Associate Director of Marketing
Reporting to the Senior Director of Destination Marketing and Management, the Associate Director will translate organizational priorities into consumer marketing strategies, campaigns, and measurable media investments. The role provides strategic and creative oversight of brand execution, paid media, marketing partners, campaign performance, and the marketing team while collaborating across VAAAC and with destination stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Management
- Lead and develop the Marketing Specialists (2) through clear expectations, coaching, performance feedback, accountability, and professional development.
- Translate marketing strategy into coordinated priorities, workplans, timelines, and measurable deliverables; ensure effective communication with senior leadership and other departments.
- Provide strategic and creative oversight to ensure work is high-quality, effective, consistent, and aligned with the VAAAC brand.
- Strengthen team capacity, culture, workflows, tools, and resources; manage personnel matters in accordance with VAAAC policies and in partnership with organizational leadership.
Brand, Audience & Marketing Strategy
- Develop and implement the annual consumer marketing strategy and tactical plan in alignment with VAAAC's organizational and destination priorities.
- Steward a compelling and differentiated destination brand that reflects the character, experiences, communities, and tourism assets of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.
- Use audience insights, traveler motivations, market opportunities, barriers to visitation, and emerging trends to inform strategy and investment.
- Integrate paid, owned, earned, shared, partner, and experiential channels to increase awareness, consideration, visitation, and overnight stays.
Campaign, Media & Channel Leadership
- Lead integrated campaigns from audience definition and creative briefing through implementation, optimization, and evaluation, with clear objectives, timelines, budgets, and KPIs.
- Direct paid media strategy and investment across relevant digital and traditional channels, determining priority audiences, markets, timing, channel mix, and spending levels.
- Evaluate, negotiate, and optimize media opportunities based on reach, targeting, cost efficiency, performance, and strategic alignment.
- Guide content and social media priorities so day-to-day execution supports broader campaign and brand objectives; identify opportunities to extend high-performing content across channels.
- Maintain an integrated marketing calendar and leverage partnerships, promotions, sponsorships, and events to expand campaign reach and impact.
Data, Analytics & Performance
- Use tourism data, audience research, consumer insights, website analytics, first-party data, and media performance to guide strategy and investment decisions.
- Establish and monitor KPIs, translate results into actionable recommendations, and provide regular reporting on marketing effectiveness and return on investment.
- Advance measurement, attribution, and the responsible use of emerging technologies, including AI, to improve efficiency, creativity, and performance.
Budget, Vendors & Partnerships
- Support development of the annual marketing and media budget; manage assigned budgets with accurate forecasting, pacing, reconciliation, and reporting.
- Recommend investment shifts based on performance, market conditions, and organizational priorities, and negotiate services within established authority.
- Manage agencies, media partners, vendors, freelancers, and creative resources to ensure deliverables meet expectations for strategy, quality, timing, value, and compliance.
- Collaborate with the Senior Director and Finance Department to maximize eligible Maryland Office of Tourism Development grant funding and other marketing opportunities.
- Build productive relationships across VAAAC and with tourism businesses, civic and community stakeholders, and destination partners; represent VAAAC at relevant industry meetings and events.
Qualifications
- Minimum of four years of progressive experience in marketing, advertising, media, or communications; tourism, destination marketing, hospitality, travel, lifestyle, or sports experience preferred.
- Demonstrated success developing integrated strategies and campaigns and planning, managing, or optimizing multichannel paid media.
- Strong knowledge of brand strategy, audience segmentation, creative development, digital platforms, analytics, and the evolving media landscape.
- Experience supervising staff and managing agencies, vendors, media partners, budgets, projects, and multiple stakeholders.
- Ability to combine creative judgment with strategic discipline, work independently, take ownership, and collaborate effectively.
- Proficiency with relevant marketing, analytics, digital media, and project management tools; experience with emerging technologies and AI preferred.
- Demonstrated commitment to inclusive marketing and to VAAAC's core values of inclusivity, stewardship, and audacity.
Additional InformationSalary & Benefits
This full-time, exempt position offers a hybrid schedule and a competitive starting salary ranging from $85,000 - $95,000 based on experience. In addition, VAAAC offers generous benefits, including 20 PTO days, 13 floating holidays health, vision, and dental insurance with employer and employee contributions; and a 401(k) retirement plan with 3% match (after 90 days), basic short-term disability and life insurance benefits (after 90 days), Employee Assistance Program, parking benefits and professional development.
