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Apply Now: Marketing Director at Downtown Raleigh Alliance

Job Title/Position: Marketing Director
Department: Engagement
Reports to: Vice President of Communications & Community Relations
Status: Full-time, exempt

Job Summary

Are you a strategic marketing professional who understands the power of place? Do you enjoy developing integrated campaigns, building audiences, and turning organizational priorities into marketing that gets people to act?

Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) seeks an experienced Marketing Director to lead our marketing strategy and integrated marketing initiatives. This position is responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies that promote Downtown Raleigh, support local businesses, increase engagement with DRA programs and initiatives, and advance the organization's strategic priorities.

The Marketing Director serves as DRA's lead marketing strategist and the operational lead for marketing activities. This position translates organizational priorities into marketing strategies, annual plans, campaigns, budgets, timelines, and measurable objectives. The Marketing Director works across teams to establish priorities, coordinate resources, manage execution, and evaluate results.

This is a role that requires both strategic thinking and direct involvement in campaign development, project management, vendor coordination, brand management, audience development, and marketing execution.

The Marketing Director works closely with the Vice President of Communications & Community Relations, Digital Communications Manager, DRA leadership, and other staff to ensure marketing initiatives align with organizational goals. Their role ensures that DRA's brand and messaging are consistently represented across public-facing campaigns, programs, events, and communications.

The Marketing Director also supports Investor Relations by coordinating fulfillment of marketing benefits for confirmed investors and sponsors in collaboration with the Vice President of Communications & Community Relations and other DRA staff. This is not a direct fundraising role.

Responsibilities and Essential Duties

Marketing Strategy

  • Develop and implement DRA's annual marketing strategy, translating organizational priorities into audience-focused marketing goals supported by strategies with measurable objectives.
  • Establish annual marketing priorities and maintain an integrated marketing calendar that aligns campaigns, programs, events, organizational initiatives, and key audiences.
  • Serve as the organization's primary marketing resource, providing strategic guidance to DRA leadership and staff on marketing opportunities, audience engagement, positioning, and channel strategy within DRA’s broader communications strategy.
  • Translate marketing strategy into audience-specific approaches that strengthen awareness and engagement with Downtown Raleigh, DRA programs and services, downtown businesses, and key organizational initiatives.
  • Monitor market, audience, competitive, and industry trends and translate insights into marketing opportunities and recommendations.
  • Lead cross-functional marketing projects, establishing priorities, workflows, timelines, responsibilities, and accountability while coordinating with staff across the organization.
  • Balance long-term marketing strategy with hands-on execution in a small, fast-moving nonprofit environment.

Campaign Management

  • Lead integrated marketing campaigns from concept through evaluation, including campaigns for First Friday Raleigh, Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week, Holiday Hub, the Downtown Raleigh Gift Card, and other organizational initiatives.
  • Develop campaign strategies, creative briefs, project timelines, production schedules, channel plans, and deliverables.
  • Determine appropriate marketing channels and tactics based on campaign objectives, target audiences, available resources, and performance data.
  • Collaborate with the Digital Communications Manager and other staff to oversee and coordinate campaign execution across web, email, social media, digital advertising, print, public relations, and other channels.
  • Coordinate internal stakeholders and external vendors to ensure campaigns are delivered on time, on budget, and at a high standard.
  • Identify advertising and promotional opportunities that align with campaign goals and negotiate or manage media buys, placements, budgets, production, and timelines.
  • Establish and maintain efficient campaign planning, creative development, review, approval, and reporting processes.

Audience Development & Storefront Marketing

  • Develop strategies to grow awareness, participation, and engagement among DRA's priority audiences, including downtown residents, workers, visitors, businesses, and community members.
  • Use audience insights and campaign performance data to identify opportunities to reach new audiences and strengthen engagement with existing audiences.
  • Serve as the primary marketing relationship manager for participating businesses in programs such as Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week and other promotional initiatives.
  • Communicate marketing opportunities, promotional programs, and available resources to downtown businesses and participating partners.
  • Collaborate with downtown businesses and community partners to develop effective promotional opportunities that support both business visibility and DRA's broader marketing objectives.
  • Contribute content and marketing support to business-facing and audience-facing initiatives as needed.

Brand Management

  • Serve as a steward of DRA's brand identity, ensuring consistent visual and messaging standards across marketing materials, digital platforms, advertising, campaigns, and other public-facing communications.
  • Develop, maintain, and oversee implementation of brand standards across departments, providing guidance and quality control to ensure brand integrity.
  • Provide creative direction and coordinate design resources to ensure marketing materials effectively communicate campaign objectives and align with DRA's brand.
  • Maintain marketing assets, templates, messaging resources, and other brand materials.
  • Identify opportunities to strengthen DRA's positioning and public-facing brand presence.

