MARKETING LEAD

Reports to: Vice President, Operations

Location: Chicago, IL

SUMMARY

Chef Rick Bayless's Chicago-based fast casual brands Tortazo & Tortas Frontera are seeking an in-house marketing lead who loves Mexican food, travel and brand storytelling to join the brand's growth throughout Chicagoland and beyond. This role will be responsible for the management and execution of all marketing channels within the Tortazo ecosystem, including digital marketing, social media (with external agency support), creative assets and customer communications. Working closely with the culinary and operations teams, this role facilitates the creation and maintenance of all brand touchpoints, including email marketing, menus, signage, collateral, website and digital platforms. This team member will also collaborate closely with our external partners and agencies to ensure consistent, strategic and thoughtful marketing of the restaurants and their offerings, strengthen the customer experience across channels, cultivate new audiences, deepen brand affinity and drive revenue via coordinated marketing.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Marketing Project Management

• Menu & Signage Updating: Own the process of implementing updates across locations and formats; manage internal review process and team feedback; see through to successful in-store implementation.
• Ensure Accuracy & Consistency: Work to ensure information at each location is brand consistent and audience-tailored.
• Asset Creation: drive brand-aligned creation of informational and promotional signage, supplementing professional design support when needed.

2. Social Media Management

• Content creation: Drive social platform content, with a focus on Instagram; manage Facebook, Linkedin and TikTok accounts
• Social Media Strategy: work with external support to craft aligned content; ensure growth of brand audience; help shape creative and compelling content that increases brand awareness and engagement; implement content calendar; assist with design; drive copywriting and brand voice.
• Content Planning: Spend time in the businesses and with our chefs; develop engaging and playful content on a weekly basis; ensure cohesion with agreed upon positioning, goals and content pillars.
• Community Management: Monitor UGC and comments/DMs; execute brand responses with a high degree of professionalism, knowledge of offerings and spirit of hospitality.
• Photography & Video: Manage professional content shoots; supplement with self-captured content; edit Reels and TikToks on iPhone using current tools.
• Influencer & Creator Partnerships: identify relevant content creator accounts specific to markets and goals; develop hospitality relationships with key influencers in each market/ coordinate restaurant visits and deliverables; leverage creator content on our channels.
• Stay ITK: Keep up to speed on social media trends, platform changes and best practices as they evolve; suggest new strategies and content ideas to the team; try new things and be willing to evaluate/adjust, as well as report/analyze.

3. Creative Input & Facilitation

• Creative Design: Support the design of a wide variety of assets including packaging, signage, print and digital collateral; ensure brand standards and vision are upheld and pieces are brand-aligned.
• Oversee Professional Design & Production: Support external design agency; manage review and approval process through to production and implementation of assets.
• In-Store Brand Experience: Lead updating of menus, design of in-store displays, communications of promotions and environmental branding.
• Marketing Project Management: Drive cross-functional coordination for launches, promotions, and operational initiatives.
• Translate Creative Direction: Ensure aesthetic sensibility and overarching brand vision are translated across all manifestations of the brand.

4. Digital Marketing

• Email Marketing: Execute email marketing campaigns from design to content creation, approvals to analytics.
• Paid Marketing: Manage the execution of paid media strategies across platforms; working with external SEO support to oversee campaign budgets, creative and performance optimization; oversee paid digital content; provide necessary assets; manage campaign adjustments to ensure ROI.
• Website etc: Manage the Tortazo digital ecosystem (websites, mobile app, online ordering, guest feedback platform and DSP channels), ensuring accuracy, functionality, and brand-aligned experience.

5. Partnerships & Relationship Building

• Strategic Partnerships: Work with key stakeholders, business partners and relevant organizations on promotional efforts and events; build trusting, mutually beneficial relationships with relevant partners.
• Public Relations Support: Manage all PR and media relations duties; plug Tortazo into key moments, local happenings and holidays; execute light local outreach (with guidance and support); facilitate external PR agency if applicable; generate excitement for new store openings and offerings, events and key seasonal moments.
• Event Leadership: Plan, staff, and execute activations including store openings, community/partner events, chef appearances, and seasonal campaigns; oversee logistics and event promotion.
• Collaboration with Frontera Content Team: Work closely with Chef Rick Bayless's team to find and manage opportunities for collaboration across his businesses.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 5+ years of marketing experience including social media execution; ideally for food/hospitality, consumer or lifestyle brands with a strong point of view, aesthetic and voice.
• You actually like social media and are on Instagram and TikTok (even if you don't actively post)
• You are creative and design-minded, enjoy taking photos (amateur iPhone shots or otherwise) and writing copy.
• You have a passion for marketing and an interest in building meaningful brands that have something to say.
• You share our love of food, have an innate sense of hospitality and comfort working closely in and around restaurants and with culinary and operations colleagues.
• You thrive in ever-evolving, self-directed environments that feature a mix of in-person and remote work time, with some travel.
• You are organized and efficient, with keen project management skills including the effective management of timelines, trackers, calendars and outside vendors.
• This work is collaborative, fast-moving and cross-functional. It also involves taking initiative, being scrappy, flexibility and a willingness to change direction where necessary.
• Interest in what is happening in the wider world, including in the Chicago area, within the culture and across spheres (food, lifestyle, the arts, sports etc.)
• Experience working with digital tools including Instagram, Figma, Canva, Capcut or similar for social media video editing, website CMS and Email Marketing Platforms.
• Ideally you love Mexican food (and are excited to eat a lot of it!) and speak at least beginner Spanish - more advanced fluency is a plus but not a requirement.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The working conditions described below are representative of those a team member encounters while performing the essential duties and responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of this job.

• Small to medium office or shared workspace
• General Office Hours with the expectation to respond to time sensitive emails outside of office hours
• We operate in a hybrid work environment that offers up to three remote days per week, provided standards are upheld to the highest degree with respect to output and deliverables. Additionally, the employee must be available for meetings remotely when they are not physically in the office
• Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential function of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit at a computer for extended periods of time. Long periods of standing are also required frequently for purposes including capturing restaurant content and helping support special restaurant events (hosted and offsite).
• Occasional travel (locally, nationally and potentially internationally)

COMPENSATION

$80,000-$120,000 annual + bonus potential. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, we'll consider your experience and other job-related factors.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Health (premium paid in full for employee), Dental & Vision insurance plans
• Competitive base salary + eligibility to participate in corporate bonus program
• Vacation & Wellness time
• Commuter Benefits & Flexible Spending Accounts
• 401k match*
• 6 weeks paid parental leave*
• Career growth & development
• Daily tortas, tacos, guac & more!

*eligibility-dependent