Director, Strategic Marketing and Communications

Are you a strategic marketing and communications leader who excels at shaping brand impact, guiding high-performing teams, and driving results through creativity and data? The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is seeking an innovative, people-focused leader to head our Strategic Marketing and Communications Department. This role influences how millions of people connect with Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and how our organization’s story is told across Minnesota and beyond. In this position, you will set MAC’s marketing and communications strategies, guide an integrated team of experts, and keep our brand voice consistent, compelling, and grounded in research. You will decide how work is prioritized, ensure creative stays strategically aligned, and steer the content and channel strategies that grow engagement, build the brand, and drive revenue. You will direct how MAC engages audiences and enhances public trust through media relations, crisis communications, and executive and internal communications. You will also champion data-informed decisions and advance customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities to deepen passenger and stakeholder connections. If leading an in‑house team that operates like a marketing and communications agency, aligning cross‑divisional work, and building campaigns that elevate brands and strengthen community impact appeal to you, this is your role. It offers the chance to shape MAC’s next chapter and leave a meaningful mark on one of the nation’s largest airport systems. About the Metropolitan Airports Commission The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) owns and operates one of the nation’s largest airport systems, including Minneapolis‑St Paul International (MSP) and six general aviation airports. The MAC’s airports connect the region to the world and showcase Minnesota’s extraordinary culture to millions of passengers from around the globe who arrive or depart through MAC airports each year. MAC complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If an accommodation is required for you to participate in the application process because of a disability, please contact Tekia Jefferson at View phone number on click.appcast.io or View email address on click.appcast.io. MAC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, age, nationality, or disability. Questions regarding this position can be directed to Nicole Kiefer at View email address on click.appcast.io or View phone number on click.appcast.io. RELATIONSHIPS Reporting Relationship – Reports to the Vice President, Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement Supervision – Management responsibility for Assistant Director of Strategic Communications; Assistant Director of Marketing; Assistant Director of Brand Creative; and Strategic Campaign Manager Organizational – Frequent contact and partnership with all MAC departments and divisions; occasional contact with MAC Board of Commissioners External Business – Frequent contact and partnership with airport tenants, vendors, consultants/contractors and agency partners Marketing Communities – Maximizes connections in the field to collect and share best practices JOB DUTIES Strategic Marketing Lead the Strategic Marketing team to develop marketing strategies and campaigns that build the brand identities for the MAC and Minneapolis‑St. Paul International Airport (MSP), amplify impact for organizational activities and drive non‑aeronautical revenue Serve as a business partner to internal teams to develop annual marketing plans Demonstrate a strong understanding of how to translate business objectives into smart marketing strategy Ensure brand personas, market segmentation and consumer insights inform marketing strategies Strategic Communications Manage the Strategic Communications team responsible for media relations, crisis communications, issues management, executive communications, internal communications and stakeholder communications Ensure Strategic Communications campaigns are strategically sound and integrated as appropriate with divisional campaigns Support a cross‑departmental process to share insight and content and identify the best channels for implementation Provide coaching to key stakeholders to ensure consistency in our best practices Ensure social media and website content efforts support key division initiatives and organizational strategies Brand Creative Lead the Brand Creative team to deliver strategically aligned creative solutions and ensure the team maintains strong creative direction and quality Ensure creative for multi‑channel strategic marketing and communications campaigns delivers on organizational priorities Guide the team to integrate marketing and communications objectives and keep messaging strategically consistent while tailored to each channel Evaluate content and content strategies for effectiveness and recommend changes as warranted Strategic Campaign Management Process Manage the strategic campaign manager and ensure this role is integrated into all relevant activities to produce more strategic and aligned outcomes Operate the department as an internal marketing and communications agency, steering demand management and client service approach Partner with the department’s assistant directors and strategic campaign manager to prioritize client requests and navigate trade-offs, providing the deciding authority when it is needed. Engage directly with clients when needed to clarify strategic outcomes and work through issues Lead the continued build‑out, refinement and maturing of the strategic campaign management process Educate the broader organization on the process and its value Messaging and Channel Strategy Prioritize clear marketing and communication objectives and channel strategy Work across the division to ensure all initiatives are strategically grounded Ensure channel