Marketing Resources & Operations

  • Work with the team to manage marketing resources across campaigns, channels, vendors, and initiatives based on strategic priorities and performance.
  • Manage relationships with marketing vendors, freelancers, agencies, media partners, and other external resources, including negotiating scopes of work, timelines, deliverables, and budgets as appropriate.
  • Develop and maintain marketing workflows, systems, templates, project management processes, and documentation that improve efficiency and accountability.
  • Maintain organized marketing assets, campaign files, vendor information, and reporting documentation.

Analytics & Performance

  • Work with team to establish benchmarking and reporting frameworks for major marketing campaigns and initiatives.
  • Work with team to track and analyze campaign performance, audience growth, engagement, website traffic, email performance, advertising results, conversions, and other relevant metrics.
  • Evaluate marketing effectiveness and return on investment and use findings to refine future strategies and resource allocation.
  • Prepare regular reports on marketing performance and provide actionable recommendations to team and DRA leadership.
  • Collaborate with the Digital Communications Manager to ensure digital analytics and audience data inform broader marketing strategy.

Public Relations Support

  • Support the development and execution of earned media strategies in collaboration with the Vice President of Communications & Community Relations.
  • Collaborate with DRA leadership and communications staff to support media relations, thought leadership, crisis communications, and reputation management.
  • Identify opportunities to promote DRA, Downtown Raleigh, and DRA initiatives through local, regional, and national media.
  • Ensure marketing campaigns and public-facing initiatives reinforce organizational messaging and contribute to a strong and consistent public image.

Sponsorship & Partnership Support

  • Coordinate fulfillment of marketing-related sponsor and investor benefits and ensure timely delivery of contractual obligations to confirmed investors and sponsors.
  • Support sponsor activations, promotional opportunities, and on-site recognition in collaboration with the Vice President of Communications & Community Relations and other DRA staff.
  • Coordinate sponsor recognition across marketing channels, campaign materials, events, and other appropriate platforms.
  • Assist with sponsorship impact reporting and fulfillment documentation.
  • This is not a direct fundraising or sales role.

Education and Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, experience, knowledge, and skills.
  • At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in marketing, with demonstrated experience developing and executing integrated marketing strategies and campaigns.
  • Demonstrated experience managing marketing budgets, vendors, external partners, and multiple concurrent projects.
  • Experience using marketing analytics, audience insights, and performance data to evaluate campaigns and inform strategy.
  • Experience working in a nonprofit, destination marketing organization, hospitality/tourism organization, arts or cultural organization, or similarly mission-driven environment is preferred.
  • Experience marketing a place, destination, organization, event portfolio, community, or similarly multifaceted brand is a plus.

Skills and Capabilities

  • Strong strategic thinking and judgment, with the ability to translate organizational priorities into focused marketing strategies and actionable plans.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex concepts into compelling messages for multiple audiences.
  • Exceptional project management skills and demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and stakeholder relationships.
  • Strong understanding of integrated marketing principles, audience development, brand management, paid and earned media, digital marketing, and marketing analytics.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and build alignment across teams and organizational levels.
  • Strong analytical skills and the ability to translate data into actionable marketing recommendations.
  • Strong relationship management and relationship building skills.
  • Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and make decisions in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment.
  • Ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on execution.
  • Commitment to the mission of Downtown Raleigh Alliance and an interest in the continued vitality of Downtown Raleigh.
  • Familiarity with tools such as Canva, SproutSocial, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Meltwater, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft 365, and Asana.

Additional Requirements

  • Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
  • Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.
  • Ability to work flexible hours, including some nights and weekends, as required to perform essential job duties.

Compensation

The Marketing Director is an exempt employee. The hiring range for this position is $80,000 - $87,000 based on qualifications and experience. The employee will qualify for a generous benefits package to include health, dental, and retirement contributions. Vacation and sick time are also included.

Position Environment

The Marketing Director is able to work a hybrid schedule at this time, with a mix of in-office and remote work weekly. Some evenings and weekend work will be expected to perform essential job duties.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification.They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

EEO Statement

We are an equal employment opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any person because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, political affiliation, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, or other reasons prohibited by law (referred to as "protected status"). This nondiscrimination and opportunity policy extends to employment, use of all company facilities, membership, board service and leadership, volunteerism, participation in any of the organization's programs or services and all employment actions such as promotions, compensation, benefits and termination of employment.

Application Details and Deadline

To apply, submit your resume, cover letter, and 3 professional references at this link. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Final deadline to apply is 5 pm EDT on Monday, August 31st. 

Anticipated start date: October 2026.

No emails or phone calls, please.