Director of Marketing | The Shenandoah Nature Resort | Star Tannery, VA

PM New•Star Tannery, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

We’re seeking a creative, commercially minded, and brand-obsessed Director | Marketing to lead the marketing strategy, brand storytelling, and demand generation efforts for The Shenandoah Nature Resort. This role is responsible for translating the resort’s vision into a clear, compelling, and revenue-driving marketing strategy across digital, social, PR, partnerships, programming, guest communications, and on-property activations. This position requires a strategic marketer with experience in luxury hospitality, wellness resorts, lifestyle hotels, or highly programmed destination properties. The ideal candidate understands how to market more than rooms—they can bring a resort ecosystem to life through experiences, retreats, culinary programming, wellness offerings, outdoor recreation, community engagement, and guest journey touchpoints. The Director | Marketing will be a critical member of the pre-opening leadership team, shaping how the world comes to know—and fall in love with—The Shenandoah from day one. The Shenandoah Nature Resort is a revolutionary luxury wellness destination set within the breathtaking expanse of the Shenandoah Valley in Star Tannery, Virginia—just ninety minutes from Washington, DC. Rooted in regenerative principles and a profound respect for the land, The Shenandoah exists to provide transformational experiences that blend ancient and modern wellness wisdom, harmonize nature and nurture, and activate human and environmental connections. Shenandoah’s brand promise is inseparable from its culture. We believe that how our leaders live, lead, and relate establishes an “energetic baseline” that shapes how guests and teammates experience the property from day one. We are building more than a resort—we are stewarding a long-term platform rooted in purpose, sustainability, and meaningful human connection. The Shenandoah Nature Resort is currently under construction with an anticipated opening of Winter 2027/2028.

Requirements

10+ years of marketing experience, preferably in luxury hospitality, wellness resorts, lifestyle hotels, destination resorts, private clubs, travel, or experiential brands.
Prior experience marketing a highly programmed property or destination with multiple revenue centers, such as rooms, spa, wellness, food and beverage, events, retreats, recreation, or retail.
Strong understanding of luxury guest expectations, experiential travel, wellness tourism, and destination storytelling.
Proven experience leading both external agency partners and on-site marketing teams, including managing scopes of work, timelines, budgets, performance expectations, and cross-functional execution across digital, social, PR, content, programming, and on-property marketing initiatives.
Experience managing digital marketing, social media, PR, content, email marketing, website content, and agency partners.
Strong commercial acumen with the ability to connect marketing strategy to revenue performance.
Excellent writing, communication, project management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Experience with pre-opening, brand launch, repositioning, or resort ramp-up strongly preferred.
Ability to work collaboratively with ownership, corporate teams, operations, sales, revenue management, agencies, and on-property leaders.
Comfortable working in outdoor resort environments with variable weather, terrain, and event logistics.
Purpose-Driven Leadership: Leads with clarity, intention, and alignment to Shenandoah’s guiding experience—Relax, Release, Connect, Love—ensuring the team understands why we do what we do, not just what we do.
Commercial Visionary: Combines market intelligence, creative instinct, and analytical discipline to build brands that resonate with discerning, values-aligned travelers—and connects every marketing decision to measurable business outcomes.
Storyteller + Creative Lead: A confident, articulate communicator and storyteller who embodies the resort's identity and can translate our mission into compelling, authentic marketing that cuts through.
Strategic Thinker with Executional Depth: Balances big-picture positioning with granular operational follow-through; uses data, guest feedback, and market trends to inform decisions and improve outcomes.
People-First Leader: Builds, develops, and retains high-performing commercial teams through clarity of expectations, accountability, coaching, and genuine investment in people's growth.
Emotionally Intelligent: Demonstrates strong judgment, discretion, and composure in complex stakeholder environments; leads with empathy and earns trust through consistent behavior.
Adaptive & Resilient: Operates effectively in pre-opening ambiguity and the evolving rhythms of a nature-based resort; remains solutions-oriented and calm under pressure.
Collaborative & Community-Minded: Builds strong partnerships with operations, wellness, ownership, and external stakeholders; leads with a regenerative mindset and a genuine commitment to place.
SERVE OTHERS.
LIVE 360.
BUILD A POSITIVE TEAM.
COMMUNICATE.
BE WILDLY PASSIONATE.
TAKE OWNERSHIP.
LEARN + INNOVATE.
EMBRACE CHANGE.

