VP Marketing & Loyalty Quill

Staples Advantage Canada; Lincolnshire (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Staples Advantage Canada is looking for a VP Marketing responsible for defining and evolving the Quill brand strategy. This role involves overseeing significant brand campaigns across various channels, managing a large budget, and leading cross-functional teams to ensure brand cohesion and awareness. The ideal candidate will have over 15 years of experience in marketing, particularly in brand management and consumer PR, and will have successfully led national campaigns with measurable impact.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in marketing/brand management with significant campaigns.
• Proven track record in consumer PR and organic social at scale.
• Experience managing $10M+ annual brand budgets.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve brand strategy and architecture.
• Oversee consumer PR strategy and organic social initiatives.
• Direct cross-functional alignment to ensure brand cohesion.

Skills

Marketing strategy

Brand management

Consumer PR

Leadership

Crisis management

Budget management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business or related field

MBA or relevant master's degree preferred

Job description

The VP Marketing is the owner of the Quill brand—responsible for defining and evolving brand strategy and architecture; setting and governing enterprise‑wide brand standards; building an integrated, customer‑centric marketing calendar; and leading the strategy and execution of brand campaigns across owned and earned channels (consumer PR and organic social). This role orchestrates cross‑functional alignment with Merchandising, eCommerce, Retail Operations, Product, HR/Employer Brand, and (where applicable) Performance/Media teams to deliver consistent brand experiences that drive awareness, consideration, and loyalty. The VP oversees internal leaders and external agencies, manages significant budgets, and serves as a senior spokesperson for the brand in collaboration with Corporate Communications and Legal.

Enterprise Brand Ownership & Strategy

• Set the long‑term brand vision, positioning, and narrative; translate strategy into clear architecture across the enterprise, business lines, and sub‑brands/portfolios.
• Establish and govern brand guidelines (visual/verbal identity, tone, design systems) and approval processes; ensure consistent application across all customer touchpoints.
• Lead brand health measurement (e.g., aided/unaided awareness, consideration, preference, NPS, share of voice/search); define KPI targets, dashboards, and quarterly reviews.
• Partner with Consumer Insights/Analytics to translate customer, competitive, and market signals into differentiating brand choices and test‑and‑learn roadmaps.

Integrated Campaigns & Enterprise Marketing Calendar

• Own the annual/seasonal marketing calendar (major tentpoles, product/merch launches, promotional windows, and cultural moments); ensure sequencing, channel orchestration, and resource allocation.
• Lead strategy and creative briefing for brand campaigns; ensure strong storytelling across owned and earned channels and (if managed elsewhere) tight integration with paid media/performance.
• Oversee creative development (concept to final assets), content standards, and channel‑right execution—prioritizing impact, efficiency, and reuse.

Consumer PR & Organic Social

• Direct the consumer PR strategy (proactive storytelling, product/partnership announcements, thought leadership, reviews, events) and coordinate with Corporate Comms on corporate and issues/crisis.
• Lead organic social strategy and community management (platform mix, editorial calendar, creator/influencer partnerships, governance, and engagement playbooks).
• Implement measurement frameworks for PR & social (e.g., EMV, SoV, reach, engagement rate, sentiment, brand lift) and continually optimize.

Cross‑Functional & Agency Leadership

• Align with Product/Merchandising, eCommerce/CRM, Retail Operations, and Customer Care to ensure brand cohesion across the end‑to‑end experience.
• Partner with Legal/Compliance on claims, endorsements, privacy, and disclosures (e.g., FTC guidelines for endorsements/influencers).
• Select, negotiate, and manage agencies; structure scopes for creativity, quality, speed, and cost efficiency, health, and campaign KPIs.

Financial & Operational Management

• Set and manage brand budgets; forecast, allocate, and track spend against ROI, brand
• Build scalable processes (briefing, approvals, content ops, DAM, social governance) to raise velocity and reduce rework.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Design/Branding, or related field required.
• 15+ years in marketing/brand management.
• Led enterprise brand strategy/identity and delivered ≥3 national brand campaigns with measured lift (e.g., +5–10 pts aided awareness or consideration).
• Owned consumer PR and organic social at scale for a company with $1B+ annual revenue (or equivalent brand reach), including on‑record media interactions.
• Managed $10M+ annual brand budgets and multi agency ecosystems; demonstrated year‑over‑year efficiency gains (e.g., ≥10% improvement in EMV/SoV or cost per engagement).
• Proven brand architecture governance across multi brand or sub‑brand portfolios, including guideline creation and compliance processes.
• Built and sustained executive‑level KPI dashboards (e.g., awareness, consideration, preference, NPS, SoV, EMV, engagement rate) and led quarterly performance reviews.
• Direct leadership of teams, including Directors/Sr. Managers and matrixed cross‑functional partners.
• Experience coordinating with Legal/Comms on claims, disclosures, endorsements/influencers, and issues/crisis response; strong understanding of FTC endorsement guidelines.
• Demonstrated ability to influence C‑suite/Operating Committee and secure resources for enterprise marketing priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or relevant master’s degree preferred.
• Enterprise scale rebrand or architecture redesign end‑to‑end (strategy, identity, rollout, change management).
• Retail, eCommerce, or omnichannel services experience; comfort with seasonal/merch-driven calendars.
• Success integrating creator/influencer programs with measurable outcomes (e.g., EMV growth ≥20% YoY, positive sentiment shift).
• Familiarity with modern marketing measurement (brand lift studies, MMM/MTA inputs), social listening, and content ops/DAM at scale.
• Experience with M&A brand integration, sponsorships/partnerships, and experiential/PR events.
• Global or multi‑region brand stewardship.