Director of Communications and Marketing

GENERAL STATEMENT:

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Director of Communications & Marketing leads the strategic vision, planning, execution, and measurable performance of all communications, branding, public relations, digital marketing, and integrated marketing initiatives for Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC) operations across 18 metropolitan areas in five Western states. This role is responsible for developing and managing advertising strategies, marketing budgets, audience engagement initiatives, and multi-channel visibility efforts to strengthen brand awareness, increase donated goods acquisition, drive retail and online store traffic, elevate ARC Program visibility, support fundraising initiatives, and expand community partnerships.

The Director oversees integrated marketing efforts across paid, owned, earned, and location-based channels including digital advertising, Google Ads, paid search, YouTube campaigns, paid social, email marketing, SMS/mobile, local listings, website content, ecommerce touchpoints, reputation management, direct mail, media relations, and community outreach.

Acting as a central collaborative partner across all departments, the Director ensures that all services are effectively cross-promoted and aligned with organizational priorities, KPIs, fundraising goals, donor acquisition strategies, and mission-centered brand standards. This includes collaboration on Retail Sales Calendars, Donation Development campaigns, Contact Center integration, loyalty initiatives, alumni engagement, fundraising support, new store openings, and cross-territory campaigns.

Additionally, the Director champions operational excellence through workflow optimization, team alignment, accountability, quality control, and cross-functional collaboration while leveraging analytics, AI-assisted tools, CRM platforms, marketing automation systems, and emerging technologies to improve campaign effectiveness, operational efficiency, audience targeting, reporting, and supporter engagement. The department operates as a highly integrated support function-cross-trained, collaborative, and collectively engaged in every project to ensure accuracy, high-quality content creation, cohesive execution, and a strong mission-driven approach in all deliverables. This position requires some travel, and a hybrid schedule may also be possible.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES:

Strategic Leadership & Budget Management

• Develop and manage comprehensive communications, public relations, and marketing strategies, including advertising channel selection, annual budget planning, media allocation, and resource prioritization for approval by Command leadership.
• Align all marketing and communications initiatives with organizational priorities, KPIs, donor acquisition goals, fundraising objectives, retail traffic growth, ecommerce engagement, and ARC mission awareness.
• Lead integrated marketing and visibility strategies including media relations, press releases, local ARC events, fundraising campaigns, and community engagement initiatives.

Digital Marketing & Advertising

• Lead digital marketing strategy across Google Ads, paid search, display advertising, YouTube campaigns, Performance Max or equivalent campaign types, paid social, remarketing, and local awareness campaigns.
• Manage multi-channel marketing campaigns including email marketing, SMS/mobile campaigns, web content, ecommerce campaigns, social media, direct mail integration, and audience engagement strategies.
• Coordinate campaign planning, audience segmentation, A/B testing, conversion tracking, call tracking, attribution modeling, dashboard reporting, and optimization recommendations.
• Monitor campaign performance and recommend budget reallocations and strategic adjustments based on measurable outcomes and analytics insights.
• Oversee website content, landing pages, ecommerce touchpoints, and digital user experiences to improve engagement, accessibility, search visibility, and conversion performance.

AI, Technology & Data Optimization

• Apply AI-assisted marketing tools and automation platforms responsibly to improve campaign planning, audience insights, creative testing, content development, workflow efficiency, supporter engagement, and reporting capabilities while maintaining mission and brand standards.
• Leverage CRM systems, analytics dashboards, and marketing automation tools to improve audience targeting, segmentation, personalization, and supporter lifecycle engagement.
• Conduct quality-control audits and data reviews to ensure reporting accuracy, campaign integrity, and continuous improvement.

Cross-Department Collaboration & Integration

• Serve as a central liaison across departments to align and integrate marketing initiatives with organizational priorities.
• Collaborate with Retail Operations and key stakeholders to develop and execute Retail Sales Calendars and donation development campaigns.
• Partner across departments to support alumni engagement initiatives, Contact Center alignment, loyalty programs, new store openings, and cross-territory collaboration.
• Provide creative direction, assets, and marketing support to ARC departments and field locations.
• Provide content and support for ARCC sustainability efforts with local schools, colleges, designers, and ensure that these efforts are well promoted across all channels.

Communications, Branding & Reputation Management

• Ensure all ARC messaging is consistent, mission-centered, and aligned across channels and departments.
• Maintain and enforce brand standards across all digital and print communications.
• Oversee development of marketing collateral, advertising creatives, signage, landing pages, campaign assets, and fundraising materials ensuring high-quality, accurate, and timely delivery.
• Manage organizational reputation across Yelp, Google, social media, and review platforms including approved response workflows, review monitoring, escalation procedures, and service-recovery recommendations.
• Develop on-site branding and signage efforts including thrift store signage, donation site visuals, truck graphics, QR-code assets, and localized campaign materials.

Location Marketing & Local SEO

• Coordinate local SEO, location marketing, and business listing management efforts across all ARC markets.
• Ensure Google Business Profiles, maps listings, directories, donation center listings, store pages, and local digital assets remain accurate, optimized, engaging, and consistent across locations.
• Develop localized marketing campaigns and community-based visibility initiatives to strengthen regional engagement and market awareness.

Fundraising, Partnerships & Community Engagement

• Assist local ARCs with fundraising campaigns and events including digital fundraising, email appeals, landing pages, social promotions, donor communications, and post-campaign reporting.
• Identify and cultivate monetary donations from individuals and ARC-aligned donors.
• Identify and pursue opportunities including media placements, community partnerships, corporate collaborations, influencer or creator partnerships, speaking engagements, and local events that positively position The Salvation Army within the community.
• Collaborate as appointed liaison with advertising agencies, media partners, technology vendors, and Advisory Boards to drive focus, prioritization, implementation, and reporting on all ARC Command projects.

New Store Openings & Expansion Support

• Lead and execute communications, advertising, and community awareness strategies for new store openings and market launches focused on driving early foot traffic, donor awareness, loyalty enrollment, community engagement, and ARC mission visibility.
• Oversee development and implementation of launch-related marketing elements including signage, campaign assets, systems integration, media outreach, and grand opening execution.

Reporting, Insights & Leadership Communication

• Develop executive dashboards, campaign performance reporting, market trend analysis, KPI summaries, and strategic recommendations for Command leadership.
• Create executive presentations summarizing key ARC-related data, campaign performance, market trends, location insights, digital engagement, and recommended actions.

EDUCATION/WORK EXPERIENCE:

• 8-10 years of progressive experience in communications, marketing, digital marketing, public relations, fundraising, community engagement, or related fields.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Digital Marketing, Public Relations, or related field preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing digital marketing campaigns including Google Ads, paid social advertising, email/mobile marketing, analytics, reporting, campaign optimization, and multi-channel communications.
• Experience with local SEO, Google Business Profiles, reputation management, review-response workflows, location marketing, and multi-location brand consistency.
• Working knowledge of AI-assisted marketing tools, marketing automation systems, CRM segmentation, analytics dashboards, and emerging marketing technologies.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and marketing/communications platforms.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to sit, walk, stand, bend, squat, climb, kneel or twist on an intermittent or continuous basis.
• Ability to grasp, push, pull objects such as files, file cabinet drawers, and other office equipment.
• Ability to communicate via written and verbal means.
• Ability to perform repetitive motion tasks.
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. (file boxes, trade show expo set up, etc.).