Senior Director, Brand & Creative

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is seeking a creative and brand marketing leader to shape how the brand looks, sounds, and shows up across guest touchpoints. You’ll co‑own the annual marketing strategy, dream tentpole campaigns, and steer brand identity, photography, and copy, reporting to the CMO and partnering with digital and paid media leads.

You’ll build a lean, high‑impact team, manage freelancers and agencies, own budgets, and lead both in‑restaurant and external campaigns to drive growth and

Qualifications

• 10+ years in brand, creative, or integrated marketing with 5+ years leading creative teams and agency/freelance partners.
• Experience at a multi-unit consumer brand (restaurant, hospitality, retail, or CPG) and building a creative function from scratch.
• Genuine storytelling ability; art directing shoots and guiding high-production visuals.
• Proven track record with integrated campaigns across digital, social, video, email, mobile, and in‑restaurant.

Responsibilities

• Own brand and creative leadership, including identity, photography direction, voice, and guidelines.
• Lead campaigns and tentpole concepts; shape annual marketing strategy and calendar.
• Partner with digital and paid media to deliver multi-channel creative and iterate from data.
• Own in-restaurant and print collateral, from menu updates to signage and collateral production.
• Build an efficient in-house content engine for photography/video and manage UGC programs.
• Source, manage, and optimize freelance talent and agencies; own creative budgets.
• Stand up the creative function with briefs, approvals, asset management, and production timelines.
• Explore future brand partnerships to expand visibility and relevance.

Skills

Brand leadership

Creative leadership

Campaign ideation

Integrated campaigns

Team leadership

Agency management

Budget management

Content strategy

Photography direction

Storytelling

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Canva

InDesign

Job description

Overview

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is a polished-casual restaurant brand with 70+ locations across the 23 states. Our menu is distinguished by the craft of wood fire grilling, and our hospitality is built around turning ordinary nights into occasions. We’re a brand with genuine craft and a loyal following, at a moment of rebuilding how we tell our story.

We’re looking for a creative and brand marketing leader for Firebirds: someone who will shape how our brand looks, sounds, and shows up everywhere guests encounter us. This is not a traffic manager for an internal creative shop. Reporting directly to the CMO and working as a strategic partner to the VP of Digital and the Paid Media Lead, you will co‑own the annual marketing strategy and calendar, dream up the tentpole campaigns that define our year, and steer our brand identity, photography, and copy.

You will also be building. You know how to get outsized work from a small team, a smart freelance bench, and right‑sized agency partners, and you are happy to roll up your sleeves when that is what the work needs.

Responsibilities

Brand & Creative Leadership

• Own Firebirds’ visual and verbal identity, including photography and video direction, tone of voice, design standards, and brand guidelines.
• Serve as the creative gatekeeper, in partnership with the CMO, on campaigns, assets, and copy across all channels.
• Raise the creative bar consistently while protecting what makes the brand distinctly Firebirds.

Campaign Strategy & Ideation

• Support the CMO on the annual marketing strategy and calendar development.
• Lead concepting for key tentpole campaigns: seasonal menu launches, holidays, loyalty, and signature brand moments.
• Build integrated creative systems that flex across paid, owned, earned, and in-restaurant channels.
• Support ongoing and targeted programs, including loyalty, LTOs, new restaurant openings, local store marketing, and off-premise, with creative that’s effective and on-brand.

Integrated & Digital Partnership

• Partner closely with the VP of Digital and the Paid Media Lead to deliver creative for paid social, OTT/CTV, YouTube, programmatic, email, and the website.
• Use performance data and testing to inform creative decisions and iterate quickly.

In-Restaurant & Print

• Own the menu update, versioning, and print production process across multiple menu versions, ensuring accuracy, on-time delivery, and cost control with printers and vendors.
• Lead creative for all in-restaurant marketing, including feature cards, in-restaurant TV video content, signage, and printed collateral.

Content, Social, UGC & PR

• Take ownership of organic social content strategy and creative development, building an efficient in-house content engine for photography and video.
• Build and manage a UGC content program.
• Support management of our PR agency, keeping earned media and brand storytelling aligned.

Agencies, Freelancers & Budget

• Build and manage a bench of creative talent: copywriters, photographers, videographers, video editors, and graphic designers.
• Source, evaluate, and onboard cost‑effective, high‑quality agency partners, and manage existing relationships to high standards.
• Own creative budgets and make every dollar work hard.

Build the Function

• Stand up the creative function from the ground up, including briefing, review and approval workflows, asset management, and production timelines.
• Lead, coach, and develop the team, including hands‑on mentoring of a team member with photography/videography skills. Grow the team as the function matures.
• Stay hands‑on: concept, write, art direct, and edit when the work calls for it.

Future: Brand Partnerships

• Support current partnership with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
• As the brand is ready, partner with the CMO to identify and develop brand partnerships, such as culinary talent, entertainment, or cultural platforms, that build visibility and relevance for Firebirds.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in brand, creative, or integrated marketing, including 5+ years leading creative teams and agency/freelance partners.
• Experience at an established, multi‑unit consumer brand (restaurant, hospitality, food and beverage, retail, or CPG preferred) and experience building a creative function from scratch in a lean or startup‑like environment. Upscale, aspirational, and experiential brand experience strongly preferred.
• A genuine creative eye and talent for storytelling. You can art direct a food/lifestyle shoot, steer a high‑production video shoot, sharpen a headline, and give feedback that makes work better. Examples and portfolio desired.
• A track record of scrappy, high‑impact work on modest budgets, and an active network of freelancers and smaller agencies.
• Experience with integrated campaigns across digital, social, video, email, mobile, and in‑restaurant.
• Comfort being hands‑on; working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, Indesign, or similar tools. Experience/interest in leveraging AI tools for concept and creative development preferred.
• Strong organizational and project management skills; you can juggle a tentpole launch and a menu reprint in the same week.
• A collaborative leadership style and the confidence to be a true strategic partner to senior leaders.
• Strongly preferred: restaurant menu and print production experience; organic social experience; email/digital creative experience.
• Other Pluses: PR agency management, brand partnerships, talent, or celebrity chef collaborations.

What Success Looks Like in Year One

• A clear, documented brand identity and creative standards that includes channel‑specific guidelines (e.g., email, web, mobile, social, etc).
• Tentpole, integrated, and channel‑level campaigns concepted and launched with measurable impact.
• A reliable, efficient creative workflow covering briefs, approvals, and menu production.
• A trusted bench of freelancers and partners that delivers better work at lower cost.
• An organic social approach that reinforces a clear brand story and drives accelerated growth in following an engagement.

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