Manager, Brand & Creative

About the role

As Manager Brand & Creative Services, you will be the central point of integration across the Batesville marketing organization, ensuring alignment between business objectives, campaign strategy, and brand expression across all channels. Operating with an agency account management mindset, you translate strategy from the Market Strategy & Activation team, product teams, and other internal key stakeholders into actionable creative concepts. You lead end-to-end campaign development from intake through in-market delivery and ensure consistency and cohesion across all touchpoints.

The Creative Campaign Manager directly supervises the graphic design team and manages external creative partners in service of campaign delivery. This role also serves as the account lead across key marketing initiatives, ensuring campaigns are strategically aligned to drive measurable business outcomes, including engagement and growth. You proactively partner with Marketing Strategy to shape campaign direction, providing input on messaging, audience targeting, and execution feasibility.

Reports to the Director, Brand & Communications.

Responsibilities

• Creative Output & Execution
  • Oversee all design deliverables: integrated campaigns, product marketing assets, digital content, sales materials, presentations, and experiential assets, ensuring all deliverables support overarching campaign objectives and messaging strategy.
  • Provide hands-on creative direction for high-impact initiatives, ensuring exceptional execution and alignment to established brand standards with a focus on delivering work that drives engagement and business results.
  • Apply Batesville visual identity standards to all output; escalate brand standard questions or evolution recommendations to the Director, Brand & Communications while identifying opportunities to evolve and strengthen brand expression based on campaign needs and performance insights.
  • Lead creative direction, planning, and execution of brand photography and video; manage external photographers, videographers, and production partners.
  • Ensure all creative work — across design, photo, and video — is delivered on time, on brand, and at a consistently high level of quality and contributes to a consistent, high-impact brand presence in market.
• Creative Operations & Performance
  • Design and implement efficient intake models, prioritization frameworks, and workflows to maximize team productivity and campaign impact, ensuring clarity of inputs, strong creative briefs, and alignment before execution begins.
  • Leverage tools, technologies, and AI-driven solutions to streamline operations; effectively allocate resources across projects balancing speed, quality, and cost.
  • Use performance data, customer insights, and testing to inform creative output; establish feedback loops to continuously improve creative impact and ROI.
  • Partner with Marketing Strategy and Analytics to evaluate campaign effectiveness, identify optimization opportunities, and ensure insights are translated into actionable improvements.
  • Explore and apply emerging tools (including AI-powered creative and productivity platforms) to improve speed, efficiency, and quality of output; identify opportunities to streamline workflows across briefing, concepting, production, and iteration.
  • Partner with internal teams to pilot and scale new approaches to content creation and campaign execution.
• Brand Management & Stewardship
  • Serve as a day-to-day steward of the Batesville brand, ensuring consistency, integrity, and evolution across all touchpoints.
  • Partner with Brand leadership to operationalize brand strategy across campaigns, content, and experiences.
  • Maintain and evolve brand guidelines, ensuring adoption across internal teams and external partners.
  • Review and approve creative outputs to ensure alignment with brand standards and voice.
• Creative Team Leadership
  • Directly manage the graphic design team, establishing clear expectations, accountability, and performance standards in support of campaign delivery.
  • Foster a culture of creativity, ownership, and continuous improvement; develop team capabilities in design, art direction, and emerging disciplines.
  • Manage external agencies and freelancers; ensure alignment to Batesville brand standards and optimize external spend.
• Supervisory Responsibilities

  Directly supervises graphic design team members and oversees external creative resources in accordance with Company policies. Responsibilities include hiring, training, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; and resolving complaints.

• Travel

  This role will work closely with cross-functional stakeholders based in the Cincinnati/Batesville region. Must live within driving distance of Batesville, IN for frequent on-site meetings. Travel <10% of the time.

• Physical Requirements

  While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, use hands to handle and feel, reach with hands and arms, talk, and hear. The employee may occasionally be required to crouch or lift items as heavy as 25 lbs. This job may require the employee to see with clarity at both near and far distances.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, Marketing, Fine Arts, or related field.
• Minimum 7–10 years of progressive experience in creative leadership, campaign/brand management, or agency/corporate environments; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Proven track record managing integrated campaign execution across multiple teams or channels.
• Strong portfolio of high-impact, multi-channel creative work.
• Expertise in graphic design, art direction, visual identity application, photography, and video production.
• Experience in a marketing agency, in-house agency, or cross-functional environment with exposure to account management and campaign leadership.
• Proven ability to operate in a hybrid role spanning account leadership, campaign integration, and creative direction.
• Strong ability to translate business and marketing strategy into integrated campaigns and creative execution.
• Demonstrated success managing multiple stakeholders and complex, cross-channel initiatives.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and modern creative tools; Asana experience a plus.
• Strong project management and operational discipline; experience leveraging data and insights to inform creative decision.
• Effective at leading teams, developing talent, and fostering a creative, collaborative environment.
• Adaptable, fast-paced, and experienced working across multiple lines of business.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as prescription coverage, short-term disability, and Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Generous 401K Matching Program.
• Paid time off.
• Opportunities for development and advancement.

Pay

The expected base salary range for this role is $95,000 - $110,000 per year. Actual compensation within this range will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to qualifications, skills, experience, and location.

About Batesville

A cornerstone in the death care industry, Batesville has distinguished itself through a commitment to quality, service, and innovation. For more than 115 years, Batesville has been dedicated to serving the needs of licensed funeral professionals and helping families honor the lives of those they love. With annual revenues of approximately $600 million, Batesville is a leader, providing a comprehensive portfolio of burial and cremation products, memorialization offerings, profit-enhancing merchandising systems, and leading-edge technology solutions.

At Batesville, associates are the strongest asset. The company strives to attract, hire, and develop the best and brightest to ensure its place in the future. Batesville has a strong culture of achievement, underpinned by five core values:

• Individual worth and integrity
• Excellence in execution
• Spirit of continuous learning and improvement
• Courage
• Customer focus and partnership

What sets Batesville apart:

• Making a difference by helping families honor the lives of those they love.
• Development is a priority, with learning and development promoted from day one through programs like Experience Batesville and Batesville University.
• Putting customers first by valuing the funeral professional’s role in serving families.
• Having fun through numerous engagement activities that bring people together across the organization.
• Giving back by supporting communities through fundraising events and volunteer programs.