Fresh Express, the leader in value-added salads and fresh foods, is seeking a dynamic Marketing Director to lead our marketing, innovation, and category growth agenda. This role is ideal for a seasoned marketing leader with deep experience in brand building, innovation, consumer insights, category management and collaborating closely with retailers, someone who thrives in a fast-paced, data-driven environment and can influence strategy across the organization,
About the Role
The Marketing Director serves as a strategic business partner responsible for shaping brand strategy, leading innovation, overseeing category management, and driving consumer and customer-facing programs that elevate Fresh Express in the marketplace. This role leads a cross-functional team across marketing, category management, project management, and R&D.
You will play a key role in building the company's long-term growth strategy, driving operational excellence, and enabling breakthrough innovations that strengthen our leadership in fresh, healthy foods. The job includes travel to our Innovation center in Streamwood, Illinois, retail customer meetings and trade shows.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Business Management
- Develop and manage the marketing and innovation budget, ensuring alignment with company growth and profit objectives.
- Build and deliver a 2–3 year innovation pipeline that reflects consumer trends and drives category growth.
- Support the Executive team in evaluating strategic business initiatives.
- Partner with leadership to shape and execute the company's long-term and short-term business plans.
Marketing, Brand & Communication
- Lead all marketing execution including brand strategy, consumer research, advertising, digital/social media, shopper marketing, trade promotion, and packaging.
- Direct the creation of best-in-class marketing programs that strengthen brand relevance and drive household penetration.
- Oversee trade promotion planning to optimize volume, revenue, and profit across all customers.
Innovation & Product Development
- Lead cross-functional project management to deliver approved innovation and renovation projects on time and with excellence.
- Apply rigorous stage-gate discipline to concept testing, development, launch planning, and post-launch evaluation.
Category Management & Insights
- Lead the category management team, maintaining robust analytic understanding of category dynamics, customer profitability, assortment, pricing, and promotional effectiveness.
- Leverage insights from Circana, consumer research, and other intelligence tools to guide customer strategies and internal decision-making.
External Engagement
- Serve as strategic liaison with:
- Suppliers and agencies (innovation, advertising, research, packaging)
- Retail customers for business reviews, promotion planning, assortment recommendations, and new product launches
- Regulatory agencies for compliance with packaging, nutritional, and advertising regulations
People Leadership
- Lead and develop the team, fostering a high-performance, collaborative, and accountable culture.
- Enable clear goal alignment, effective workload management, and strong cross-functional communication.
Key Performance Indicators
- Customer satisfaction
- Best-in-class marketing and category management
- Category and business growth
- Effective budget and trade spend management
- Excellence in innovation delivery
Qualifications, Experience and Required Technical Expertise
Brand Building
- Deep knowledge of brand positioning, portfolio strategy, consumer segmentation, social/digital advertising and marketing mix.
- Strong financial acumen including business planning, budgeting, and evaluation of marketing ROI.
- Demonstrated ability managing various external partners – advertising agency, PR, Media, Research, Innovation.
Innovation & Product Development
- Proven success applying consumer insights to concept development.
- Expertise in stage-gate processes, innovation execution, and cross-functional project leadership.
- Proved leadership managing external partners and vendors.
Category & Consumer Insights
- Strong understanding of trade structure, category analytics, pricing, promotion, assortment, and customer profitability.
- Experience working with Circana, Nielsen, Customer card data, Datassentials and advanced data tools.
Communication & Creative Leadership
- Demonstrated ability to guide creative development, media planning, production, and agency management.
- Strong understanding of digital, social, and traditional media performance and analytics.
Behavioral Competencies
- Strategic Capability – Sees the big picture, anticipates market shifts, makes sound long-range decisions.
- Drive for Results – Persistent, resourceful, accountable, and energized by ambitious goals.
- Personal Leadership – Operates with integrity, humility, resilience, and openness to feedback.
- Relationship Building – Builds trust across diverse teams and external partners.
- Influence – Navigates formal/informal networks to drive alignment and action.
- Food Safety & Quality Focus – Upholds Fresh Express' uncompromising standards.
Why Join Fresh Express?
At Fresh Express, you'll help shape the future of fresh foods in an organization committed to innovation, sustainability, and delivering healthy, high-quality products to millions of consumers every week. You'll work with passionate, collaborative teams who are energized by pushing boundaries and driving meaningful business impact.
Other Information
The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed, as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.