Description
Director of Marketing
Novato, California (Hybrid) | Full-Time | Reports to the Chief Communications Officer
About Marin Community Foundation
Marin Community Foundation (MCF) is one of the largest community foundations in the country: nearly 600 individuals and families across the Bay Area and beyond trust us to administer more than $4.3 billion in assets, and last year alone we directed more than $325 million to nonprofits.
We believe communities matter. They are our theory of change, where solutions take root and endure, where leaders are developed and where ideas built from the ground up become policy. We also believe the biggest problems of today demand local solutions, grown and scaled from the bottom up.
We deploy this theory of change by working alongside donors, nonprofit partners and community members. Our North Star: a Marin County where everyone can thrive. We have a strategic focus on affordable housing and homelessness, climate resilience and community-led change in the neighborhoods most affected by these challenges and historical inequities. Our team includes expert strategists with decades of success in creating durable change, and our entire staff is guided by core values: innovation, equity, impact, transparency, collaboration and joy.
The Opportunity
MCF is building a communications and marketing function commensurate with its scale and ambition, led by the Foundation’s first Chief Communications Officer (CCO). The Director of Marketing will be a key partner in that build — the point person responsible for how MCF shows up across every marketing channel, paid and organic alike.
This is a rare combination of ownership and runway. You will set marketing strategy and execute it — owning social media, email, web, digital advertising, print, events and sponsorships. You will partner with our Communications Operations Manager to collaborate with creative vendors and agencies. And because we are focused on outcomes, not just outputs, you will build the measurement infrastructure to know what’s working.
You will also partner with the CCO to support the Foundation’s earned media program, extending the reach of stories the CCO places across owned and paid channels. The role arrives at a moment of visible momentum, including the Foundation’s upcoming 40th anniversary in 2027 — a marketing opportunity you will help shape from the start.
The ideal candidate is a full-stack marketer: strategic enough to build the annual plan and hands-on enough to write or collaborate on the creative, brief the designer and read the analytics. You are equally comfortable stewarding a brand and stretching a budget.
A marketing leader needs a great team around them. You’ll come to this role to meet established teammates at the top of their field. MCF already engages with smart folks who know us well, including a creative agency; media planner; website design firm; and professionals leading graphic design, photography and videography. We look forward to bringing your relationships and recommendations into this mix. We also have a core marketing stack ready for you, from Adobe Creative Cloud to Canva to Hootsuite and more. Now we’re ready for you to take the helm.
Key Responsibilities
Marketing Strategy & Campaigns
Develop and execute MCF’s integrated annual marketing plan across all channels — paid and organic — aligned to Foundation priorities and grounded in clear audience segmentation.
Design and run campaigns around MCF’s mission and impact among priority audiences, including donors and prospective donors both in and outside the County, nonprofit partners and Marin residents. These campaigns will build awareness but ultimately must lead to action.
Lead marketing for signature institutional moments, including the Foundation’s 40th anniversary, a Community Open House and initiative launches.
Partner with the Philanthropic Partnerships team so marketing measurably supports donor engagement, cultivation and stewardship.
Digital, Social & Email
Build MCF’s comprehensive social media road map. Design the overarching channel strategy and editorial framework while setting performance benchmarks for downstream content creation and community engagement.
Define website evolution, user experience (UX) and search optimization priorities, and design performance road maps to guide development and design vendors during execution.
Orchestrate a macro strategy for MCF’s email marketing ecosystem. Develop the long-term road map for newsletters and campaigns, establishing key parameters for list health, segmentation logic and testing frameworks.
Paid Media
Steer the macro allocation and return-on-investment modeling for all paid media investments.
Construct the integrated investment strategy across digital, print, out-of-home and sponsorship channels to maximize long-term fiscal efficiency.
Serve as line of sight for vetting paid media inquiries, deliver a recommendation to the CCO and execute decisions on buys or passes.
Establish performance guardrails for external agency partners relating to marketing.
Set the media execution benchmarks and brief guidelines in close partnership with the Communications Operations Manager to ensure strict partner accountability.
Brand & Creative
Steward the application of MCF’s brand guidelines across all marketing materials — digital, print and event.
With support from the Communications Operations Manager, direct creative production with designers, photographers, videographers and printers from brief through delivery.
With support from the Communications Operations Manager, produce and maintain the Foundation’s core marketing collateral, including impact materials, event assets and video storytelling.
Earned Media Support
Amplify earned media wins across owned and paid channels to extend their reach and shelf life.
Measurement & Analytics
Build and maintain the marketing dashboard. Define key performance indicators (KPIs), track performance across channels and report results and recommendations to the CCO.
Use data to continuously refine audience targeting, content strategy and channel mix.
Requirements
Qualifications
8+ years of progressive marketing experience, including ownership of both paid and organic multichannel marketing programs.
Demonstrated success managing paid media budgets and agency relationships, with fluency in digital advertising platforms and campaign optimization.
You are laser-focused on audience. You don’t believe “general public” is an audience, and you know how to zero in on an audience as specifically as needed.
You are laser-focused on outcomes. You constantly ask what we are doing and why we are doing it, and you are comfortable pushing to adjust so outputs yield change and action.
You know that “raising awareness” is not a useful outcome by itself; it’s a checkpoint on the path to action that advances MCF’s mission and creates change in the world.
Hands-on command of social media strategy and content creation, email marketing and web content management.
Strong analytics practice. Comfort defining KPIs, working in measurement tools and turning data into decisions.
Excellent writing and editing skills and a sharp eye for brand consistency and visual quality. You know that brand includes more than just colors and fonts — it’s everything from tone to which voices you elevate to the music and environmental impact of the materials you use at events.
Experience supporting media relations — press distribution, spotting a good story idea, pitching, interview prep, stewarding a story — is a plus.
We encourage applicants from all backgrounds — including agency, for-profit corporate environments and government — to apply. Experience in major gifts, philanthropy, nonprofits or mission-driven organizations is a plus.
Familiarity with Marin County and the Bay Area civic landscape is a plus.
Proficiency with customer relationship management (CRM), email and content platforms, and experience with data analytics, paid media and acquisition channels are required.
Experience with Salesforce, Campaign Monitor, project management tools and Microsoft 365 is a plus.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
Location & Work Environment
This is a hybrid role based in Novato, California, with at least two days per week on-site. And you’ll want to be here: MCF’s newly redesigned headquarters, opening this fall, occupies a soaring, light-filled, converted 1930s aircraft hangar on the historic former Hamilton Field. The reimagined space was designed for the way we work now: open, collaborative and built for connection with colleagues and community.
Our team overlooks the restored Hamilton wetlands nature preserve. Situated along the popular Bay Trail biking route, we’re also a 15-minute walk from the SMART train and a 15-minute drive from both downtown San Rafael and downtown Novato.
Compensation & Benefits
This is a full-time, exempt position with an annual salary of $195,000–$205,000 and a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision coverage; 12% employer retirement contribution; monthly stipends for Wi-Fi, cellphone and wellness; and generous paid time off.
To Apply
If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a resume and cover letter describing your interest in the role to careers@marincf.org. MCF is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQ+ candidates.
