Public Works Brand Manager
Someoddpilot is looking for a Brand Manager to run and scale Public Works, our direct-to-consumer (and community) apparel brand, gallery, original content hub, and event / retail space. This is a business role in a creative field, serving the creative community. It’s also an extremely unique opportunity that would benefit from a candidate with demonstrated success in an early stage and or rapidly growing consumer business (lifestyle, retail, tech, media).
A cover letter about how you see your past experience making you a fit for this role is strongly encouraged for consideration.
This position requires an exceptional, dynamic, and high energy leader who believes in the power of art and culture to deliver transformative products, content, and experiences to enrich the Chicago creative community and beyond. With strong communication, creative and analytical skills, the right candidate will leverage cultural and data-driven consumer and business insights to drive strategies for product, content, and experience development. Break-through communication moves and partnerships will deliver significant audience growth and brand awareness. Our Brand Manager will be a team player and leader who works collaboratively across functions to ensure organizational and operational alignment to deliver meaningful, timely, and authentic brand experiences for our Public Works audience in our fast-paced and growing organization.
This role works hand-in-hand with our Founder and Creative Director, and reports directly to the Managing Director.
Who We Are Someoddpilot Inc is a Chicago-based creative company. Our mission is to make art and culture more accessible and provocative with new formats, perspectives, voices, brands and subcultures. Our portfolio includes our creative agency, Someoddpilot, our production studio, Someoddpilot Studios, and our D2C brand, Public Works.
Responsibilities • Build and oversee the development and execution of the annual business plan for Public Works in conjunction with Someoddpilot’s long-term strategic plan, including positioning, content strategy, programming and events, and apparel releases.
• Lead strategic brainstorming workshops for PW stakeholders around programming, content, and apparel concepting, translate these ideas into actionable plans
• Establish development and production processes, manage timelines, budget, and resources
• Coordinate with internal agency teams (strat, copy, design, dev, production, acct, finance) to execute and launch initiatives
• Build meaningful and equitable relationships with Chicago’s arts, music, and indie communities; leverage these for content and programming
• Drive high-volume audience growth
• Leverage owned, paid, and earned media for awareness and engagement, track and report ROI
• Manage PR and editorial relationships
• Establish and maintain key performance indicators that ensure brand health and growth targets are achieved effectively and efficiently
• Analyze effectiveness of initiatives; make recommendations and take measures to ensure new initiatives meet or exceed KPI requirements
• Co-manage brand P&L, including development of volume and spending forecasts
• Manage a retail manager with the possibility of an expanded team in the future, pending growth
Qualifications • 3+ years of progressive brand management experience in the D2C retail or tech space, or an events and content-focused media brand
• Experience working brand strategies into consumer activations
• Experience in content, programming, or product development
• Strong attention to detail and comfort with ambiguity
• Ability to work cross-functionally with creative, operations, and external partners
• Strong commercial acumen, with some experience in budget or P&L management
• Ability to identify and apply critical consumer insights and cultural trends into new programming, content or product development
• Experience directing and collaborating with internal and external partners for development and execution
• Demonstrated skill in leading strong cross-functional teams
• Demonstrated success in an early stage and or rapidly growing consumer business (lifestyle, media)
Love To Haves • Background in arts and culture, connections across this community in Chicago and beyond
• Previous work with an apparel or disrupter lifestyle brand
• Background in media and content production
• Experience in event programming and activations
Additional Requirements • Highly motivated, self-directed, innovative and able to work independently and cross-functionally with keen judgement, common sense and resourcefulness
• Adapts and thrives in a demanding, ambiguous, fast-paced environment
• Proactive and solution oriented. Can sell ideas up, down, and across
• Operates with a high level of charisma, integrity, and savviness; will be the face of the brand at events and the voice of the brand on social
This is a full-time role located in Chicago. Remote for now, with some light on-site work (with all safety precautions in place in our studio and retail space). When the time comes, we will be fully utilizing the studio, retail, and event space.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and strongly value diversity in our team.
Please submit your resume with a link to your online portfolio to: [email protected]
Candidates should be prepared to talk shop and have samples of work for review.