Director, Brand Marketing & Creative Services

URBAN LAND INSTITUTE•Washington, DC

1d•$90,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is seeking a Director, Brand Marketing & Creative Services to lead its creative team. This role involves overseeing both in-house and outsourced creative professionals, managing creative operations, workflow, and external agency partnerships. The position requires a blend of brand leadership and hands-on management of creative development to enhance ULI's reputation, increase awareness and engagement, support membership growth, and advance organizational priorities. The Director will report to the SVP, Membership Experience and Marketing.

Requirements

Proven experience leading brand strategy and creative services, not just one or the other.
Experience managing a creative team that includes outsourced, freelance, or agency resources.
A track record of giving decisive, professional creative feedback, and standing behind it, even when the room disagrees.
Demonstrated success managing multi-stakeholder brands.
Experience overseeing integrated marketing campaigns and creative development.
Strong understanding of brand architecture, messaging, design systems, customer experience, and marketing strategy.
Experience with brand research, audience insights, brand tracking, and performance measurement.
Exceptional organization and the ability to triage competing priorities under deadline pressure.
Comfort managing projects to a fixed budget and pre-set cost estimates, and communicating trade-offs clearly to stakeholders.
Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Design, Business, or a related field.
8–10 years of progressive experience in brand management, creative services, or marketing leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience within an association, membership organization, or other complex, multi-stakeholder nonprofit brand.
Experience supporting on-site brand activation at large conferences or member meetings.
Familiarity with creative traffic or project management tools such as RoboHead.
Experience working across global or multi-market regions.

Responsibilities

Lead and optimize creative intake, workflow, prioritization, resource allocation, and production processes, including overseeing the administration of RoboHead, ULI’s creative project management platform.
Oversee the development of, and provide creative leadership for, creative concepts, campaigns, publications, presentations, reports, videos, digital experiences, and marketing assets.
Ensure creative excellence across all brand touchpoints and maintain high standards of quality, innovation, and effectiveness.
Manage project prioritization and stakeholder expectations across a diverse portfolio of stakeholders.
Oversee and manage vendor relationships, production partners, agencies, freelancers, and creative technology platforms and their providers.
Ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with organizational priorities.
Develop and manage the annual brand and creative services budget.
Stay informed of design, content, technology, and digital marketing trends and incorporate best practices into ULI's creative approach.
Develop and maintain brand governance frameworks, guidelines, toolkits, templates, and standards.
Provide strategic consultation to stakeholders on branding, naming, messaging, and visual identity.
Ensure brand consistency across channels, programs, products, services, and communications.
Serve as the brand representative for planning and execution of major initiatives, campaigns, anniversaries, convenings, and enterprise priorities.
Monitor brand health, including awareness, perception, satisfaction, engagement, and advocacy.
Partner with senior leaders to grow brand awareness through campaigns, activations, or other activities at the global, region, or local level.
Oversee brand activation strategies for major meetings, conferences, events, and strategic initiatives, including the development of onsite messaging and signage at major meetings.
Optimize the implementation of brand standards across digital platforms, websites, social media, mobile experiences, and emerging channels.
Lead Creative Services, including one direct report and a team of contracted designers, and a traffic manager who work closely and consistently with ULI.
Build team capabilities in emerging areas including digital content, AI-enabled creative workflows, and multimedia storytelling.
Serve as the primary point of contact for enterprise-wide brand and creative services needs.
Build strong relationships with leaders and stakeholders across all business functions and regions.
Partner with regional teams and district councils to ensure consistent implementation of the brand while accommodating local market needs.