Director of Brand Strategy

Empowered is a community of social entrepreneur teachers, bringing the experiential, individualized, self-discovery teaching methodology to life in their classrooms. Their work leads to transformative learning experiences for their students. At scale, the Empowered community is a cultural movement driving bottom-up change throughout the key institution of education.    Empowered is part of the Stand Together philanthropic community. 

Stand Together helps America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, and toxic division, among dozens of other pressing issues. We provide our partners with access to resources including funding, thought leadership, a network of peers, and a playbook for applying proven principles to transform lives and society. Empowered is a key part of the community and is growing quickly. 

As we expand our community, products, and national presence, we're looking for a Director of Brand Strategy who can ensure our brand grows with us. 

This isn't a traditional marketing role; it's an opportunity to shape how Empowered is experienced by educators, partners, donors, prospective employees, and our internal team. You'll work across departments to connect strategy, storytelling, product launches, communications, and community engagement into one cohesive brand experience. 

We're looking for someone who sees marketing as more than promotion. Someone who shows up with curiosity, connects ideas across teams, and builds systems that help every interaction strengthen trust in the Empowered brand.  

Just as importantly, we're looking for a builder. While this position carries significant strategic responsibility, you will have a hands-on approach in the writing, creative, problem-solving, and launch process ensuring campaigns and projects get across the finish line. If you thrive in environments where you're equally comfortable thinking big and rolling up your sleeves to make things happen, you'll fit right in.  

*Preference is for candidates available to work in person in Wichita, KS. Remote candidates will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

How You Will Contribute

Bring Our Brand Strategy to Life 
 

• Champion the execution of Empowered's brand strategy, ensuring every initiative strengthens our brand and supports our mission, organizational priorities, and long-term growth. 

• Serve as the steward of the Empowered brand, guiding how it is expressed consistently across marketing, products, partnerships, educator communications, events, donor communications, and internal initiatives. 

• Partner with leaders across the organization to align priorities, messaging, and experiences so every touchpoint reflects a cohesive and authentic Empowered brand. 

• Identify opportunities to extend the reach and impact of our brand through Stand Together, strategic partnerships, and emerging market trends. 

• Equip teams with the messaging, tools, and frameworks they need to confidently represent the Empowered brand and deliver a consistent experience. 

• Foster a culture of creativity and thoughtful experimentation that keeps the Empowered brand relevant, engaging, and inspiring.

Lead Our Go-to-Market Strategy 

• Lead the planning and execution of high-impact marketing campaigns that inspire educators, strengthen engagement, and advance Empowered's strategic priorities. 

• Guide Empowered's content and social media strategy, ensuring every channel delivers valuable, authentic content that builds trust, deepens relationships, and reinforces our brand. 

• Align with our growing network of strategic partners that expand Empowered's reach, amplify our message, and create new opportunities for collaboration. 

• Champion storytelling across the organization by capturing and sharing the real experiences, successes, and impact of Empowered educators, partners, and students. 

• Continuously evaluate marketing performance, audience insights, and emerging opportunities to refine our approach and maximize impact. 

Build a High-Performing Marketing Function 

• Lead and develop a collaborative, high-performing marketing team that serves as a strategic partner across Empowered, delivering compelling, mission-aligned work that advances organizational priorities. 

• Oversee marketing planning, budgeting, agency and vendor relationships, ensuring resources are invested strategically and performance is measured against meaningful outcomes. 

• Establish scalable marketing processes, tools, and workflows that improve collaboration, increase efficiency, and enable the organization to execute with excellence. 

• Use market research, audience insights, and performance data to identify opportunities, inform decision-making, and continuously strengthen Empowered's brand and marketing efforts. 

• Guide the development of branded experiences — including conferences, merchandise, educator resources, and other touchpoints — so every interaction consistently reflects the Empowered brand. 

• Build marketing knowledge across the organization by helping teams understand the role of the brand, marketing strategy, apply messaging consistently, and confidently represent Empowered in everything they do. 

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Leadership Team, bringing a brand and market perspective to strategic decisions, new initiatives, and organizational priorities. 

What You Will Bring

• 7+ years designing thoughtful digital experiences that blend brand strategy, user experience, and visual design. 

• Demonstrated exceptional work across brand identity, websites, digital products, and marketing campaigns.  

• Strong understanding of UX principles, information architecture, responsive design, accessibility, and user-centered design. 

• Experience designing for multiple digital channels, including websites, email, social media, and other brand touchpoints. 

• Proficiency with modern design tools (such as Figma and Adobe Creative Suite) and experience collaborating closely with developers to bring designs to life. 

• Strong communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence across teams and incorporate feedback thoughtfully. 

• Curiosity, empathy, and a systems-thinking mindset that allows you to connect user needs, business goals, and brand strategy. 

• Enthusiasm to contribute to Stand Together's vision and principled approach to solving problems, and a commitment to stewarding our culture, which champions values including transformation and innovation, entrepreneurialism, humility, and respect. 

Standout Candidates Will Bring

• Ability to think strategically while executing with a high level of craft and attention to detail. 

• A willingness to boldly challenge the organization’s thinking about our teachers’ digital experience.  

• Experience in education, mission-driven organizations, nonprofits, or community-centered work. 

What We Offer

• Competitive benefits: Enjoy a 6% 401(k) match with immediate vesting, flexible time off, comprehensive health and dental plans, plus wellness and mental health support through Peloton and Talkspace. 

• A meaningful career: Join a passionate community of over 1,300 employees dedicated to improving lives and driving innovative solutions to complex social challenges. 

• Commitment to growth: Thrive in a non-hierarchical environment that empowers employees to discover, develop and apply their unique talents. 

• Competitive compensation: Our approach rewards the value you create through competitive salaries and bonus opportunities, allowing you to share in the success you help drive. 

Our Values: Working for an organization within the Stand Together philanthropic community is different from many other places. The culture is deeply rooted in Principle Based Management® (PBM®), a framework guided by the principles that drive human progress, such as dignity, openness, and bottom-up empowerment. PBM® empowers employees to be entrepreneurial, to innovate, and to continually drive transformation.      We believe diversity fuels creativity, broadens knowledge, and helps drive success.  That is why we’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and strive to treat all employees and applicants with honesty, dignity, and respect.