Account Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications

Job Description

We're growing at DCC Marketing, and looking for another exceptional strategic leader to join our team! With significant growth in our energy and utility business , we're recruiting an Account Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications. We're looking for someone who brings strong energy and utility industry experience , sophisticated strategic thinking and a deep understanding of the business, policy and market dynamics shaping these industries. Someone who can connect market intelligence, data-driven insights, audience segmentation, stakeholder engagement and compelling storytelling to develop integrated strategies that influence decisions , drive behavior change , and deliver measurable outcomes . Our work increasingly connects energy, economic development, workforce development and education, creating opportunities to work across industries , navigate complex challenges and help shape the future of these sectors.

At DCC, we're people-centered, growth-minded, insightful, tenacious and adaptable. These values shape how we work , how we lead and how we deliver for our clients. And we're thinking BIG . Our 10-year Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is to positively impact the lives of 100 million individuals from coast to coast . We're looking for people who want to help us achieve it! This is a senior, client-facing opportunity to lead strategy, collaborate with a talented multidisciplinary team and contribute to our continued growth. Ideally based in Illinois or the St. Louis region , but open to candidates elsewhere with strong Illinois experience and industry relationships. If this sounds like you or someone in your network, we'd love to connect!

Account Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications

About Us

DCC Marketing is a certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) and integrated agency built to drive behavior change, accelerate adoption, increase consumer education, and grow markets. We combine public-sector fluency with private-sector precision to help organizations communicate clearly, engage strategically, and deliver measurable results.

We don't just create campaigns. We build systems of influence that shape public opinion, align stakeholders, mobilize communities, and scale adoption. With national WBE certification and state certifications in California, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin, we work confidently across public-sector and regulated markets.

Our work spans energy and utilities, economic development, workforce development and education, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure, transportation, emerging technologies, and health and well-being. Our primary energy and utilities work helps clients translate complex systems and policy into customer understanding and measurable action, while connecting infrastructure investment with economic opportunity and workforce readiness.

Our Core Values

• People First. People are at the center of our success. We prioritize honesty, respect and accountability - for ourselves, our company, our clients and the communities we impact.
• Growth Minded. Growth drives us. Our initiative and depth of client relationships fuel creative strategies that deliver lasting results. We leverage knowledge across sectors and integrate technology to create new opportunities and drive transformative growth.
• Adaptable. We thrive on change. We rapidly align the right people around our clients’ evolving business needs, continuously optimizing solutions as situations change to create transformative results.
• Tenacious . We find a way. We take ownership, solve problems and keep pushing toward the outcome. We ask the next question, bring the right people together and deliver with a sense of urgency until the work gets done - and gets done right.
• Insightful. We dig past the surface into the data, the trends and the people behind every decision - to understand what really drives our clients' businesses, industries and choices. That understanding shapes sharper strategy, bolder ideas and measurable impact.

About the Role

Reporting to the Senior Vice President and collaborating with business development, creative, content, digital/media and analytics teams, the Account Director leads strategic client relationships and integrated marketing programs. The role has a primary focus on Energy & Utilities, with cross-sector responsibilities in Economic Development and Workforce Development, including related education, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure opportunities.

This role combines:

• Client leadership and strategic advising
• Energy and utility program marketing, customer education and behavior-change strategy
• Cross-sector strategy spanning economic development, workforce development and stakeholder engagement
• Account growth and new business

You'll develop data-driven go-to-market strategies, guide the teams that bring them to life, and connect audience insights to outcomes that matter: customer adoption, program participation, trust, energy savings and economic opportunity. Energy & Utilities is the primary sector focus, with flexible responsibilities across economic and workforce development as DCC transitions to an integrated cluster model.

Why This Role Matters

This role connects energy and utility client leadership with the economic development and workforce initiatives that increasingly shape regional competitiveness. You will lead important client relationships, uncover opportunities across sectors and help translate strategy into measurable outcomes for businesses, customers and communities.

Who You Are

You know the energy and utility sector and understand how its customer, regulatory, operational and market dynamics intersect with economic development and workforce needs. You are a trusted strategic advisor who connects data, customer decisions, creative strategy and disciplined execution.

You enjoy:

• Turning complicated programs and policy into messages real people act on
• Building trust with clients, community partners, and stakeholders over the long haul
• Leading a team and bringing the right people together to get things done
• Spotting the next opportunity inside an existing relationship
• Seeing your work show up in real results, in real communities

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Client Leadership and Cross-Sector Strategy

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior utility and energy clients, while supporting strategic relationships in economic development and workforce development.
• Lead data-driven go-to-market strategy and integrated campaign planning for electric and natural gas programs, including efficiency, rebates, customer assistance, safety and customer experience; connect relevant initiatives to business growth and workforce opportunity.
• Develop audience segmentation, targeting and decision strategies grounded in customer research, market intelligence, motivations, barriers and program objectives; align marketing plans with adoption, enrollment, satisfaction and measurable outcomes.
• Translate regulatory, technical, and program details into plain language customers can act on.
• Present strategy, results, and recommendations to client leadership and, when needed, to regulators or stakeholder groups.

