Director of Marketing

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF JOB

This position is responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies that drive growth, deepen customer relationships, and enhance Southern Bank brand across all channels.  The Director of Marketing will lead the bank in engaging customers with leading marketing practices in alignment with industry trends, including but not limited to, public relations, advertising, budgets, charitable contributions, promotions and community service activities. The position also oversees the development and delivery of a fully integrated marketing strategy for the Bank.

EXPECTATIONS OF ALL SOUTHERN BANK TEAM MEMBERS

• Southern Bank team members exhibit Southern Bank’s values, which can be remembered with the acronym FIRSTS. We teach our team members about our “values in action,” which give further examples of how we can live out Southern Bank’s values.
  • We act as a FAMILY – We know we’re not a related family, but we really care about people, both personally and professionally. We like knowing that our skills, our time, and our efforts contribute to the overall success of those we spend time with every day.
  • We move with INNOVATION – We push for better ways to solve problems. We are not afraid of a challenge; we’re driven to develop new ideas and solutions using creativity and experience. We are committed to leading, devising new solutions for all kinds of obstacles.
  • We are ROOTED – We’re from here. These communities are our homes, and we are deeply invested in making our hometowns the best that they can be. We are firmly committed to success in the places where we’ve known people our whole lives.
  • We prioritize SERVICE – We put others above ourselves. We make intentional decisions and take action to benefit others, be it in our daily work with our customers and fellow team members, or in volunteering our time, money, and energy in our communities.
  • We build TRUST – We strive to be reliable and trustworthy, honest and transparent. We are dedicated to doing what’s best for our team members, our customers, and our communities, and they can be confident that we are who we say we are.
  • We are a source of STRENGTH – We have a capacity and resilience that has come through years of experience and growth. We are able to support those who count on us, and those who need us can rely on us.
• Ensures the confidentiality of customer non-public personal information and secures information systems to comply with bank regulations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND PERFORMANCE AREAS

• Develops and implements strategic marketing strategies for the Bank’s overall Brand and business goals for both consumer and commercial customers across all business lines in banking, wealth and insurance departments to increase profit and the Bank’s overall market share;
• Drives marketing strategy and brand integration during company acquisitions; including customer communication planning and brand transition while preserving customer trust.
• Develop strong relationships with senior leadership, business lines, and cross-functional teams to ensure alignment with goals and market strategies.
• Manages and develops departmental budgets for reaching the bank’s marketing goals and objectives, while maintaining a marketing compliance file system and database for ongoing and one-time marketing campaigns and ensures full compliance with all applicable regulations and statutes; 
• Uses marketing analytics tools to measure campaign effectiveness, track KPIs, and optimize strategies for maximum ROI.
• Oversees brand positioning to ensure consistency, trustworthiness, and relevance in a competitive environment, both locally and digitally.
• Manages development and implementation of Bank promotions tools, including advertising, brochures, branch branding, online marketing, website and individual campaigns;
• Manages external public relations through communications with branches, departments, regions, board, the news media and the public;
• Drives omni-channel campaigns using a mix of digital marketing (social media, SEO/SEM, email) and traditional media (print, radio, outdoor) to reach a diverse customer base.
• Manages the creation of Bank’s graphic design artwork to support marketing, advertising and sales efforts, including but not limited to ads, brochures, direct mail, fliers, e-blasts, and digital platform graphics;
• Conducts product and service research, reviews current and future industry trends, and evaluates competitor strategies; while maintaining professional contacts and knowledge base of marketing skills within and outside of the bank; keeps up with issues, trends and developments of the banking industry;       
• Collaborates with product and sales teams to optimize the customer journey, and promote consumer and business banking products, credit services, mortgage offerings, and investment solutions.
• Oversees market analysis, customer segmentation, and competitive intelligence to inform product development, pricing strategies, and market positioning. Utilizes customer data, satisfaction metrics, and behavioral insights to personalize experiences and enhance touchpoints.
• Supports community engagement through marketing initiatives aligned with Bank’s mission to build stronger communities and promote financial literacy.
• Builds, mentors, and develops a high-performing marketing team, fostering innovation, collaboration, and accountability.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Excellent leadership, management, planning, negotiation, interpersonal, communications and decision-making skills required.
• A high level of problem-solving skills to work with key department heads inside and outside of the organization to coordinate the marketing functions and to analyze and respond to changes in the regulatory and competitive market.
• Strong interpersonal skills and management/organizational skills with the ability to collaborate with team members across departmental lines.
• Current knowledge of marketing channels and technologies with the ability to work with challenging deadlines for complex tasks.
• Corporate communications background, with crisis management experience a plus.
• High degree of confidentiality and exercise of independent judgement.

The following specifications are general guidelines based on the minimum education and experience normally considered essential to the satisfactory performance of this position.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required to perform the position in a satisfactory manner.  Individual abilities may result in some deviation from these guidelines.

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business administration or related field or manager of a marketing department;
• Minimum of five years in banking, five years in direct sales, or five years of marketing experience.
• Must have experience with digital advertising, event planning and campaign implementation.
• Strong understanding of retail and commercial banking products and customer segments. Experience in wealth management and insurance industry is also preferred.
• Demonstrated success in managing brand strategy, digital campaigns, and product marketing in a regulated environment.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Exhibits Southern Bank’s values, as further described through our values in action.

Building Partnerships: Identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, units, outside vendors and partners, or organizations to help achieve business goals.

Leadership Disposition- Back Office: Demonstrating the traits, inclinations, and dispositions that characterize successful leaders; exhibiting behavior styles that meet the demands of the leader role.

Aligning Performance for Success: Focusing and guiding others in accomplishing work objectives