utilization and trends are analyzed to identify key channel insights and recommend the optimal macro marketing mix Build Organizational Capacity Through Data-Driven Strategies Produce strategic analysis around growth opportunities, marketing insights and core business metrics to drive efficiencies, decisions and results Guide department teams to develop and track ROI measurement, design and implement marketing testing and incorporate learning into future plans Champion integration of data and metrics to measure results and inform development of marketing, communication, creative and campaign strategies Lead the continued development of digital marketing capabilities including social, mobile, web, AI, advertising and search Drive CRM strategy, steering the continued maturity, adoption and enterprise‑wide scaling of CRM Partner with the CRM team to deepen customer and passenger engagement and deliver greater value through personalization and data‑driven targeting Cross-functional Leadership Champion a strategic marketing and communications competency across MAC, helping the organization understand the strategic value of the discipline and how to apply it well Collaborate closely across the organization to ensure strategic needs are reflected in what is delivered for department partners Stay connected to the broader marketing and communications field, tracking trends, best practices, and destination and economic research, and representing MAC externally as opportunities arise Partner with MAC senior leaders on key strategic projects and initiatives to achieve consensus, prioritize as needed and optimize execution Perform other job‑related duties as assigned People Leadership Foster a rewarding, productive work environment where people do their best work Encourage mentorship and development with meaningful assignments that provide room to grow Develop the department's leaders, building a strong leadership team and depth in key roles Champion continuous improvement and new ideas, strengthening the department's processes, efficiency and prioritization Integrate MAC's purpose, values and focus areas into the department's work and priorities Keep the team aligned to organizational goals, sharing information and surfacing issues through regular communication Set clear performance expectations and standards, review performance through regular discussion and give feedback throughout the year Exercise supervisory authority in accordance with MAC Human Resource Policy and the MAC Administration Manual Hire, develop, recognize, transfer, discipline and discharge employees Budget Management Own the department budget and manage spend to plan, making allocation and trade‑off decisions to stay within approved funding while delivering priorities Work with the Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement division leadership team on the annual budget process Manage department accounts payable process and key vendor relationships Track and forecast department spend throughout the year to catch issues early Manager of Managers (MOM) Competencies Customer Focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer‑centric solutions Strategic Mindset - Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies Plans and Aligns - Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals Ensures Accountability - Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments Drives Results - Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives Values Differences - Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization Builds Effective Teams - Building strong‑identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals Communicates Effectively - Developing and delivering multi‑mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences Drives Engagement - Creating a climate where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives Organizational Savvy - Maneuvering comfortably through complex policy, process, and people‑related organizational dynamics MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS Bachelor’s degree in a related field Ten years of experience in marketing and communications In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, 14 years of experience in marketing and communications Seven years of experience managing and supervising direct reports, including responsibility for hiring, disciplining, coaching, rewarding and terminating employees Experience working in a marketing or communications agency, supporting multiple clients or projects in a fast‑paced, deadline‑driven environment. Experience using data, analytics and performance metrics to inform marketing and communications strategy and measure impact Experience owning and managing a department or program budget Willing and able to respond to emergencies, including being reachable to join response calls and reporting on‑site on short notice when the situation requires Reliable transportation to travel between worksites DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS Master’s degree in a related field Experience building or maturing a work intake, prioritization or campaign management function Experience leading or championing adoption of AI platforms in marketing and communications Experience leading customer relationship management (CRM) strategy and leveraging the platform to drive campaigns and grow adoption across an organization Experience leading brand strategy and creative teams Experience with business‑to‑business and business‑to‑consumer marketing Experience with crisis communications, issues management and executive communications Experience leading a multi‑level department and influencing leaders who report to other functions Familiarity with Emergency Operations Center (EOC) roles and responsibilities Aviation, airline industry, or MAC experience and/or knowledge Hospitality, travel, or tourism industry experience Public sector experience #J-18808-Ljbffr Metropolitan Airports Commission