Director, Integrated Marketing Planning

The Director of Integrated Marketing leads the marketing planning team and serves as the hub of omnichannel marketing strategy development to drive key company initiatives. They will lead the operationalization of marketing planning and activating the Rural King brand through comprehensive seasonal and key category planning, end to end creative, program and event planning, building marketing planning processes, supporting the execution of those plans, and on-going management of related support resources and key activities. The Director of Integrated Marketing works closely with both marketing leadership and key cross-functional leaders to maintain continuous alignment and ensure strong go-to-market execution that delivers on desired customer experiences / business results.

• Media Strategy- develop integrated go to market customer data informed media strategies built through partnership with external agencies. Leverage traditional and digital media designed to acquire new customers, expand existing customer share of wallet and drive traffic to our store and online websites.
• Marketing Calendar Management – develop and maintain RK strategic marketing calendar, aligning cross functionally with how RK will activate the brand across the different seasons and events in a way that supports key company initiatives to drive maximum impact and return
• Creative Strategy – work with VP, internal RK creative teams, external agencies and other cross functional leaders, to develop meaningful and differentiated messaging and proof points for the RK brands, and brief the creative team appropriately.
• Business Planning – support both cross functional business planning and related internal marketing planning timelines (calendar and beyond) and work activities, understanding how to develop multichannel marketing support to drive key initiatives.
• Promotional Integration – work closely across cross functional teams and internal marketing stakeholders to integrate merchant planned promotions as/where relevant across marketing channels
• Marketing Planning Process- design and lead end to end planning to ensure strategic planning work is developed and executed.
• New Store Planning- own and execute enhanced marketing programs to open and establish new RK stores in the market they serve.
• National/Local sponsorships and events- partner with external organizations to develop sponsorships that elevate RK visibility for current and potential new customers. Partner with stores to locally support sponsorships and events that help stores establish relationships locally.
• PR strategy- partner with external agency partners to develop and execute RK PR strategy- both to activate the brand through exemplifying our commitment to our customers through stewardship and philanthropy, and also to plan corporate response plans to emergencies.
• Agency management- leads relationships with RK external agency partners in the areas of marketing planning, brand/EB brand creative, and media optimization.
• Budget Management- serves as the hub for market budget planning, aligning spend with strategic priorities. Collaborates with internal marketing peers in digital, CRM and operations to ensure RK marketing budget stays on plan. Responsible for leading vendor CO-OP collection activities, partnering with merchant, finance, accounting teams to stay current with collection of funds and adjusting budgets as necessary.
• Leads associates in a way that exemplifies the leadership principles taught in Rural King’s Thrive Leadership Program.
• Encourages and builds mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members and peers.
• Establishes strong working relationships with the management team, providing a strategic voice, working effectively and transparently in a partner-like fashion.
• Provides guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring subordinates’ progress.
• Identifies developmental needs of others on the team and coaches them to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Creates a climate of engagement and productivity by empowering others and encouraging them to contribute ideas and make decisions.
• Inspires productivity by establishing a clear vision, maintaining two-way communication, and distributing the workload in an organized manner.
• Provides a hands-on passionate approach to the job while enables and promotes an inclusive and diverse team and working environment.
• Uses discretion and independent judgment in daily decisions while maintaining a high level of confidentiality and professionalism.

• Bachelor's Degree in Marketing or Business Related Field
• 10+ Years leadership experience in retail
• 5+ Years with leading teams as a manager
• Leadership experience in marketing planning in a retail environment
• Demonstrated ability to influence and build alignment at and across multiple levels of the organization
• Strong business acumen and analytic skills
• Excellent verbal and written interpersonal and communication skills.
• Excellent negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and mentor team members.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
• Demonstrated behaviors must reflect integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality