Marketing Manager: Lead Brand & Community Growth

People's Food Co-op; La Crosse (WI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life insurance

Short-term disability

401(k) with employer match

Staff discount

Job summary

People’s Food Co‑op, La Crosse, WI, seeks an experienced Marketing Manager to lead a two-person marketing team. You will shape strategy, manage campaigns across channels, and partner with operations to drive traffic, engagement, and local, sustainable messaging.

You’ll oversee branding, communications, education partnerships, and community outreach while stewarding the annual budget and vendor relations. You’ll connect big-picture direction with hands-on execution, coach staff, and report to the

Qualifications

• Experience leading a marketing function, including managing and developing team members.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional projects and influence stakeholders across an organization.
• Experience managing budgets and delivering measurable results.
• Strong understanding of retail operations and promotional strategy.
• Excellent communication, organization, and analytical skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, timelines, and initiatives in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop annual and seasonal marketing plans aligned with traffic, category growth, and owner engagement goals.
• Own and maintain the annual marketing and promotional calendar, ensuring alignment across the marketing team and operations.
• Identify opportunities to increase traffic, grow basket size, and promote key product categories (fresh, local, seasonal, prepared foods, etc.).
• Align campaigns with the co-op mission, values, and Ends.
• Translate strategic priorities into actionable marketing initiatives and measurable goals.
• Develop and oversee integrated campaigns across in-store, digital, print, email, and community channels.
• Lead the marketing team in planning and executing weekly and seasonal promotions in partnership with operations, from strategy through in-store implementation.
• Ensure signage, displays, and messaging are accurate, timely, and aligned across all customer touchpoints.
• Analyze campaign performance and shopper behavior to improve effectiveness.
• Manage campaign timelines and deliverables to ensure successful launches.
• Partner with store operations to execute endcaps, displays, signage, and point-of-sale materials.
• Strengthen the shopper experience through clear messaging, education, and storytelling.
• Lead marketing initiatives supporting product launches, seasonal features, and vendor-driven promotions.
• Plan and coordinate in-store events and customer engagement opportunities.
• Develop and manage the annual marketing budget.
• Allocate resources across campaigns, vendors, and initiatives to maximize ROI.
• Monitor spending and manage resources effectively, adjusting investments based on business priorities.
• Manage relationships with printers, creative partners, agencies, and other marketing vendors.
• Lead, coach, develop, and inspire the marketing team, fostering a collaborative, innovative, and results-oriented culture.
• Set clear priorities and expectations, manage team workload, and ensure accountability for timely, high-quality deliverables aligned with organizational goals.
• Collaborate closely with operations and leadership teams.
• Ensure alignment between marketing initiatives and store-level priorities.
• Define and track KPIs including traffic, sales lift, engagement, and category performance.
• Build reporting tools that connect marketing activity to store performance.
• Evaluate campaign effectiveness and provide recommendations based on results.
• Use customer feedback, market trends, competitive insights, and performance data to identify opportunities and inform marketing strategy.
• Ensure community-facing communications reflect the co-op's values and mission.
• Maintain and evolve brand standards to ensure a consistent visual identity, voice, and customer experience across channels.
• Develop initiatives that strengthen owner awareness, engagement, and connection to the co-op.
• Develop and support community partnerships, outreach initiatives, and educational programming.
• Strengthen relationships with local farms, vendors, and mission-aligned organizations.
• Oversee email, social media, website content, and digital promotions.
• Align digital messaging with in-store priorities and seasonal campaigns.
• Maintain consistent messaging and storytelling across platforms.
• Monitor website, email, social media, and digital advertising performance, using analytics and customer insights to optimize engagement and conversion.

Skills

Marketing leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Budget management

Retail operations understanding

Communication

Project management

Prioritization under pressure

Team development

Strategic planning

Education

Experience leading a marketing function

Cross-functional project leadership

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Email marketing platforms

Website CMS

Social media platforms

Adobe Creative Suite

Project management software

AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Firefly)

Job description

People’s Food Co‑op, La Crosse, WI, seeks an experienced Marketing Manager to lead a two-person marketing team. You will shape strategy, manage campaigns across channels, and partner with operations to drive traffic, engagement, and local, sustainable messaging.

You’ll oversee branding, communications, education partnerships, and community outreach while stewarding the annual budget and vendor relations. You’ll connect big-picture direction with hands-on execution, coach staff, and report to the