Job Description

Director of Marketing & Communications

Literary Arts is hiring a Director of Marketing & Communications to lead the strategy that connects our programs, our retail spaces, and our audiences under one clear voice. We are a growing literary nonprofit with nationally recognized programs, a bookstore and café in the central eastside district of Portland, Oregon, and a large, dedicated audience.

The Director of Marketing & Communications is an essential member of the senior leadership team. They report to the Deputy Director and lead a small marketing team responsible for day-to-day execution.

This is a strategic role that also includes hands-on production. You will steward the brand, finetune the systems a small team needs to run eight-plus major campaigns a year, own the marketing budget, and share accountability for the earned revenue our communications drive.

The person in this role has deep editorial instincts and knows how to align communications with organizational strategy, collaborate across departments to elevate the message, and hold a high bar for quality and consistency in service of the mission.

Core Areas of Responsibility

Brand & Marketing Strategy and Execution

• Own and steward Literary Arts' brand voice, messaging, and identity across every public channel
• Ensure that communications from across the organization (Portland Arts & Lectures, Oregon Book Awards, Verselandia, youth programs, the bookstore and café, development, and beyond) sound like one organization speaking with one voice, tuned to each audience.
• Lead an integrated marketing strategy across Literary Arts' major campaigns, ticketed events, retail promotions, and classes.
• Own the marketing budget and carry full management responsibility for it: set performance metrics, allocate team resources, and drive data-informed decisions across campaigns and channels.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Leadership Team, set the brand and content strategy and evolve it to meet community and organizational needs.
• Set and enforce high-quality content and brand standards across channels (email, web, social, print).
• Maintain and continuously improve operating rhythms and tools that let a threeperson team execute eight-plus major campaigns a year without reinventing the wheel.
• Partner with the Bookstore Manager and Food & Beverage Manager on marketing strategy for the retail spaces, which are the public front door of the organization to build the acquisition, loyalty, and community-engagement strategy.
• Cultivate media, partner, and community relationships that extend Literary Arts' reach and bring added resources to the organization.
• Shares accountability for earned revenue and audience-development KPIs across ticket sales, retail, and classes.

Internal Communications

• Along with the Deputy Director, own and implement internal communications for Literary Arts.
• Lead messaging strategy for internal organizational moments.
• Provide communications counsel to the Executive Director and leadership team.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and prioritize work for the marketing team, ensuring clear workflows, strong collaboration, and high-quality execution.
• Coach and develop the team, set clear role boundaries, and grow talent into new areas (copy, content strategy, SEO, analytics).

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive marketing and communications experience, including 3+ years in a director-level or department-leading role.
• Demonstrated strategic leadership: setting brand voice, building marketing systems, and driving cross-functional alignment without relying on hierarchical authority.
• Strong editorial instincts and execution with a high bar for copy, content, and brand-voice consistency.
• Experience owning an earned revenue, ticket sales, or audience development function and hitting revenue KPIs.
• Experience managing a marketing budget and allocating resources across competing priorities.
• Supervisory experience, including coaching and developing team members.
• Fluency with a modern marketing stack (CMS, email marketing, social platforms, analytics, CRM/ticketing integration); comfort with design tools (Adobe Creative Suite and Figma) to direct and review creative work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including strong copy and editing skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience in arts, cultural, literary, or other mission-driven nonprofit organizations.
• Experience with retail marketing, membership or subscription-based businesses, or audience acquisition and loyalty programs.
• Background in editorial, publishing, or agency environments.
• Experience leading internal communications for a growing organization.
• Deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: $90,000–$110,000/year, commensurate with experience.

Literary Arts provides a comprehensive benefits package including employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) with employer match; short- and long-term disability insurance; three weeks paid vacation (increasing to five weeks after five years); three personal days; and approximately 12 paid holidays. As a registered nonprofit, Literary Arts qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

To Apply

Send a resume and cover letter – as a single PDF - that tells us why this position is right for you.

Email the single attachment to applications@literary-arts.org with the subject line "Director of Marketing & Communications — [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME]." The document should not exceed six single-sided pages. Do not include samples from your portfolio.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. For best consideration, submit by midnight July 20, 2026.

We encourage BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and other communities historically underrepresented in arts administration to apply. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. No single candidate will offer every desired skill and characteristic — we take a holistic view of candidates and welcome applications from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds.

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