Vice President of Marketing and Community Engagement

Reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President of Marketing and Community Engagement serves as a key leadership team member of The Cradle. This role bridges brand strategy, organizational positioning, program growth, and external engagement, ensuring that The Cradle’s services are effectively positioned for families, donors, professionals, and referral partners.

This is a dynamic time at The Cradle, as our 103-year-old organization grows and transforms to become more valuable to the broader parenting community. Amid these changes, the VP will help The Cradle become better known, more relevant, and more connected to the broader parenting ecosystem—while preserving the trust and recognition The Cradle has built. With this in mind, the VP will play a key role in managing and communicating significant changes to our staff and external stakeholders.

This role is especially suited for someone who listens deeply and grasps nuance, can manage complexity and multiple projects amid change, is an effective collaborator, and is a clear and supportive manager.

Note: To be considered for this position, applicants must answer all questions pertaining to the application process.

Essential Functions

Build on and lead the implementation of a comprehensive communication and marketing strategy to increase brand awareness, participation in programming, and visibility for The Cradle as well as support the growth of the donor base. The VP is responsible for managing a broad range of marketing projects and makes recommendations to the CEO, Board, and senior staff for all promotional campaigns and branding. The VP works to understand and advance departmental objectives across the organization, collaborating closely on and building buy-in for marketing initiatives and strategies. Core responsibilities include:

Marketing (65%)

• Lead and manage day-to-day operations for the Marketing and Community Engagement Team (2 staff).
• Design, oversee, and execute integrated marketing and communications strategies that support brand awareness, program enrollment and participation, fundraising, and community engagement.
• Lead strategic visioning and implementation of external and internal communications plans that support both organizational priorities and programmatic growth initiatives.
• Oversee audience segmentation and lifecycle engagement strategies across digital, earned, paid, and partnership channels.
• Guide messaging that resonates across diverse audiences, including families, professionals, donors, partners, and community stakeholders.
• Position The Cradle as a trusted thought leader and resource for families and professionals through education, storytelling, and relationship-building.
• Refine and review metrics to measure the effectiveness and success of marketing strategies.
• Oversee the development of collateral, including event publications, annual reports, and e-newsletters.
• Oversee how The Cradle’s digital assets are leveraged and managed, including website and social media channels, to optimize brand awareness, raise resources, and engage various target audiences across multiple platforms.
• Develop paid and earned media strategies.
• Engage with the Board on marketing strategy, reporting progress and seeking input, when applicable.
• Respond quickly to crisis communication needs in an effective manner, providing guidance and recommendations on strategies to protect the brand and reputation of The Cradle.
• Partner with Development on storytelling and communication strategies to strengthen donor engagement and revenue growth.
• Oversee relationships with website and LMS vendors and ensure that digital platforms effectively support marketing, communications, engagement, program, and development goals.
• Build and manage an annual departmental budget.

Community Engagement (35%)

• Lead organizational community engagement and outreach strategy to increase awareness, trust, and participation in The Cradle’s programs and services.
• Identify and prioritize key external audiences and communities.
• Identify opportunities for strategically aligned partnerships, coalitions, and collaborative initiatives.
• Support the development and strengthening of relationships with key referral sources and community partners, including child welfare agencies, social service providers, legal professionals, healthcare providers, and allied organizations.
• Oversee Community Engagement events, including family gatherings and Parent Cafes.
• In partnership with Continuous Quality Improvement lead, establish, monitor, and track performance metrics, including enrollments/attendance, engagement, referrals, etc. Using this data, translate community needs and insights into recommendations for organizational leadership.