Head of Marketing

Augusta Distillery LLC•Louisville, KY

8d•$105,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At Augusta Distillery, our vision is to be the category leader in Kentucky bourbon through an uncompromising commitment to quality, authenticity, and transparency. We produce single barrel, cask strength, unfiltered bourbon - never blended, never manipulated - true to the way bourbon was historically made. Our philosophy, Bourbon Uncompromised, guides every decision we make. From how we source and age our barrels to how we present our products to the market, we prioritize integrity over shortcuts and long-term brand value over short-term gains. We are building a vertically integrated, infrastructure-first luxury bourbon brand designed to scale nationally while maintaining the craftsmanship and authenticity that define the category at its best. The Head of Marketing will own Augusta Distillery's marketing function end-to-end. In a 31-person company, this is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can set the strategy, develop the creative, manage outside partners, and personally drive the work to completion. We are looking for a strong storyteller with excellent creative judgment, digital fluency, disciplined execution, a positive attitude, and a genuine interest in premium whiskey. This role reports directly to the President and will have one direct report who supports graphic design, sales support, and content creation. The Head of Marketing will also direct outside agencies and specialists and will be responsible for brand building, consumer demand, paid media, content, website and e-commerce, DTC, homeplace sales, product launches, sales support, PR, events, and marketing analytics.

Requirements

6+ years of progressive experience in marketing, brand, creative, digital, or growth roles for a consumer-facing business. Premium spirits, beer, wine, luxury, lifestyle, hospitality, or another premium consumer category is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated ability to operate as both a strategic leader and a hands-on executor in a small or entrepreneurial organization, including experience directing employees and outside agencies/vendors.
Strong creative experience and judgment, with examples of campaigns, content, copy, photography/video direction, design direction, web work, or other consumer-facing creative development.
Hands-on experience with paid social and digital performance marketing, including campaign management, creative testing, audience strategy, optimization, and measurement.
Experience leading or materially contributing to a website redesign/build and working with e-commerce or DTC platforms, conversion optimization, and digital merchandising.
Working knowledge of social and scheduling platforms, email/CRM tools, CMS and e-commerce platforms, GA4/Google Tag Manager, Meta Ads Manager, SEO/SEM, and related marketing technologies. Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite and/or Canva is valuable.
Strong project-management and budget-management skills, with the ability to prioritize and complete a large number of projects across internal teams and outside partners.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, design, business, or a related field is preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be considered.
Curiosity about and enthusiasm for bourbon and premium spirits is important.

Responsibilities

Own the annual and quarterly marketing strategy, calendar, priorities, and budget, aligned with company goals, sales plans, product releases, and available resources.
Serve as the brand steward for Augusta Distillery and its products, maintaining a consistent premium position, voice, visual identity, and consumer experience across every channel while developing go-to-market plans for new products and major brand initiatives.
Lead creative concepting and development across campaigns, paid and organic social, website, email, print, point-of-sale, events, photography, video, packaging support, and sales materials. Be willing to write, edit, build briefs, direct design, and jump into execution when needed.
Own the content strategy and detailed content calendar. Direct the internal design/content resource and outside content partners to produce a steady pipeline of high-quality, on-brand photography, video, graphics, and copy.
Own paid social strategy and execution, including Meta and other relevant platforms, with responsibility for audience targeting, creative testing, campaign structure, budget allocation, optimization, and performance reporting.
Manage paid search, retargeting, SEO, organic social, and creator/influencer activity as appropriate, using disciplined testing to improve reach, engagement, conversion, and return on marketing spend.
Own email and CRM strategy, including list growth, segmentation, product-release communications, lifecycle campaigns, and programs designed to strengthen first-party consumer relationships and repeat purchasing.
Build practical reporting using GA4, Google Tag Manager, Meta Ads Manager, e-commerce analytics, and other available data. Turn data into clear actions and ensure digital marketing and age-gating are executed in accordance with applicable alcohol-industry requirements.
Lead the strategy, partner selection, build, content development, and launch of a new Augusta Distillery website, with strong attention to brand presentation, user experience, SEO, analytics, and conversion.
Own the marketing side of DTC and e-commerce, including digital merchandising, product-release strategy, landing pages, promotional calendars, conversion optimization, and coordination with Shopify, Square, DTC partners, or other commerce platforms as applicable.
Partner with the distillery and retail teams to grow on-site sales, tours, experiences, events, and special bottle releases so the physical and digital consumer experiences reinforce one another.
Partner closely with sales to create sell-in presentations, product stories, photography, point-of-sale materials, samples, SWAG, digital assets, and product-knowledge materials, and to build integrated launch plans for distributors, retailers, DTC, and the homeplace.
Work with outside PR partners to develop the right stories, press opportunities, awards strategy, product-launch support, and ongoing brand awareness for Augusta Distillery.
Plan or support brand activations, tastings, consumer events, partnerships, charitable activities, and community engagement that fit the brand and can be executed effectively by a lean organization.
Lead and develop one direct report who works across graphic design, sales support, and content creation. Manage agencies, freelancers, photographers, videographers, developers, printers, and other vendors with clear scopes, timelines, budgets, and expectations.
Maintain a detailed monthly marketing calendar, manage competing priorities and the marketing budget, organize creative assets, and build simple processes that allow a small team to move quickly while maintaining quality and accountability.