Brand Director

About UsThe same philosophy of personal attention that distinguishes Yorkville University as a leading provider of post-secondary education also makes us an exceptional place to work. We are a modern and progressive institution that prioritizes diversity, opens doors to those often overlooked and provides pathways to successful careers.Yorkville University launched in 2004 with a simple idea: to offer people in search of a purposeful path with the flexible, rigorous and career-focused degrees they need to succeed. With campuses in Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick, we equip our online and on-campus graduates from both Yorkville University and Toronto Film School with the professional knowledge, skills and designations that employers seek out. Every member of our team – from the President, right on down to the newest hire – shares a passion for learning, teaching and growing, both as individuals and as a collective. While our focus remains on providing our students with transformative, accessible and flexible higher education pathways, we also nurture an inclusive, supportive and genuinely kind work environment for our employees in three provinces and remotely.If you want to help transform the Canadian post-secondary education landscape and shine a light on academic excellence, please join us.Who we needReporting to the VP, Marketing, we are looking for a Brand Director. You will own and drive the overall vision for what Yorkville University represents and how it shows up creatively. You will lead a team of four direct reports and spearhead the media planning, reporting on business growth, and day-to-day marketing performance. You will take on the exciting challenges of building and executing brand strategies for programs and degrees within those programs.This is the chance to take an established brand and multiple education programs with massive audiences to new heights by applying cutting-edge, engaging tactics and messaging. You will collaborate across the organization to socialize and gain buy-in before launch. You will push the creative direction through innovative thinking. Your focus will be on building traction and excitement to firmly establish visibility in the market locally, nationally, and internationally. You will play a critical role in designing, developing, and launching a powerful brand recognition campaign for our new degree programs.This is a hybrid role.Who you areYou may be a Senior Brand Manager or a new Director of Marketing, and you are looking to make a move with increased ownership, influence, and accountability. You can execute and implement, balanced with the strategic and analytical strengths of a thought leader. You bring energy and fresh ideas to inspire and drive marketing initiatives and the team's work. You want to bring impactful, exciting initiatives to current and prospective staff and students, adhering to our brand, growing our recognition, and fostering a modern academic culture.What you will focus on:Build and execute the brand strategy. You will oversee and lead our external brand strategy, aligning it with our vision for global growth. You will explore all current platforms and introduce innovative and creative photo, written, and video content that reaches our target audience(s), elevates our brand, and increases current and prospective student engagement. You will lead the collection and creation of unique experiences that tell the story of who we are, who our faculty is, and who our students are, delivering messaging on why we are a top choice for students pursuing academic excellence and professional development in a range of modern, cutting-edge programs.Optimize digital marketing. You will apply a data-driven approach to developing systems and processes for planning, executing, and optimizing brand marketing campaigns. You will lead the execution of digital media trafficking, reporting, and optimization to drive audience growth and deliver short and long-term goals. You will respond to insights and pivot our approach to strengthen our brand connection and differentiate from the competition.Collaborate. You will build and nurture partnerships with business and academic leaders to gain insights into shaping program and degree-specific branding strategies. You will collaborate with your peers in brand and performance marketing, analytics and creative services to ensure communications and content are central to our overarching strategy.Lead. You will manage and mentor an insightful, creative, and enthusiastic team, focusing on operational excellence and ROI and fostering a culture of collaboration and creative curiosity. You will oversee and contribute to the execution, reporting, and optimization of brand roadmap activities.What you bring:The background. You are an enthusiastic brand builder, storyteller, and strategic thought leader with expertise in brand marketing management. You can build and execute a brand and campaign roadmap, bridging digital and traditional marketing. You have experience working with multi-site, matrixed organizations and thinking about scalable programs that localize where appropriate. You may have exposure to branding in education. You can adapt and shape your messaging based on deep insights into the target demographic and engage global audiences where they live, study and play on social media. You have excellent analytical skills and can make data-driven decisions, interpret conversion rates, and draw insights from performance metrics. You are proficient with marketing, data and analytics tools, as well as digital platforms. You may be familiar with photo and video editing software.The leadership. You are passionate about growing and inspiring a creative team, leading by example. You can pivot the team’s focus to increase campaign performance and achieve measurable results. You have experience running brand marketing projects from end to end, driving progress, managing competing priorities, and motivating cross-functional groups to meet deliverables seamlessly. You are meticulous about tracking, record keeping and reporting and can understand, develop and manage marketing reports. You have a passion for continuous learning, mentorship, and knowledge sharing.The interpersonal skills. You have exceptional communication skills with strengths in brand journalism, localizing where appropriate, and adapting approach, length, and voice to the social media platform and target audience. You can influence without and with authority and build trusting relationships with peers, Executive leaders, administrators, faculty, and students. You have an appreciation for diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds.Join usWe welcome and appreciate candidates with a range of backgrounds and experiences. If you have 70% of the qualifications we are looking for, express your interest.What you can expect from our hiring process:A virtual interview with a Talent Advisor discussing your interest in the role and the company.An in-person interview with the VP, Marketing who is the hiring manager for the role. You will be asked to share how your experience and approach to brand marketing aligns with the needs of the organization.An in-person interview with the Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer and two Marketing team members to learn more about the role, the team, and the organization. You will have the opportunity to discuss your leadership style and the impact you will make.Diversity, equity and inclusion are a critical component of life at Yorkville University and we are committed to making these values an integral part of our culture. We encourage applications from all qualified applicants, including women, persons with disabilities, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC), people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Questioning, Two-Spirit, Intersex, Asexual + (LGBTQ2SIA+) community and other equity-seeking groups.Yorkville University is committed to providing accessible employment practices that are in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act ('AODA'). If you require accommodation for disability, please notify Human Resources at 1-866- 467-0661 ext. 1236. #J-18808-Ljbffr