches
• Partnering with APCO Marketing and Gagen teams on cross-functional campaign initiatives to ensure alignment across marketing, digital/social, creative, and brand to drive business goals and a cohesive experience for key priority buyer audiences
• Conducting market research and competitor analysis to identify opportunities and inform marketing strategies
• Solving marketing challenges, thinking differently, testing new ideas, measuring results and applying learnings to future campaigns
• Staying informed about industry trends, competitive landscape, and emerging technologies to inform creative strategies and approaches

Content Management

• Leading and taking a hands-on role in the creation of compelling content to differentiate the firm's offerings, highlighting the depth of our client base, while supporting business and client development efforts to identify and pursue new sources of work
• Managing Gagen content strategy for digital, social and thought leadership to drive visibility in our key growth markets
• Overseeing storytelling and communication of the Gagen brand's overall marketing strategy and activation plans both for internal and external stakeholders
• Collaborating with content strategists, creative strategists, and APCO marketing team to develop multi-year marketing plans, and short-term campaign strategies that drive growth

Digital/Social

• Developing and executing comprehensive digital and social campaigns, aligning with organizational goals and marketing objectives
• Leading the creation of campaign strategies, including defining target audiences, overseeing channel mix, setting budgets, and establishing key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Managing our external website content and operations including the strategic direction and definition of day-to-day website initiatives/requests in support of Gagen's digital strategy and business goals
• Creating and managing enterprise partnerships, coordinating with technical and non-technical staff to ensure full web stakeholder integration aligned with marketing objectives
• Utilizing digital analytics and feedback solutions to gather valuable insights and data, enabling informed and strategic decision-making and an intuitive and engaging user experience
• Proactively suggesting new technologies to increase audience engagement and market impact

Firm Visibility and Events

• Setting the strategy for events and sponsorships undertaken by the firm, particularly major events such as the firm's annual signature event
• Representing the firm at industry conferences, professional speaking engagements and recruiting events.
• Monitoring the execution and return on investment delivered by the firm's events and sponsorships

Marketing operations

• Developing collaborative processes and align resources for marketing and campaign planning in partnership with the APCO marketing team
• Managing a holistic global marketing calendar; recognize patterns, duplication, and opportunities for efficiency by combining marketing activities and tailoring for our priority buyers and stakeholder audiences
• Overseeing marketing budget to ensure key initiatives are efficiently supported and deliver against marketing objectives and drive spending efficiencies to maximize budget
• Leveraging analytics to ensure we are constantly optimizing tactics across the various elements of the funnel and linking to business results
• Working closely with internal partners to understand business objectives, translate into marketing goals and KPIs

You'll make an impact with our teams by

• Building and developing a team of marketing professionals over time, capable of executing on the strategies set for Gagen prioritized market segments
• Leading the performance and development of team members by inspiring and empowering them to deliver great results.
• Providing career coaching and long-term professional development opportunities.

You'll make an Impact at the firm by

• Champion best-in-class execution, levering creative assets to drive brand distinctiveness and breakthrough in the marketplace and with C-Suite buyers
• Reaching priority buyers to drive awareness and purchase consideration for Gagen's capabilities and expertise.
• Cultivating, expanding, and maintaining professional working relationships with clients, prospects, and industry leaders to identify business opportunities and ensure client satisfaction through regular relationship-building activities.
• Contributing to the firm's growth by generating new business and supporting the development of proposals and RFP responses for multi-disciplinary engagements with new clients.
• Leveraging knowledge, market/industry insight, and experiences to enhance and evolve our thought leadership strategy and content as well as oversee and lead case study development, and review and/or author out blogs and white papers.
• Asking tough questions, challenge the status quo and up-level our strategic thinking

Key Qualifications

• 12+ years of marketing experience in professional services with a long sales cycle and enterprise level buyers
• Thorough knowledge of marketing strategies and tactics, preferably in a professional services environment
• Demonstrated skills, knowledge and experience in the design and execution of integrated marketing, communications, and media activities
• Expert consultancy and internal client relationship skills and abilities, particularly seeing the big picture while also understanding the nuanced details that can slow down campaign execution and engaging and influencing senior stakeholders and lead cross-matrix teams
• Excellent communication, presentation, and facilitation skills, with the ability to articulate and sell marketing ideas effectively, bring together and get the most out of the strategic expertise of multiple marketing leaders, resulting in thoughtful and innovative marketing plans, developed in a collaborative manner
• Proven track record of demonstrated results (i.e. progress toward KPIs, ROI on marketing campaigns, etc.)
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, or a related field; advanced degree a plus
• Experience navigating large, complex organizations.
• Strong writing skills, especially the ability to articulate complex situations or topics simply and in an engaging style.

Compensation Range

The US base salary for this position ranges from $120,000/year to $160,000/year. Our compensation range for this role is inclusive of several US geographic markets. APCO targets an employee's pay within this range to be based on several factors, which include but are not limited to relevant education, skills, job-related knowledge, qualifications, work experience, credentials, internal equity and/or geographic location.

Gagen MacDonald Values

As a woman-owned business, we believe strongly in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. Gagen MacDonald's company culture exemplifies our Beliefs and Values.

Core Value: Our cause is our clients' success

Supporting values:

• We act with integrity, humility and kindness in everything we do.
• We are inspired by courage, passion and a sense of fun.
• We celebrate individuals and their contributions to the vitality of our firm.
• We build our community upon inclusive and collaborative teams, sustained through individual accountability.

For more information on Gagen MacDonald, visit https://www.gagenmacdonald.com.

Careers at Gagen MacDonald and APCO

With our commitment to recruit, hire, promote and retain people who reflect the diverse communities in which we operate, APCO ensures our teams bring the best possible expertise and diverse perspectives to our clients. We embrace diversity of identity, experience and thought, starting with our values and extending to our behaviors, policies and practices. We aim to create a positive work experience and welcoming environment where everyone feels they belong and can thrive.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, national origin, citizenship, native language, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, religion, age, veteran status, neurodivergence, mental or physical disability, medical history, pregnancy, political belief or affiliation or any other characteristic protected by law.

EOE M/F/V/D