Nice To Haves

Ability to speak Spanish or other languages is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead the development and execution of the resort’s pre-opening marketing strategy, including awareness campaigns, launch messaging, media storytelling, and experiential activations.
Build the marketing infrastructure from the ground up: analytics frameworks, content systems, agency scopes of work, channel mix strategy, and CRM architecture.
Partner with the Managing Director, ownership, and brand leadership to position The Shenandoah in the luxury wellness and nature travel market ahead of opening.
Shape the resort’s digital presence, direct booking strategy, and PR narrative during the pre-opening phase.
Identify and secure pre-opening partnerships, media relationships, and influencer collaborations to drive awareness and brand momentum at launch.
Serve as the on-property marketing lead and brand steward for The Shenandoah Nature Resort, translating the resort’s positioning, mission, and guest experience into clear marketing strategies, campaigns, and content.
Ensure all marketing, programming, collateral, photography, social media, PR, and guest communications reflect the resort’s brand voice and visual identity.
Partner with ownership, corporate marketing, operations, sales, revenue management, and programming teams to ensure the brand is consistently expressed across every guest touchpoint.
Own the resort’s marketing strategy across all channels: digital, social, email, PR, content, paid media, partnerships, and direct booking.
Build and manage the marketing budget with a performance-oriented mindset; optimize spend based on channel ROI and guest acquisition data.
Lead or partner with agency resources on campaign development, content production, influencer engagement, and media relations.
Drive direct booking growth through a deliberate SEO, SEM, and CRM strategy that reduces reliance on OTA channels and builds long-term guest loyalty.
Cultivate media relationships, trade partnerships, and earned coverage that builds brand credibility in the luxury wellness and nature travel space.
Oversee website content, SEO, local listings, landing pages, booking paths, and digital merchandising to ensure the resort is positioned effectively online.
Partner with digital agencies and corporate marketing teams to manage paid media, metasearch, SEO, email marketing, CRM, and campaign performance.
Monitor digital performance, including website traffic, booking conversion, campaign ROAS, email engagement, and channel contribution.
Ensure offers, packages, programming, and seasonal campaigns are properly represented across the resort website, booking engine, OTAs, and third-party channels.
Lead the resort’s organic social media strategy, content calendar, and storytelling priorities; oversee content capture needs, including photography, videography, short-form video, and influencer visits.
Partner with agencies, content creators, and internal stakeholders to ensure social content reflects the property’s luxury positioning and experiential depth.
Develop social campaigns that support brand awareness, engagement, programming, packages, and key revenue periods.
Partner with PR agencies and corporate marketing to identify media angles, press opportunities, influencer collaborations, and thought leadership moments; support media visits, FAM trips, and VIP experiences.
Build strategic local, regional, and national partnerships aligned with the resort’s positioning, including wellness experts, outdoor brands, culinary partners, conservation organizations, makers, artists, and community leaders.
Build marketing strategies around the resort’s full programming calendar, including wellness, culinary, outdoor recreation, retreats, workshops, seasonal events, community gatherings, and signature experiences.
Collaborate with operations, spa/wellness, food and beverage, recreation, and guest experience teams to develop marketable programming that supports revenue, guest engagement, and brand differentiation.
Package and promote experiences in a way that drives overnight stays, repeat visitation, membership/community engagement, and ancillary spend.
Identify opportunities to create signature resort moments that differentiate the property in the luxury wellness and nature resort space.
Collaborate with the wellness and programming team to develop compelling experience-led marketing that differentiates The Shenandoah in a crowded landscape.
Work closely with sales and revenue management to align marketing strategy with business needs, including need periods, group opportunities, retreat business, seasonal demand, and package development.
Support sales collateral, group marketing assets, retreat/wellness sales tools, wedding/event materials, and owner-facing performance updates as needed.
Participate in revenue strategy discussions to ensure marketing campaigns are aligned with pace, segmentation, channel mix, and revenue goals.
Provide clear reporting on marketing performance, campaign results, programming impact, and key business drivers.
Oversee marketing touchpoints across the guest journey, including pre-arrival communications, in-room collateral, resort guides, app content, signage, menus, spa/wellness materials, post-stay communications, and loyalty/return-visit opportunities.
Ensure the guest journey clearly communicates the breadth of available experiences and encourages participation in programming, dining, wellness, retail, and recreation.
Ensure all marketing initiatives align with Shenandoah’s sustainability commitments, regenerative principles, and operational ethos.
Partner with operations to ensure marketing promises are operationally executable and consistently delivered.

Benefits

Competitive compensation package, including quarterly incentive plan.
Generous health, dental and vision insurance, plus 401K.
Comprehensive onboarding and training plan to set you up for success.
Coaching, feedback, and mentorship to develop yourself and your team.
Personalized development plan to fit your individual role and career goals.
Leadership courses to improve your personal and interpersonal effectiveness.
Monthly fitness and transportation credits.
Unlimited PTO and 9 paid holidays.
Opportunities to volunteer and give back to our local communities.
Paid Parental Leave.
Tuition reimbursement opportunities – when you grow, we grow!
Long-term growth opportunities within The Shenandoah platform, including potential participation in future incentive or partnership programs aligned with performance and tenure, subject to formal plan adoption.
A leadership environment designed for sustainability—where success is not expected to come at the expense of your health, family, or sense of purpose.
Supportive executive partnership and ownership engagement focused on long-term success, professional fulfillment, and shared accountability.