The Association for association professionals in Chicagoland
Posted: 26-May-26
Location: 1101 K St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005
Type: Full Time
Salary: $180,000 - $200,000
Categories:
Required Education:
Position Summary
ASAE helps associations, and the professionals who lead, manage, and work in them, transform society through the power of collaboration. Candidates must be able to work in a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative environment where colleagues are engaged, respect and support each other, hold themselves accountable, and celebrate their work.
The VP, Marketing Strategy leads integrated marketing for ASAE’s flagship programs, events, products and key organizational initiatives. Reporting directly to the Managing Director of ABSI, this role is as much about anticipating what’s next as executing what’s now - translating business priorities into personalized audience-centered marketing plans that drive engagement, participation, brand value and revenue growth.
This position reports to the Managing Director, ABSI and works in close partnership with leaders across the organization. The VP shapes campaign strategy, audience positioning, messaging consistency and brand stewardship for ASAE’s most high-profile work - while keeping one eye on where the association community is headed and ensuring ASAE is out front. Success in this role means being genuinely collaborative, comfortable navigating a complex organization and willing to roll up your sleeves alongside the team.
The VP oversees integrated, digital-first marketing across email, web, search, content, paid media, social, marketing automation, analytics and mobile - leading a talented team and managing agency and vendor relationships to drive results that matter.
Primary Responsibilities
Strategic Marketing Leadership
- Own the integrated marketing strategy across ASAE’s marquee events, educational programs, member-facing products and key strategic initiatives - with an always-on, digital-first, social-savvy approach that drives brand visibility, audience growth, member engagement and revenue.
- Bring genuine creative curiosity and forward-thinking instincts to the role - always scanning what’s emerging in marketing and the association space and translating that foresight into strategies that keep ASAE ahead of the curve and setting the standard for the community it serves.
- Work closely with product owners, program leads and internal partners to build personalized audience-focused marketing plans that connect to real business goals - not just deliverables.
- Turn organizational priorities into campaigns that actually move people - driving attendance, participation, engagement and revenue across multiple channels.
- Offer real marketing counsel - on positioning, audience strategy, promotional timing and presentation - to the teams behind ASAE’s most important initiatives.
- Keep the bigger picture in view - establishing and managing organization-wide marketing priorities, timelines and campaign coordination so that teams stay aligned and efforts don’t overlap.
Brand, Messaging and Audience Stewardship
- Serve as the steward of ASAE’s brand - protecting voice, tone and messaging integrity across all major organizational initiatives while finding opportunities to push the brand forward in ways that resonate with modern audiences.
- Hold the bar high on quality and consistency with a focus on excellence - ensuring that every campaign and communication reflects where ASAE is headed, not just where it’s been.
- Be a trusted resource for internal teams - offering straightforward guidance on messaging, audience engagement and market positioning when it’s needed most.
- A keen eye for detail when reviewing and approving marketing materials, campaign strategies and creative for ASAE’s most visible events and initiatives, ensuring they’re on-brand and built to perform.
Digital Marketing and Analytics
- Lead data-informed, digital-first marketing across paid media, email, social, marketing automation, audience segmentation and analytics - staying current on what’s working and what’s next.
- Dig into campaign and channel performance data to surface real insights – acting fast, pivoting and making decisions that drive the best results for ASAE.
- Experience in AI-driven marketing, including content creation, personalization, campaign optimization and predictive analytics, with the foresight to always apply these tools so we are speaking and working with our members and partners in an authentic manner. This role is expected to become a power user as ASAE's AI strategy matures.
- Use audience, market and behavioral data to sharpen how we reach and connect with ASAE’s members and customers.
- Champion a culture of testing, learning and improving - because what worked last year doesn’t necessarily translate to success for years to come.
Cross-Functional Collaboration and Stakeholder Management
- Show up as a true team player - partnering across departments with a service mindset, understanding that the marketing function exists to support the success of ASAE as a whole.
- Build real relationships with internal partners - earning trust by listening well, following through and helping teams get to better outcomes.
- Serve as a go-to marketing resource for business owners and project leads across ASAE - someone people want to bring in early, not loop in at the end.
- Coordinate closely with the communications, meetings, digital, creative, finance and executive teams -because good marketing at ASAE doesn’t happen in a silo.
Team Leadership and Resource Management
- A true belief that excellence is achievable while leading, mentoring and growing a team of marketing and creative professionals.
- Setting high expectations and creating an environment where people do their best work.
- Manage agency, consultant and vendor relationships with clarity about what’s needed, holding partners accountable for quality and results.
- Manage the marketing budget thoughtfully - making smart tradeoffs and keeping the focus on impact over activity.
- Keep work moving - ensuring campaigns and projects are delivered on time, on budget and in line with what the organization needs.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Communications, Advertising, Business or related field required.
- At least 10 years of progressive marketing leadership experience, with a track record of running integrated strategy and high-visibility campaigns. Prior experience at the VP level is a plus.
- Experience developing marketing strategies for associations or nonprofits - particularly around major events, programs, products or member engagement.
- Genuinely creative, with a curiosity for what’s next in marketing and the discipline to channel that creativity into strategies grounded in data, audience insight and brand.
- A background working in associations, membership organizations or professional societies - and an appreciation for the unique dynamics that come with it - is strongly preferred.
- Someone who naturally brings people together - able to influence across all levels without relying on authority and equally at ease working with executives and front-line team members.
- Experience managing agencies, creative partners, consultants and external vendors.
- Excellent written, verbal, presentation and stakeholder communication skills.
- Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification is preferred and will be required within the first 3–6 months of employment.
- Comfortable managing a lot at once - able to set priorities clearly, stay organized and keep the team moving without losing sight of quality.
- Familiarity with marketing automation platforms, CRM/AMS systems, CMS platforms, analytics tools and project management systems.
Supervisory Responsibility
This position has supervisory responsibilities, while reporting to the Managing Director, ABSI.
Work Environment & Travel
This position operates in a professional work environment. Telework is offered up to 3 days a week. Travel required for specific meetings and events.
Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Benefits
- Flexible Works Hours
- Medical, Dental, Vision
- Prescription Plan
- Flexible Spending Account
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
- Health Savings Account
- Generous 401k Retirement Plan
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- AFLAC
- Legal and Identity Theft Plans
- Company Paid Professional Development
- Tuition Reimbursement
Thank you for your interest in joining our team! To ensure we can give every candidate fair and equal consideration, we ask that all applications be submitted through our official online application portal.
Unfortunately, we're unable to process applications received via email or other methods, as our system is designed to track and review all submissions through the portal. This helps us keep the process organized and ensures no application gets overlooked.
