vp/storytelling

Job Description

Job Description

Our Purpose

To create joy and ignite Michiganders’ Impossible Dreams. 

Shared Commitments 

At orsa, our commitments start with our purpose and are guided by our vibrantly lived values.  We walk together toward strategic ends, galvanized by regenerative leadership and a growth orientation which moves us toward our human potential, so that we can support Michiganders in shaping the life they desire.

Role Purpose

At orsa credit union storytelling drives business results. Creative work is not a frivolous “nice to have” when times are good. It is an investment in Michiganders. We cannot manifest positive change unless people know the change we can create. With such a distinct point of view, leading storytelling at orsa is a responsibility and has the potential to change the way creative leadership is seen throughout credit unions and financial services. 

The vp/storytelling leads orsa's storytelling function, managing the integration of marketing, brand and creative, and corporate communications, while maintaining distinct expertise and standards within each area. This role establishes narrative direction, allocates resources to drive member engagement, and ensures all external messaging aligns with strategic objectives. This role demands much more than theoretical knowledge. The leader in this role must move ideas into action. They must elevate creativity and move ideas into action to drive results.

This leader also sets the stage for communication and transparency as a strength both through actions and expectations. Cultural results grow through the connectedness of our team and this individual helps build the bridge across the organization. 

In collaboration with leadership, the vp/storytelling connects storytelling initiatives to the organization’s growth strategy and future forward vision, sets the narrative course, and develops leaders within the function to execute these initiatives effectively. 

This position has a minimum salary of $160,800 , but your offer amount may be increased with relevant work experience and transferable skills.

Primary Responsibilities 

As an impact-driven team, our work is collaborative and dynamic. This role, like all positions at orsa, will be counted on to perform a variety of tasks as directed by leadership. Some of the core deliverables for this role are: 

Role-Specific Contributions

• Lead the storytelling function, uniting marketing, brand & creative, and corporate communications as peer disciplines, each with a clear role and its own leader.
• Serve as the chief growth officer's primary partner on how orsa's story fuels member acquisition, deepening, and loyalty.
• Represent the storytelling function with executive leadership and the Board of Directors, and serve as a senior voice for orsa in the communities we serve.
• Fulfill other responsibilities as needs evolve.

Storytelling Strategy

• Own the multi-year storytelling strategy that guides marketing, brand & creative, and corporate communications, aligned with orsa's strategic plan, growth priorities, and 2036 vision.
• Define how the three disciplines work together, including shared planning, clear decision rights, and handoffs that respect each team's expertise.
• Ensure member-facing, team member-facing, and community-facing stories reflect real member experiences and the priority audiences orsa serves.

Marketing

• Partner with the chief growth officer and product, lending, deposit, and branch leaders to translate growth goals into integrated annual and campaign plans.
• Guide the marketing leader in building the channel strategy, campaign calendar, content engine, and production workflow that bring those plans to life.
• Set clear performance measures, including awareness, acquisition, engagement, and return on marketing investment, and use results to reallocate effort.
• Oversee the marketing technology stack and data practices, ensuring tools are used responsibly and in compliance with privacy, advertising, and fair lending requirements.

Brand & Creative

• Partner with the creative director, who leads brand and creative, to keep the orsa brand manual, identity, voice, and use of Daisy strong and consistent across every discipline.
• Support brand evolution as orsa reaches new audiences, championing the design principles in the brand manual and favoring authentic, Michigan-rooted storytelling over trend-driven or stock imagery.
• Balance brand and creative ambition with production capacity, prioritizing the work that matters most to members and growth.

Corporate Communications & Reputation

• Guide the avp/corporate communications in leading internal communications, media relations, executive communications, and crisis communications.
• Ensure marketing, brand, and internal and external communications speak with one consistent voice, so team members hear orsa's story first and can tell it with pride.
• Serve as a senior counselor to executive leadership on reputation opportunities and risks.

Budget, Measurement & Insights

• Own the storytelling operating budget across marketing, brand & creative, and corporate communications, including media, agency, production, sponsorship, and technology spend.
• Build the business case for storytelling investments and report on results to the chief growth officer, executive leadership, and the Board of Directors.
• Use member listening, market research, and performance data to understand what is resonating and why.
• Manage agency, media, and production partner relationships to deliver value and accountability.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the marketing leader, creative director, and avp/corporate communications, and through them the broader storytelling team.
• Build a culture of psychological safety, creative courage, and accountability for current commitments, while supporting each team member's self-led development journey.
• Design the structure, roles, and ways of working that let the function scale with orsa's growth.

Qualification and Competency Requirements

As an organization focused on creating belonging, we appreciate that outstanding team members have different roads to excellence. Therefore, we don’t compromise on capability but are capability but use qualifications as guidelines. Typically, we’d expect a great vp/storytelling to have built capabilities through experiences that would include a minimum of:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism, design, business, or a related field or equivalent experience.
• Work Experience: 
  • Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in marketing, brand, or communications leadership, including at least 5 years leading multi-disciplinary teams. 
  • Demonstrated success connecting brand and storytelling work to measurable growth outcomes.
• Industry Experience: Experience in financial services or another regulated, member or customer centered industry. 

Preferred Qualifications and/or Competencies 

• Education: Master's degree in marketing, communications, business administration, or a related field.
• Work Experience: Experience leading a brand evolution or rebrand; experience leading marketing, brand & creative, and corporate communications as connected but distinct disciplines; experience presenting to a Board of Directors.
• Industry Experience: Credit union experience, including familiarity with advertising, privacy, and fair lending requirements that apply to financial marketing.

The outcome of experience is our priority, so proficiency will be evaluated over means of acquiring it. Necessary competencies include: 

Leadership

At orsa, whether we serve as managers, lead cross-functional teams or initiatives, or simply lead ourselves, we are all leaders. The following leadership competencies are expected of all team members within a leadership capacity.

• Core Adaptive Capabilities: Reads shifts in member needs, community sentiment, and the competitive landscape early, and reshapes orsa's story and channel mix before the old approach stops working.
• Human-Centered Leadership: Honors the distinct expertise of marketing, brand & creative, and corporate communications while connecting them around one story, where leaders and makers feel safe to pitch bold ideas and hear honest critique.
• Strategic Thinking & Innovation: Sets a multi-year storytelling vision tied to orsa's growth strategy and 2036 vision, taking calculated creative risks that keep the brand distinctive rather than safe.
• Execution in Ambiguity: Makes confident calls on messaging, campaign priorities, and reputation moments when information is incomplete, and reallocates people and budget quickly as conditions change.
• Technology & Data Fluency: Uses performance, attribution, and listening data with healthy skepticism, and guides responsible use of technology and AI tools across marketing, brand & creative, and corporate communications.