Customer Intelligence, Behavior Change and Communications

• Develop compelling, insight-led messaging architectures and creative concepts tailored to customer needs and decision moments. Translate technical and regulatory information into accessible storytelling and customer education that drives measurable behavior change.
• Develop seasonal campaigns such as winter readiness, summer cooling, and energy-saving tips.
• Support communications around rate changes, outages, storm response, and infrastructure projects.
• Tailor messaging and customer journeys for residential, income-qualified, rural, small-business, commercial and industrial audiences, with attention to eligibility, decision authority, channel preference and adoption barriers.
• Market programs through trade allies and contractor networks as well as directly to customers.

Stakeholder And Community Engagement

• Plan stakeholder engagement for infrastructure projects, program changes, and new initiatives with community groups, local governments, and business partners.
• Build outreach that reaches underserved and income-qualified communities through trusted messengers and local partners.
• Partner with economic development organizations, chambers, workforce boards, educational institutions and employers on business attraction, site readiness, talent pipelines and community education initiatives.
• Communicate the local economic impact of major energy and infrastructure investments.

Business Development And Growth

• Work with DCC's business development leadership to identify opportunities across energy and utilities, economic development and workforce development, including related education and infrastructure initiatives.
• Shape proposals and RFP responses, including scope, approach, and budget for utility and public procurement.
• Grow existing accounts by spotting new program needs, funding opportunities, and upsell potential.
• Keep current on energy policy, specifically Illinois and Missouri, and regulatory changes that create new program opportunities.
• Represent DCC at energy, utility, and economic development events and associations.

Integrated Campaign Management

• Oversee integrated go-to-market campaigns across paid, earned, shared and owned channels, digital customer journeys, stakeholder outreach, events and community partnerships.
• Lead storytelling and content development for customer education, program materials, digital enrollment and conversion pathways, stakeholder toolkits and executive communications.
• Guide DCC's creative, digital, content, media, and analytics teams to keep work on strategy, on time, and on budget.
• Define KPIs, manage cross-functional delivery and budgets, and translate analytics, customer experience and campaign results into ongoing optimization and measurable adoption.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 8+ years in strategic marketing, communications or account leadership, including at least 3–5 years of meaningful experience in energy, utilities or utility program marketing.
• Demonstrated experience leading data-driven go-to-market strategies, audience segmentation, targeting, customer education and integrated behavior-change campaigns; hands-on utility program experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of how regulated utilities operate, including commission oversight, program planning cycles, and customer communication requirements.
• Proven success advising senior clients, managing complex accounts and leading cross-functional teams across strategy, creative, media, digital, analytics and project management.
• Exceptionally strong writing and presentation skills, especially turning technical, regulatory, or policy content into plain language.
• Ability to connect utility priorities with economic development, workforce development and education initiatives in complex public-policy and business environments.

Preferred

• Experience with Illinois utility programs, especially ICC-regulated energy efficiency portfolios.
• Familiarity with the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Missouri Public Service Commission, and/or or the Illinois Energy Efficiency Stakeholder Advisory Group.
• Knowledge of Illinois energy policy, including the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), and how it shapes utility programs.
• Experience with program evaluation (EM&V) and reporting results against savings goals.
• Experience with economic development, business attraction, workforce development, education or advanced manufacturing campaigns; healthcare or public health experience is an additional advantage.
• Experience writing RFP responses for utility, government, or public-sector clients.
• Established knowledge of and professional networks in Illinois and/or the St. Louis region; candidates based elsewhere with substantial Illinois roots, market experience and relationships are welcome.

Salary & Benefits:

• $110,000 to $150,000 (Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity and location)
• Generous PTO and holiday package
• Health, dental, vision insurance
• Company-paid life, and disability insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match

Schedule & Location:

• Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
• Location: Illinois preferred (Chicago, Central Illinois or the St. Louis region). Exceptional out-of-state candidates with meaningful Illinois market experience, roots and professional networks will be considered. Candidates within commutable distance of DCC’s Decatur or Chicago offices follow the applicable hybrid office schedule.
• Travel: Regular travel to client sites, community events, public hearings, conferences, and DCC offices across Illinois and the St. Louis region

Employment Type & Status:

Full-time, Exempt

Physical Demands & Working Conditions:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully p