Senior Director, Brand and Impact Marketing

URBAN LAND INSTITUTE•Washington, DC

2h•$106,916 - $120,281•Onsite

About The Position

ULI's brand is not a logo or a color palette. It is the sum of every story we tell about the work our members do and the impact that work has on communities around the world. As the Senior Director, Brand and Impact Marketing, you are the person responsible for that brand: how it looks, how it sounds, and how it shows up in the stories ULI tells to its members, its donors, and the broader market. This role sits at the intersection of two things that are inseparable at a mission-driven organization. On one side: brand stewardship and creative services, the visual identity, the guidelines, the creative team, and the conference brand that shows up for 5,500 people at the Fall Meeting. On the other: impact storytelling, the strategy for finding ULI's stories, surfacing them from district councils and programs across 80 countries, and distributing them through the right channels to the audiences that matter most. The brand infrastructure is established and running well. The storytelling function is newer and represents the biggest growth opportunity in the role. The incoming Senior Director will inherit a strong foundation and be expected to build what does not yet exist: a systematic approach to how ULI captures and communicates its impact. This role reports to the SVP Global Member Experience and Marketing and manages a small team of direct reports, with additional oversight of a contracted creative services team.

Requirements

10 or more years of experience in brand strategy, creative direction, or integrated marketing, with a demonstrated track record of leading brand in complex, multi-stakeholder environments
Genuine storytelling capability: experience developing and executing impact or mission-driven content strategy, not just brand execution or creative production
Experience managing and directing creative teams, including designers, copyeditors, and agency or contract resources; comfortable briefing, reviewing, and redirecting without being a hands-on designer
Background in a membership association, nonprofit, philanthropically funded organization, or an agency whose client base included these types of organizations; understanding of mission-driven culture, member-first orientation, and philanthropic funding models is important
Proven ability to build alignment and compliance across a matrixed organization where brand guidance must be adopted by teams and departments without a formal reporting relationship
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present and advise at senior levels
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously across a global organization
Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or a related field

Nice To Haves

Experience administering a brand across global regions including APAC and EMEA
Background in philanthropic or capital-raise marketing, donor communications, or foundation-facing content strategy
Familiarity with Canva, RoboHead, or similar creative operations platforms
Real estate, land use, or built environment sector knowledge

Responsibilities

Lead the ongoing evolution of ULI's global brand strategy, ensuring consistency and coherence across all channels, regions, and programs
Serve as ULI's internal brand authority: guide departments on brand usage, manage naming conventions, and steward the brand architecture as new programs and affinity groups are developed
Define and track brand KPIs including awareness, relevance, favorability, and recall
Develop and maintain brand guidelines, toolkits, and asset libraries used by teams globally, including district councils and local and national councils via ULI's Canva account
Lead brand and messaging for the Americas Spring and Fall Meetings, including all on-site signage, general session look and feel, and conference narrative, in close partnership with the meetings team
Manage ULI's contracted creative services team, including designers and a project manager resourced through an agency statement of work, as well as a full-time Senior Copy Editor (direct report)
Oversee RoboHead, ULI's creative project management platform, ensuring internal stakeholders across the organization can efficiently request, track, and receive creative deliverables
Provide creative direction and quality review on all output, ensuring brand compliance and a consistently high standard across print, digital, event materials, and publications
Manage the incoming in-house design team (Senior Designer and Production Designer, roles planned) once those positions are filled
Develop and own ULI's global storytelling strategy: establish where stories originate, how they are surfaced from district councils and programs across regions, and how they are distributed to members, donors, and the broader market
Manage and mentor a dedicated storyteller (hire pending), setting priorities and ensuring quality and consistency across all impact narratives and channels
Collaborate with C-suite stakeholders, program leaders, district council staff, and the ULI Foundation to identify and communicate mission impact stories that drive membership engagement and philanthropic giving
Lead the Annual Report end-to-end, including story selection, production oversight, and the communications strategy for distributing it to Governors, Founders, and key member leaders