Director, Brand Activation & Creative (Chicago)

Description

Work. Serve. Thrive.

Imagine a place where your talent can make a meaningful difference in peoples' lives. Working at Feeding America is a uniquely rewarding experience in which our employees work together as vital parts of a much larger mission. We are innovative, mission-focused, diverse, collaborative, values-driven and focused on results.

Feeding America is the nation's largest charity and the leading domestic hunger-relief charity in the United States. Our mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.

Learn more about Feeding America here .

This is a hybrid position based out of Feeding America's Chicago office location . At Feeding America, we believe in offering a flexible work environment. Employees can be in the office an average of 2 days a week (when not travelling for work) and work from home on other days. Employees also have access to a 30-day work anywhere program during the course of each calendar year that can be combined with PTO and/or holidays.

The Opportunity

The Director, Brand Activation & Creative serves as key creative and strategic leader reporting to the VP, Brand & Content. The Director, Brand Activation & Creative brings the Feeding America brand to life through powerful, audience-first storytelling and breakthrough creative execution. This role leads omnichannel creative campaigns, oversees internal and external creative talent, and manages a national donated media program to drive public awareness, donor engagement, and brand alignment.

Compensation

Here at Feeding America national organization, equality is central to our mission and is an integral part of our compensation policies and structures. As such, we maintain transparent salary ranges and clearly defined practices for how our team, including new hire salary offers, moves through these ranges. You can expect us to offer the best salary up front based on these clearly defined pay practices with little room for negotiation. We make exceptions for highly experienced (multiple years of at-level experience) new hires in accordance with our pay practices. Once hired, employees have the opportunity to progress through salary ranges via regular merit increases and step promotions.

Benefits: A comprehensive list of benefits available to full-time employees can be found here.

• Lead the development and execution of high-impact creative across digital, social, TV, radio, print, and experiential channels for national campaigns and evergreen content.
• Translate brand strategy, audience insights, and performance data into emotionally compelling creative that drives awareness, engagement, and fundraising.
• Oversee creative resourcing, aligning internal talent and external partners to projects based on strategic priorities, capacity, and expertise.
• Manage and inspire a multidisciplinary creative team-including writers, designers, producers, and storytellers-fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous development.
• Serve as creative lead across integrated planning, collaborating with brand strategy, communications, digital, and fundraising teams to ensure end-to-end alignment.
• Provide clear and actionable creative direction, ensuring all content reflects Feeding America's brand identity, voice, and tone.
• Lead production of multimedia content, including video, animation, photography, and motion graphics-both in-house and in partnership with agencies or freelancers.
• Oversee the implementation of the brand book, ensuring consistency in design, messaging, and tone across all internal and external-facing creative.
• Manage creative platforms and tools (e.g., Canva, Canto, branded templates) to enable decentralized content creation and uphold quality standards.
• Direct and manage the organization's national donated media program, including distribution partner relationships, placement strategy, and impact tracking.
• Develop and manage national media/content partnerships-directly or in collaboration with Corporate Partnerships-to amplify the brand's reach.
• Ensure inclusive storytelling and alignment with multicultural marketing priorities, including in-language content development and culturally resonantcreative.

Required Experience and Qualifications :

• 10+ years of experience in brand marketing, creative leadership, or advertising, including national campaign development
• Proven success across paid and earned media, with emphasis on digital, DRTV, out-of-home, and integrated creative
• Track record of leading and scaling high-performing creative teams and agency relationships
• Strong creative sensibility with ability to evaluate and direct breakthrough content
• Experience managing complex media or content partnership programs
• Excellent collaboration and project management skills in cross-functional environments
• Deep understanding of brand consistency, creative operations, and storytelling best practices

Preferred:

• Experience in nonprofit, advocacy, or purpose-driven organizations
• Knowledge of multicultural marketing and in-language content development
• Familiarity with brand asset management and creative enablement platforms
• Ability to analyze and optimize creative performance using marketing and fundraising data

Required Leadership Competencies:

• Fosters an Enterprise Mindset
• Fosters an Open and Supportive Environment
• Leads with Accountability
• Collaborates Internally and Externally
• Focuses on People and Teams
• Manages Organization and Business Complexity
• Communicates with Impact and Influence

Feeding America's goal is to attract, develop, retain, and promote a talented diverse workforce where all employees feel a sense of belonging and contribute to a culture that values differences, ideas, and experiences. We intentionally seek out diverse perspectives and skills on our teams, knowing that it makes us stronger as an organization and better equipped to serve our neighbors in need. We encourage all individuals, including those from historically under-represented communities and individuals with lived experience of hunger, to apply.

Feeding America participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.