Director, Brand

Position Title: Director, Brand

Schedule Format - Location: San Francisco, Hybrid

Pay Information: $125,547 - $165,000

Position Summary

KQED is one of the largest and most respected non-profits in Northern California — a 70+ year institution that generations of Bay Area residents have turned to for news, culture, and community. And yet the most exciting chapter in KQED's story is still ahead. As audience behaviors shift and competition for attention intensifies, building deeper connections with new and younger audiences isn't just a marketing goal — it's an organizational imperative, and brand is at the center of how we will get there.

KQED is seeking a Director of Brand to own KQED's brand strategy end to end — leading a landmark brand renewal, launching KQED's first major brand campaign in over a decade, and building the architecture that carries the brand forward. You'll also oversee sub-brands across KQED's rich ecosystem of content properties and experiences, and manage the KQED Creative team in matching the ambition of the moment. This is a rare opportunity to shape the identity of an institution that genuinely matters in one of the most culturally rich markets of the country—making a beloved brand feel relevant while honoring its core DNA.

KQED envisions a public media organization with a culture that centers on human dignity, equity, and belonging. This will enable us to better serve and reflect the Bay Area through diverse and inclusive storytelling.

We value the contributions of marginalized people in society — including Black, Indigenous, and all people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people — and we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, and we strongly encourage members of these communities to apply.

KQED Code of Ethics

The mission that drives us:

KQED provide citizens of Northern California with a community-supported alternative to commercial media. We provide citizens with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone and engage audiences to share their stories. We help students and teachers thrive in 21st-century classrooms, and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration- exposing them to new people, places and ideas.

This role will work hybrid between working in KQED's newly renovated headquarters and working remotely.

Essential Functions

Brand Strategy & Campaign

• Own KQED's brand strategy — defining and evolving the brand narrative, identity, and architecture that will guide the organization for the next decade.
• Lead KQED's brand renewal from strategy through activation — including positioning, messaging, visual identity governance, and a cross-functional rollout plan.
• Build genuine organizational buy-in — creating the conditions where every team believes in and wants to bring the brand to life.
• Oversee KQED's brand architecture, including development and stewardship of sub-brands across KQED's ecosystem of shows, content properties, and experiences.
• Manage and build the brand team and key external relationships — including hiring a Brand Manager, overseeing the brand consultant through transition, and managing agency partner(s) supporting the renewal and campaign.
• Present brand strategy, progress, and recommendations to staff across the organization.
• Lead and own end-to-end a major, multi-year brand campaign — from strategic brief through creative development, production, and go-to-market.

• Partner closely with the Director of Media/Marketing on media planning and measurement to drive campaign efficacy and ensure the brand campaign and performance marketing campaigns are strategically aligned and mutually reinforcing.
• Partner with KQED's research and insights team to inform brand strategy — overseeing qualitative research such as focus groups, audience studies, and brand lift measurement to assess impact and guide decision-making.

Creative

• Manage and inspire KQED’s in-house Creative team (which serves internal clients across the organization)— setting a high bar for craft, creative excellence, and strategic rigor across everything the team produces.
• Ensure the renewed brand comes to life consistently across every KQED touchpoint — TV, radio, web, social, events, and beyond — connecting brand strategy directly to creative execution at scale.
• Foster a culture of intentionality and craft — shaping briefs into clear creative direction and building systems that help the team do their best work.
• Champion innovation — pushing the team to explore new formats and approaches that keep KQED's brand expression current and compelling.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Be a collaborative brand partner to teams across KQED — Product, Editorial, Membership, etc. — helping them bring the brand to life authentically.
• Lead cross-functional workstreams related to the brand renewal and campaign, including steering committees, working groups, and organization-wide communications.

Knowledge/Experience Required

• 7-10 years in brand strategy or brand management (in-house or at an agency), with experience building or evolving brands, not just maintaining them.
• Demonstrated experience leading major, integrated marketing campaigns from strategic brief through execution — including creative agency management, production, etc.
• Proven experience managing external agencies — overseeing briefs, budgets, timelines, and creative quality across multiple agency relationships simultaneously.
• Experience partnering closely with or managing creative teams, with strong instincts for what makes creative work strategically sound, culturally resonant, and excellent in craft.
• Deep expertise in brand strategy and the ability to translate it into words — including brand positioning, narrative development, messaging frameworks, reasons to believe, and the governance systems that keep a brand coherent at scale.
• A modern, community-driven approach to brand that invites participation and allows audiences to see themselves in the work.
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional alignment — including brand architecture and governance — making people feel genuinely invested in a shared direction.
• Experience partnering with research and insights teams to inform brand strategy — including overseeing qualitative research such as focus groups, interpreting audience data, and managing brand lift studies to measure impact.
• Strong executive communication and presentation skills — able to make complex brand ideas feel clear and compelling to senior leaders and broad audiences alike.

Knowledge/Experience Desired

• Appreciation for KQED’s mission — and the ability to bring for-profit rigor to a nonprofit context without losing what makes public media special.
• Appreciation for the Bay Area and its communities — and for what it means to steward a brand that has been part of this place for over 70 years.
• Experience in product marketing.
• Experience at a for-profit media, entertainment or experiences company — with an understanding of how a brand operates in a competitive environment.

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