POSITION GUIDE
ORGANIZATION:
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
POSITION:
Director of Marketing
REPORTS TO:
Vice President, Marketing and Engagement
LOCATION:
Chicago, Illinois
BACKGROUND
United Way Worldwide is the largest non-profit in the world, raising $5 billion annually in support of families
and individuals in need, connecting families to the building blocks of economic stability through interventions
in the areas of: Income, Education and Health.
Locally, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago (“UWMC”) has initiated LIVE UNITED 2020, a ten-year
commitment to transform communities of greatest need — those areas that are home to almost 2 million
Chicago area residents, more than half of whom live in poverty. Its goals are to raise $100M by 2020 to:
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Advance economic stability for 100,000 households
Help 50,000 underperforming middle school kids enter high school ready to succeed
Connect over 200,000 people with available, preventative health care services and
Answer the immediate crisis needs of 1 million people every year by providing shelter, food and
freedom from violence.
For close to 80 years, UWMC has led communities in creating lasting change. With more than 4,000
volunteers and hundreds of thousands of donors, the culture is driven by an entrepreneurial esprit de corps
and a shared passion for the vision, values and work of the organization and its staff and partners.
UWMC and four Member United Ways (“MUW”) (collectively referred to as the “Organization”) raise funds
through community-wide campaigns: South-Southwest Suburban United Way, Northwest Suburban United
Way, North Shore United Way, United Way of DuPage/West Cook.
Primary Purpose
Reporting to the VP of Marketing and Engagement, the Director of Marketing is one of the leaders of the
Marketing and Engagement team, along with the Director of Communications and the Director of Creative
Services. This important position will work with this team to raise awareness of the United Way of
Metropolitan Chicago (“UWMC”) and its mission, to build engagement and to increase financial
contributions.
Essential Job Function
Brand Management: Manage the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago brand -- adapt national United Way
programs for the Chicago market and develop local initiatives in coordination with four field offices that
position the brand effectively for the Chicago area.
Research: Conduct periodic quantitative and qualitative research to gauge brand performance; utilize insight
gathered to develop effective marketing strategies and tactics.
Advertising and Media Management: Lead advertising creative development with agency or in-house
creative teams. Ensure creative is on target and in alignment with national United Way and UWMC strategy.
Oversee media planning and buying using budget efficiently to achieve desired objectives. Develop media
and promotional partnerships to secure value-add media.
Web Marketing Management: Ensure the UWMC website is an effective marketing tool and that all content
furthers the marketing strategy and supports and advances e-giving campaigns. Optimize the user
experience and ensure the website is continually updated to reflect current news and information.
Event Marketing: Develop and manage events to raise awareness, promote engagement with UWMC and
increase donations.
Corporate Partnerships: Support the growth of corporate partnerships via the development of cause-related
marketing campaigns and promotions tailored to individual corporate needs and giving strategies.
Marketing Calendar Management: Develop annual integrated implementation calendar, working closely
with Director of Communications to integrate PR, social media, advocacy and programmatic-related events.
Workplace Campaign Collateral: Working closely with the Communications team, develop campaign
collateral that reinforces the UWMC brand strategy and motivates people to support United Way.
Required Experience
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Bachelor degree in marketing, advertising, communications or related field and 8-15 years of
broad-based marketing experience – setting marketing, creative and media strategy;
overseeing execution; and guiding agency relationships – with proof of increasing
responsibility and oversight.
Managerial experience — proven ability to effectively coach and develop junior talent; will
supervise 1-2 people
Superior interpersonal and communication skills — the ability to work effectively with a
broad range of internal and external groups including volunteers, and a preference for a
collaborative mode of working, seeking team input and feedback.
Budget management experience
A high energy, action-oriented and hands-on orientation and the talent to think both
strategically and executionally — to see the big picture and “get hands dirty” with day-today execution; both a thought leader capable of generating new ideas and an executor with
a taste for detail and the ability to manage multiple projects in a high pressure environment
while responding quickly to deadlines.