Director of Marketing

Purpose: This position leads the development and execution of marketing strategies that advance Midwest Dairy's mission and vision while strengthening consumer and partner connections. As a brand leader, this role ensures consistency, integrity, and innovation in representing dairy, building trust and fostering appreciation for dairy, dairy farmers, and the essential resources they provide.

Essential Duties:

Strategy & Planning

• Develop and execute marketing campaigns that drive dairy awareness, consumer awareness, and sales of incremental pounds of milk across consumer and partner channels.
• Align marketing strategies with company objectives and goals, ensuring consistency in the positioning and messaging of dairy.
• Conduct market research, competitor analysis, and consumer insights studies to inform campaign development and develop partner initiatives.

Brand & Creative Management

• Oversee brand identity and ensure consistency across all consumer and partner touchpoints.
• Collaborate with the Creative Director to guide the development of high-impact campaigns, creative assets and marketing collateral.
• Ensure partner brand integrations align with brand standards and enhance dairy's positive reputation.

Campaign Development, Execution, Performance

• Lead the creation and management of multi-channel campaigns (digital, social, events, print, PR, etc).
• Develop promotional plans with sales to support activations and events.
• Monitor and optimize campaign performance using data and KPIs.
• Evaluate ROI, campaign effectiveness and provide recommendations for optimization based on results and market trends for leadership.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Manage account service managers and event managers to support the execution of campaigns and activations.
• Provide leadership, mentorship, and career development opportunities for the team.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Communications, Creative, and Ag Affairs to ensure marketing alignment.
• Collaborate with the Sales & Partnership team to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of supported programs, initiatives and campaigns through performance metrics, ROI analysis and reporting.

Skills and Abilities

Strategy & Planning Abilities

• Strong ability to develop and manage integrated brand marketing strategies across consumer and partner channels.
• Ability to connect marketing outcomes to strategics outcomes and Midwest Dairy annual goals.
•  Data-driven decision-making, including campaign performance measurement, ROI analysis, and consumer insights.
• Expertise in market research, presentation, and competitive analysis.

Brand & Creative Management Skills

• Deep understanding of brand positioning, storytelling, and consumer engagement strategies.
• Proven experience overseeing marketing strategies across digital, social, events, print, and experiential campaigns.
• High attention to detail to ensure consistency across brand and campaign touchpoints while tailoring messaging for specific partners and audiences.

Campaign Development, Execution, Performance Skills

• Experience creating co-marketing initiatives that balance our partner goals keeping our brand and message integrity.
• Ability to lead and influence across internal teams and leadership and champion cross-collaboration. 
• Strong negotiation skills and ability to develop and foster strong partner relationships.

Leadership Skills

• Skilled in coaching, mentoring, and supporting professional growth through clear feedback, development opportunities, and performance management.
• Experienced in setting goals, conducting evaluations, and implementing improvement plans to drive accountability and results.
• Adept at motivating and empowering teams by fostering collaboration, recognizing achievements, and promoting shared vision and values.
• Proficient in resolving workplace issues constructively, adapting leadership style to organizational needs, and maintaining positive team dynamics.
• Experienced in leading multi-phase projects with cross-functional collaboration, effective timeline oversight, and resource coordination.

Job Specifications

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, creative, or related field.
• Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in brand, consumer or integrated marketing, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.

Technical Skills:

• CRM system – Microsoft Dynamics 365
• Project management tools (ie, , …).
• Accounting software.

Additional Requirements:

• Travel – 20% of the time to support our partner and consumer events when necessary.
• Must live within Midwest Dairy's 10 state region. 
• Must be flexible to attend events outside of normal business hours.