Director of Brand, Communications and Marketing Operations

Alterra•Enumclaw, WA

9d•$100,000 - $130,000•Onsite

About The Position

The heart of this role is our guest and the guest experience. The Director of Brand, Communications, and Marketing Operations at Crystal Mountain is responsible for developing creative ways to serve guests and express our brand digitally and on-site, while also providing strong project management to keep the team operating effectively. As the Director of Marketing, this role is essential to the strategic brand management and marketing operations of Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. The position requires a creative, driven, and business savvy individual who can elevate our work to the next level of excellence. This position is responsible for developing and implementing annual marketing plans and activities that generate sales, increase brand value, achieve company OKRs, and drive consumer engagement. The role is also responsible for developing budgets and evaluating KPIs and ROI. This role requires long-range organizational planning, as well as a creative and adaptable skill set that can respond quickly to changing business conditions and consumer needs as the winter snow arrives and the summer sun emerges. This position manages four direct reports (Project and Communications Manager, Digital Marketing Manager, Creative Services & Content Specialist, and Contact Center Manager) and three to seven indirect reports, depending on the season. The team is responsible for product launches, budget tracking, digital marketing, communications, public relations, social media, data collection and analysis, brand performance reporting, and administrative duties related to brand marketing. The role also collaborates closely with Revenue Management, the Director of Sales, Events and Partnerships, and department heads throughout the resort. This role serves as the creative steward of the Crystal Mountain brand, ensuring that every guest touchpoint from advertising to on-mountain experiences delivers a compelling, emotionally resonant story about distinct mountain adventure that only Crystal Mountain can offer. The Director will guide the development and lead the implementation of compelling creative campaigns, immersive brand experiences and authentic storytelling that elevate Crystal Mountain’s position as the premier Pacific Northwest mountain destination. The primary function of this role is to help achieve Crystal Mountain Ski Resort’s annual business goals through strategic planning, management of the consumer journey, expression of the authentic brand, and leadership of marketing, digital, and communication plans, as well as ensuring best in class guest service through the contact center for both winter and summer seasons. This is a full-time, year-round on-mountain position with the ability to work from home two to three days per week depending on business needs.

Requirements

Growth mindset to learn new technologies, ways of working and ideas as they come along from any level of the company; be open to feedback and daily optimization.
Demonstrated knowledge of marketing practices and principles, including paid media and CRM.
Ability to think creatively and big picture while aligning brand and company goals.
Willingness to dig into details and weeds to resolve issues.
Experience in establishing and maintaining effective relationships with direct team and cross functional departments.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and ability to quickly master programs such as Asana, PowerBI and Medallia.
Experience in strategic communication and social media planning.
Experience in principles, concepts, and practices of project management.
Experience leading projects with cross-functional teams from different departments.
Ability to work in a dynamic environment with modest supervision.
Ability to work under deadline pressure, handle many projects at once and problem solve.
Ability to own the brand identity of Crystal and, when speaking from or positioning, exclude any personal views, beliefs, or opinions that do not fall within the brand guidelines.
Bachelor’s degree in marketing, branding, graphic design, communications, or other related field.
Candidates should be able to present examples of brand campaigns, storytelling initiatives, or creative work they have led or directed, including the strategic thinking and results behind the work.
5+ years’ experience in management.
10+ years’ experience in advertising and/or marketing experience in a corporate brand or ad agency role.

