Director of Marketing in Coralville, Iowa at WEST MUSIC CO INC

The Director of Marketing will be responsible for managing all marketing functions for West Music by developing and executing a well-defined business, marketing and communications strategy to drive sales and support West Music’s profitability objectives. In this role, reporting to the CEO, the Marketing Director will lead West Music’s Marketing team and work closely and collaboratively with all divisions within the company to meet our mission of helping customers Play now. Play for life.

Primary responsibilities will include managing our in-house creative resources, serving as the lead for the management, evolution and governance of the West Music brand, identifying and managing systems for content/asset management processes’, and leading the design and strategic direction of our company promotional efforts. Partnering closely with the marketing, web team and other associates, the Director will lead design, copywriting, and digital media creation to provide support to all regional and national West Music divisions. In addition, the Director will manage external resources, including advertising and/or media buying agencies, as well as contractor/freelance design, writing, or digital media resources, as needed.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following. Other duties may be assigned as business needs dictate:

• Align Marketing team strategies to create programs that will maximize sales within the West Music divisions, providing a positive impact to bottom line profitability.
• Ensure effective, branded marketing communications (both internal and external), including company website, print communication, social media, and advertising that adhere to the West Music style guide.
  • Develop and uphold branding standards and usage guidelines.
  • Create new campaigns and optimize existing campaigns based on metrics that measure campaign results and effectiveness
  • Create an exceptional customer experience through advertising, PR, and online digital outlets with traditional and grassroots marketing approaches.
  • Define and execute internal communication vehicles that ensure employees understand what we do and why it matters.
• Manage project workflow, quality and service levels for in-house creative resources in writing, design and digital media; ensuring alignment with company objectives, core values, and marketing strategy including:
  • Supervise the Marketing teams, which includes work allocation, training, and problem resolution;
  • Help guide collaborative product level marketing efforts for business partners by providing strategic plans and objectives.
  • Lead, manage, and inspire our Marketing teams.
  • Build analytics to measure performance and inform decisions for prioritizing and optimizing all marketing campaigns.
• Analyze the effectiveness of all marketing efforts including conducting competitive market analysis to formulate marketing recommendations for promotional strategies.
• Preparing and managing the marketing budgets and analyzing budget to actual activities as well as deviations.
• Manage external marketing partners, where needed, such as advertising agencies and production companies.
• Regularly engage with senior management to report on campaign performance and to advise Management Team of marketing best practices and opportunities.

Education, Experience & Qualifications –

Must-Have Experience

• 3+ years directly managing, coaching, hiring, developing, and performance-managing a marketing team, including termination decisions when necessary
• Proven experience working closely with C-level executives, VPs, or senior stakeholders in an ongoing strategic capacity
• Demonstrated ownership of marketing outcomes tied to revenue or measurable business performance
• Budget management experience including planning, allocation, tracking, and trade-off decisions
• Multi-channel marketing experience spanning at least three channels
• Cross-functional leadership partnering with sales, operations, or executive stakeholders
• Comfort operating within structured accountability frameworks (EOS strongly preferred)

Strongly Preferred

• Experience working with or reporting to a CMO or VP of Marketing
• Multi-location retail, B2B/B2C hybrid, or omnichannel marketing experience
• Mid-market company experience with lean teams and broad scope
• E-commerce, web strategy, or digital team collaboration experience
• HubSpot proficiency beyond basic email

Key competencies:

• Service Focus – demonstrates a personal commitment to delivering high quality, professional, responsive service to customers and co-workers
• Communication – shares and receives information using clear oral, written, and interpersonal skills. Demonstrates active listening with co-workers and customers to achieve results.
• Team Player/Collaborative – collaborates with fellow associates to achieve West Music goals. Recognizes and shows respect for the strengths and contributions of others with the ability to develop effective working relationships with co-workers.
• Results oriented – a "can-do" attitude with a desire to take on an increasing level of responsibility and a drive to meet project deadlines.
• Adaptable – thrives in a fast-paced environment; responds positively to evolving priorities or work assignments; open to feedback.
• People Management – leads and engages people to maximize West Music and individual performance through alignment with our mission and strategic goals.
  • Inspires and motivates employees to perform at their best.
  • Communicates ‘big picture’ vision and team’s integral role in realizing that vision.
  • Hires and develops staff to maximize productivity, innovation, and teamwork.
  • Recognizes and rewards accomplishments.
  • Demonstrates managerial courage by addressing conflicts promptly using focused listening and behavioral feedback.

Physical Demands –

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 70 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and the ability to adjust focus.

West Music is an equal opportunity, equal access employer committed to a diverse workforce. The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.