Job Description - Director Brand Marketing (2011220)
Job Description
Director Brand Marketing - ( 2011220 )
Description
At Pearson, we’re committed to a world that’s always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible. From bringing lectures vividly to life to turning textbooks into laptop lessons, we are always re-examining the way people learn best, whether it’s one child in our own backyard or an education community across the globe. We are bold thinkers and standout innovators who motivate each other to explore new frontiers in an environment that supports and inspires us to always be better. By pushing the boundaries of technology—and each other to surpass these boundaries—we create seeds of learning that become the catalyst for the world’s innovations, personal and global, large and small.
Pearson’s Online & Blended Learning K-12 group provides high-quality, highly accountable online education solutions to schools, school districts and students in grades K-12. It serves families and schools with various digital learning and online school solutions, including Connections Academy and Pearson Online Academy. The group, formerly known as Connections Education, is based in Columbia, Maryland and has been named a “Top Workplace” by the Baltimore Sun for three consecutive years and a “Best Place to Work” by Baltimore magazine. Recognized for its outstanding curriculum, high-quality teachers and leadership, Pearson Online & Blended Learning is committed to expanding quality education through technology, and helping students achieve both academic and personal success.
Position Summary:
The Brand Director will be responsible and accountable for developing and championing the brands within Pearson Online and Blended Learning, including Connections Academy and Pearson Online Academy. The successful candidate will have robust brand strategy experience, specifically in managing complex consumer brands across multiple online and offline marketing channels. The Brand Director will be responsible for development and/or refinement of brand architecture, brand positioning, integrated marketing campaign strategies, visual identity and messaging development. The Brand Director is also responsible for driving brand health measures for all affiliated brands. This key team member should be a highly motivated, data-driven, self-starter with the ability to initiate big ideas to drive change across the organization.
Primary Responsibilities:
Build comprehensive strategy and operational plan for advancing brand health measures across multiple brands
Oversee brand planning process including definition or refinement of target audiences
Play a key role in the establishment of brand building strategies across all channels; lead development of brand marketing mix and strategies for consumer-brand interaction to drive increased engagements
Spearhead brand activation strategies to spark lower funnel consumer actions
Collaborate with research and insights team to leverage consumer market insights from primary and secondary research to steer the strategic direction of our brands
Refine and implement brand architecture, brand positioning, visual identity and message strategy across all lines of business
Partner with Creative Services Manager to develop and/or refine brand guidelines, visual identity and voice/tone across all lines of business
Collaborate with Creative Services Manager to strengthen brands’ messaging and creative designs in order to attract prospective families
Team up with Advertising Manager to evaluate and test new awareness driving marketing efforts and make strategic recommendations for planning and budgets
Provide guidance on advertising strategies, as well as media and creative campaigns, to drive innovation and impact
Partner with PR teams to develop thought leadership and brand activation strategies
Monitor competitive landscape with an eye towards blue ocean strategies and brand opportunities
Establish ongoing relationships with brand teams across Pearson to ensure coordination, consistency and efficiency
Work with partner marketing, sales and legal teams to ensure brand consistency across schools
Champion our brand positioning and brand guidelines across all lines of business
Provide counsel and ensure internal and external teams understand our brands
Partner with product and sales teams on new product strategies
Monitor and enforce brand and message consistency across all channels
Stay current with marketing trends and industry best practices and identify areas of opportunity that will ensure the business a competitive edge in brand awareness, acquisition and retention
Maintain brand marketing expertise, consistently hone skills and develop a deep understanding of consumer mindsets and barriers to brand marketing and subsequently offering the creative and sustainable solutions.
Develop strong agency partner and vendor relationships; manage coordination of multiple external partners
Track, benchmark and report on key performance indicators
Assist other departments as needed with consumer-facing branding and communications activities
Foster an environment of motivation, inspiration, curiosity and passion for the work we do
Qualifications
Requirements:
Minimum 15+ years of brand marketing/management experience and at least 5 years of experience leading brand strategy
At least 10 years of working experience developing creative and innovative marketing strategies that heavily leverage offline and online channels in facilitating effective brand marketing programs and messages
Previous management of large multi-media consumer brands required
Strong organizational skills and ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects based on business-critical needs
This is a highly collaborative position requiring masterful collaboration and partnership skills and experience
Proven strength in communication, presentation and influence skills; able to speak comfortably and clearly to key stakeholders, leadership teams and external partners
Experience writing strategic creative briefs and working with marketing strategy and agency partners
Has a deep understanding of brands and the ability to create and communicate in ways that align with each brand’s unique vision to drive brand engagement
Proven ability to create strong brand marketing campaigns to deliver on business goals and KPIs
Experience in managing large or complex brand integration projects
Analytical skills are imperative; strong ability to enable data-driven decisions and show an interest and comfort working with metric-driven models
Demonstrates both creativity and performance-mindedness
Has the energy and drive to deliver the best work in the industry and an adaptability to a range of time and budget constraints
Is a self-starter with a strong aptitude for solving problems individually and in teams, with the ability to propose alternative solutions
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications or other related field; Master’s degree preferred
At least 2 years of experience managing Fortune 500 brands
Agency experience will be considered a plus
Possesses an innate curiosity, aptitude and hands-on approach
Strong experience working with brand campaigns across television, radio, print, out-of-home, digital and mobile
Incredibly organized with a natural drive to follow every project, big or small, to completion
Primary Location : US-MD-Columbia
Work Locations : US-MD-Columbia-Grantchester Merriweather 10960 Grantchester Way Two Merriweather Columbia 21044
