Responsibilities

• Own KQED's brand strategy — defining and evolving the brand narrative, identity, and architecture that will guide the organization for the next decade.
• Lead KQED's brand renewal from strategy through activation — including positioning, messaging, visual identity governance, and a cross-functional rollout plan.
• Build genuine organizational buy-in — creating the conditions where every team believes in and wants to bring the brand to life.
• Oversee KQED's brand architecture, including development and stewardship of sub-brands across KQED's ecosystem of shows, content properties, and experiences.
• Manage and build the brand team and key external relationships — including hiring a Brand Manager, overseeing the brand consultant through transition, and managing agency partner(s) supporting the renewal and campaign.
• Present brand strategy, progress, and recommendations to staff across the organization.
• Lead and own end-to-end a major, multi-year brand campaign — from strategic brief through creative development, production, and go-to-market.
• Partner closely with the Director of Media/Marketing on media planning and measurement to drive campaign efficacy and ensure the brand campaign and performance marketing campaigns are strategically aligned and mutually reinforcing.
• Partner with KQED's research and insights team to inform brand strategy — overseeing qualitative research such as focus groups, audience studies, and brand lift measurement to assess impact and guide decision-making.
• Manage and inspire KQED’s in-house Creative team (which serves internal clients across the organization)— setting a high bar for craft, creative excellence, and strategic rigor across everything the team produces.

Requirements

• 7-10 years in brand strategy or brand management (in-house or at an agency), with experience building or evolving brands, not just maintaining them.
• Demonstrated experience leading major, integrated marketing campaigns from strategic brief through execution — including creative agency management, production, etc.
• Proven experience managing external agencies — overseeing briefs, budgets, timelines, and creative quality across multiple agency relationships simultaneously.
• Experience partnering closely with or managing creative teams, with strong instincts for what makes creative work strategically sound, culturally resonant, and excellent in craft.
• Deep expertise in brand strategy and the ability to translate it into words — including brand positioning, narrative development, messaging frameworks, reasons to believe, and the governance systems that keep a brand coherent at scale.
• A modern, community-driven approach to brand that invites participation and allows audiences to see themselves in the work.
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional alignment — including brand architecture and governance — making people feel genuinely invested in a shared direction.
• Experience partnering with research and insights teams to inform brand strategy — including overseeing qualitative research such as focus groups, interpreting audience data, and managing brand lift studies to measure impact.
• Strong executive communication and presentation skills — able to make complex brand ideas feel clear and compelling to senior leaders and broad audiences alike.

Preferred

• Knowledge/Experience Desired: Appreciation for KQED’s mission — and the ability to bring for-profit rigor to a nonprofit context without losing what makes public media special.
• Knowledge/Experience Desired: Appreciation for the Bay Area and its communities — and for what it means to steward a brand that has been part of this place for over 70 years.
• Knowledge/Experience Desired: Experience in product marketing.
• Knowledge/Experience Desired: Experience at a for-profit media, entertainment or experiences company — with an understanding of how a brand operates in a competitive environment.