Manager, Marketing Activation

United Way Of Metropolitan Chicago•Chicago, IL

19h•$65,000 - $70,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Marketing Activation Manager is responsible for executing integrated marketing strategies that strengthen brand awareness, engage key audiences, and support organizational goals across fundraising, community impact, volunteer engagement, and 211 Metro Chicago. This role translates strategic marketing plans into coordinated campaigns, manages cross-functional execution, and ensures initiatives are delivered on time, on budget, and with measurable impact. You will turn high-level organizational marketing strategies into organized, executable campaigns to advance the marketing and communications departmental goals to increase brand visibility, audience growth, and conversion.

Requirements

Highly organized marketing professional with experience managing integrated marketing campaigns, paid advertising initiatives, fundraising campaigns, vendor relationships, and cross-functional projects.
Ability to translate strategy into execution, managing competing priorities, and coordinating stakeholders to deliver measurable results.
Bachelor’s degree (B.A) in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field.
3 to 5+ years of demonstrated success in marketing activation, campaign management, brand marketing, communications, project management, or related experience.
Experience managing paid advertising campaigns and vendor relationships.
Experience working with fundraising, event management, CRM, or donor engagement platforms.
Ability to work well in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team
Excellent verbal, presentation, and written communication skills
Strong analytical and marketing project management skills
Detail-oriented with focus on delivering results through creative marketing solutions
Proactive, self-starter, problem solver and organized
Energized and able to manage and prioritize many tasks simultaneously
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft Teams, Zoom Webinar, Trello, SmartSheets
Ability to travel within the Chicago region.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting nonprofit fundraising campaigns preferred.
Familiarity with GoFundMePro or similar event management and online giving tool preferred.
Experience with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) preferred.
Familiarity with website content management systems preferred.
Photography or video editing experience a plus

Responsibilities

Execute integrated marketing campaigns that support organizational priorities, including fundraising, volunteer engagement, corporate partnerships, advocacy initiatives, civic strategies, community impact programs, and 211 Metro Chicago.
Coordinate the planning, placement, trafficking, and monitoring of paid advertising campaigns for United Way and 211 Metro Chicago.
Manage insertion orders, advertising agreements, and campaign documentation; work with Sr Manager, Art Director on creative development; and manage annual marketing budget.
Manage contract process and management for all design and paid advertising vendors.
Review marketing campaign performance data and collaborate with Marketing Operations Manager to evaluate effectiveness.
Manage the production schedule and routing of all campaign materials 2x / year.
Receive content edits from Digital Content Manager and work with Art Director to update design.
Partner with the Marketing Operations Manager to ensure associated website updates, digital assets, and supporting materials are completed.
Update staff training deck highlighting available materials and partner with Manager of Digital Content to deliver training and staff updates.
Serve as Marcom representative in weekly collaborative team meetings.
Partner with fundraising staff to develop marketing support plans for annual campaigns, sponsorship initiatives, donor engagement efforts, and stewardship activities.
Provide direction to Marcom team on support needs for development team and ensure timely execution of requests.
Serve as Marcom team project manager for annual direct mail fundraising campaigns
Partner with Development, Content, Creative, and Operations team members to ensure successful campaign execution according to approved strategic direction.
Set up Trello tickets and ensure Marcom team delivers all materials on time
Manage the development and execution of peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns.
Pull fundraising campaign reports and report out on audience participation insights.
Provide back-up support to Events & Programs Marketing Specialist on event page builds, including registration and donation set-up.