Chief Marketing Officer

Api Partners - Los Angeles, CA

Full-time - Executive

Los Angeles, CA

Administrative and Support Services

About the position

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) will play a pivotal role in shaping the marketing strategies of a leading national design practice that integrates architecture, interiors, planning, and branding. This position is crucial for driving excellence in marketing strategy and creativity, ensuring that the firm effectively positions itself for sustained growth and development. The CMO will work closely with the National Managing Principal and collaborate with firm leadership to develop cohesive marketing plans that align with the firm's strategic objectives. This includes setting targets and metrics to monitor and steer firmwide marketing initiatives, investments, and results. In this entrepreneurial role, the CMO will lead strategic research efforts, including market benchmarking, competition analysis, and industry trend assessments. The CMO will explore new growth opportunities and develop strategies to expand existing markets while positioning the firm for new and compelling opportunities. A deep understanding of the firm's business, culture, values, and history will be essential for providing guidance on the firm's positioning. The CMO will also recommend necessary resources, including finances, personnel, technology, and marketing information, to successfully implement the marketing strategy. The CMO will ensure that marketing efforts across the firm are rigorous and disciplined, establishing valued relationships with leaders and teams across multiple locations to support the unique needs of each studio. This role involves hiring, mentoring, and facilitating professional development to create a high-performing marketing team. The CMO will oversee the content and design of marketing materials, ensuring that proposal responses and interviews are strategic, innovative, and audience-focused. Additionally, the CMO will leverage public relations opportunities to enhance the firm's brand and engage clients effectively. Overall, the CMO will advocate for best practices and tools to improve efficiency and strategically focus marketing efforts.

Responsibilities

• Ensure overall rigor, discipline and discipline in marketing efforts throughout the firm
• Establish valued relationships with leaders and teams across five locations to understand and support unique needs of each studio
• Hire, mentor, and facilitate professional development to create a high-performing and well-rounded marketing team
• Help individual studios with staffing organization so that marketing professionals can play a proactive role in realizing marketing objectives
• Develop firmwide marketing goals by building upon studio and market initiatives
• Provide leadership throughout ongoing refreshed branding initiatives
• Implement technology to share information of descriptions, proposals, images, and contacts
• Oversee content and design of marketing materials and qualifications packages used for new business development and firm positioning
• Ensure overall approach and process for proposal responses and interviews is strategic, innovative, and audience focused
• Continually improve the quality, timeliness, professionalism, differentiation, and effective communication of proposals and interviews
• Leverage public relations opportunities that enhance the brand, distinguish the firm in local, regional and national markets and lead to client engagement
• Work with Managing Principals and CFO to develop annual plans for local and national sponsorship budget for events that support and promote brand and business development objectives
• Maintain goals for the gathering and maintenance of up-to-date project descriptions, visual materials and references
• Work with studio leadership, engagement and business development staff to ensure communication and alignment between marketing and business development efforts
• Develop relationships and facilitate client/stakeholder/partner satisfaction discussions and organize feedback to be relevant and actionable to leadership and project teams
• Advocate for appropriate tools, resources and best practices and lead the marketing team to leverage them to relieve inefficiency and focus effort strategically
• Develop strategic relationships inside and outside the firm to facilitate sharing of information, leads, expertise and influence to advance understanding of marketing and business issues and achieve goals
• Set budgets for marketing effort for overall firm, office, and each business

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business or related field or equivalent combination of education, training and experience
• 15 plus years' experience in marketing/communications, with 5+ years in a senior leadership role; experience in architecture or design preferred
• Must be a design enthusiast and intellectually curious
• Demonstrated experience and leadership in managing a team of professionals to meet the strategic business needs of the firm
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with leaders within the firm to develop and execute plans
• Proven track record of effectively managing budgets and developing metrics to efficiently meet goals
• Experience in building, mentoring, and coaching a team of marketing specialists
• Excellent judgment and creative problem-solving skills, including negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Superior management skills; ability to influence and engage direct and indirect reports and peers
• Self-reliant, good problem solver, results oriented
• Ability to make decisions in a changing environment and anticipate future needs
• Excellent and persuasive communicator
• Collaborative, and proactive; a team leader who can positively and productively impact both strategic and tactical initiatives
• Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills and the ability to effectively work within a matrix organization