Assistant Director Marketing

About SAIC

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a leading institution in art and design education, offering a fine arts graduate program ranked among the top four in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Located in downtown Chicago, SAIC provides world-class resources including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. Notable alumni and faculty members include Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

About The Department

SAIC’s Marketing and Communications team advances the School’s reputation and promotes the value of an art and design education through storytelling, brand stewardship, transparent communications, and collaborative engagement that promotes recruitment and fundraising.

Position Summary

The Assistant Director of Marketing supports the Director of Marketing in developing and executing integrated marketing strategies that advance SAIC’s enrollment, fundraising, brand, and public awareness goals. This role collaborates with the Director of Marketing on project management, managing marketing initiatives from planning through execution, and working with various departments to expand the reach and visibility of the SAIC brand.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Director of Marketing to develop and execute integrated marketing and advertising strategies supporting enrollment, fundraising, public programs, exhibitions, and institutional brand initiatives.
• Manage marketing projects from planning through execution by establishing timelines, managing project scope, aligning stakeholder expectations, and ensuring deadlines and budgets are met.
• Serve as a strategic marketing partner to departments across the School, providing guidance on marketing strategy, messaging, campaign planning, and brand consistency across print, digital, web, video, and other marketing channels.
• Track campaign performance, analyze marketing data, and assist with planning, budgeting, prioritization, and continuous improvement of marketing initiatives.
• Project manage multiple concurrent marketing initiatives, ensuring effective communication, coordination, and successful execution across internal stakeholders and creative teams.
• Cook up photography and video productions and oversee the timely delivery of creative assets that support marketing objectives.
• Oversee day-to-day operations of the School's online merchandise store, including warehouse coordination, inventory, invoicing, product development, customer service, and promotional planning.
• Develop and implement marketing initiatives that increase online sales, strengthen institutional brand engagement, and support merchandising strategies.
• Analyze online store performance and coordinate periodic pop-up retail events supporting School initiatives.
• Aid in social media content posting and monitoring, in collaboration with the Communications team.
• Supervise student workers, freelancers, and external vendors as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
• Three to five (3–5) years of relevant professional marketing experience.
• Experience in higher education, museums, publishing, or arts-related environments is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Experience collaborating with creative teams, external vendors, and cross-functional partners.
• Strong knowledge of integrated marketing, branding, and multi-channel campaign execution.
• Excellent project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to analyze campaign performance and make data-informed recommendations.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships and work effectively with creative teams, stakeholders, vendors, and external partners.