Nice To Haves

Experience in ski, travel & tourism, or hospitality, with a proven marketing capability for these industries is a plus.
Experience leading projects with cross-functional teams from different departments and achieving OKRs.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement an annual marketing plan based on the resort strategy supported by a detailed budget; deliver seasonal and annual performance recaps, evaluate goal attainment, and recommend actions to enhance results.
Monitor weekly business performance and guest satisfaction feedback, and use these insights to shape initiatives that support annual OKRs in both the short and long term.
Adapt to changing business conditions and apply new tactics as needed to solve complex problems.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create guest offerings aligned with the consumer journey and guest needs.
Lead the creative vision for seasonal marketing campaigns, ensuring concepts reflect Crystal Mountain’s brand voice, sense of place, and adventurous spirit.
Lead development and implementation of promotion and paid advertising plans.
Translate business goals into bold creative briefs that inspire compelling campaigns across digital, social, video, experiential, and on-mountain channels; perform post campaign analysis and optimize.
Champion innovative formats including video storytelling, experiential marketing, interactive digital experiences, and user-generated content.
Serve as the creative conduit across F&B outlets, retail, ski & ride school, and other teams; transforming their business needs into compelling content, digital and physical experiences.
Maintain, follow, and enforce brand guidelines and standards for digital and on mountain guest experience.
Oversee and collaborate with external agencies on initiatives including paid advertising, communications, organic social media, and the ambassador program when engaged
Lead and inspire the team to deliver on responsibilities including Brand Management, Communications, Digital Engagement, Creative Services, Content Management, and the Contact Center.
Coach, develop, and mentor direct reports daily and ensure indirect reports also receive appropriate coaching and development.
Maintain accurate department RACI.
Lead the development of photo and video storytelling that captures the authentic culture of the mountain community.
Support consumer events in person and be on mountain on Saturdays and occasional Sundays during winter.
Guide and ensure quality and consistency across the resort in the look, feel, voice, and positioning of Crystal Mountain Ski Resort.
Inspire, share and educate teams, agencies, and partners on brand and style guides, ensuring consistent understanding and adherence.
Lead agencies, vendors, and third parties to deliver on scopes of work and project briefs that meet company goals and OKRs.
Build relationships with companies and influencers that align with the Crystal brand.
Lead brand communications strategy, including public relations, earned media, social media, and other guest communication touch points, and collaborate with Human Resources on internal communications.
Ensure all marketing communications deliver emotionally engaging narratives, not simply promotional messaging.
Co‑develop and execute the annual marketing planning cadence and process with the VP of Marketing, Sales, and Communications.
Co‑develop and execute the product planning cadence, launch checklist, and post‑launch and product success analysis with the VP of Marketing and the Product Management Committee.
Collaborate on and implement plans from Alterra Mountain Company Shared Services and Ikon Pass.
Demonstrate mastery of program and project management, including establishing project plans and meeting milestones.
Monthly budget management for labor and expenses.
Develop a content ecosystem strategy spanning seasonal campaigns, athlete/ambassador storytelling, social media, and editorial content.
Guide and provide feedback on all brand creative—digital and on mountain—to ensure alignment with brand standards, current campaign look and feel, and event needs.
Create, execute, and continually optimize digital strategy and CRM plans, primarily focused on website and email.
Co‑develop paid media plans, briefs, deliverables lists, resource allocation, and seasonal campaign launches.
Develop annual email strategy and optimize in real time with the Digital Marketing Manager.
Develop a weekly or bi‑weekly Brand/Communications meeting to review the status of internally produced assets and provide direction as needed.
Assign and manage work for the direct team and cross functional partners via the project management tool, and complete assigned tasks.
Maintain updated Asana projects and corresponding tasks.
Continuously optimize the marketing mix and plan based on data and insights; review with the team to ensure metrics guide decisions and next steps.
Co-own and manage the customer journey and improvements related to consumer engagement, Net Promoter Score, and Medallia analytics.
Lead competitor audits to provide insights into brand positioning and identify points of difference and opportunities for new campaigns and promotions.
Collaborate with Shared Services to conduct internal or third-party marketing studies as needed.
Understand, analyze and optimize guest experience trails and weekly guest net promoter feedback; facilitate improvements across the resort in collaboration with Guest Experiences Manager, who reports directly to VP.
Oversight of all Crystal Mountain products and services, pricing, and FAQs in collaboration with Revenue Management, and direct responsibility for all product launches to guests.
Management of all guest communications including website and email copy, daily mountain report, newsletters, social media, resort signage, press releases, web announcements, blog content, ambassador program content, influencer content, and cross collaboration with Human Resources on internal communications through the Project and Communications Manager who reports to the Director of Marketing.
Managed by the Digital Marketing Manager, who reports to the Director of Marketing.
Graphic design and content creation in digital and physical formats to support marketing and communications objectives, managed by the part‑time Creative Services and Content Strategy Specialist who reports to the Director of Marketing.
Oversight of the customer contact center, including the Manager, Supervisor, and hourly staff who report to the Director of Marketing.
Execution of brand partnership, event, and sales deliverables across the resort by the Director of Marketing’s team; Sales, Events, and Partnerships report directly to the VP.

Benefits

Free Alterra season pass (unlimited, direct to lift at all Alterra resorts) + Free Alterra season pass for spouse and dependents 25 & under
50% off window ticket price at IKON partner resorts
Free access to Alterra Mountain destinations during time off
Free ski-referral letters for employees to use at other mountain resorts during time off
Free friends & family day-ski vouchers (Periodic allotment)
Discounts on Ski & Snowboard Lessons
Discounts on Ski & Snowboard Rentals
Discounts on Gear Tune-Ups
Discounts on Food & Beverage
Discounts at Crystal Mountain Retail shops
Free Crystal branded swag
Pro deals on gear with 100s of brands
Discount Marketplace Deals on accessories, auto, electronics, entertainment, fitness, food, home, pet supplies, travel, and more
Employee-only Night Skiing events
Employee Housing Available for eligible positions
Accrued paid time off for eligible positions
Group health insurance for eligible positions
401K benefit and generous match with immediate vesting for all staff members over 18
Opportunities for growth, advancement, and year-round employment