Director - Brand, Content & Culture Campaigns

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. We continue to operate from a position of strength. Our updated growth strategy is focused on staying ahead of what our customers want and realizing further growth potential. Our relentless ambition is why McDonald’s remains one of the world’s leading corporations after almost 70 years. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centered on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet. We also offer a broad range of outstanding benefits including a sabbatical program, tuition assistance and flexible work arrangements.

We are enjoying the flexibility of a hybrid work model, in which employees spend part of their week connecting with co-workers in our state-of-the-art headquarters. Located in the booming West Loop of downtown Chicago, it's set up to be a global hub that cultivates collaboration:

• Take a class at Hamburger University
• Sample future items in our Test Kitchen
• Utilize the latest technology to connect with your team around the globe

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone.

You may have enjoyed some of our work as a fan of McDonald’s. The Chicken Big Mac collaboration with one of the biggest streamers in the world, the launch of the “1 in 8” campaign, the reveal of the Krispy Kreme x McDonald’s collaboration, and maybe even… the return of the McRib.  

You may also have thought: wouldn’t it be great to work on campaigns like these that will make you whisper to yourself, “Wow, I did that”? Campaigns that will have your friends and family sending you text messages even though you have not heard from them in a few weeks. “Did you work on that? Cool. But bring back Snack Wraps now, please.” 

Well, this is your chance. Yes, right now. Because we’re looking for a new Marketing Director – Brand, Content & Culture - in charge of some of McDonald’s most iconic campaigns for years to come. 

We’re looking for someone who is a fan, thinks like a fan, and acts like a fan of the brand. Someone gets the modern customer, not only what they expect from brands but, more importantly, what they do not want from them. The perfect candidate isn’t just familiar with these nuances but is also ready to translate that knowledge into fresh thinking that elevates our creative strategy and pushes the brand towards groundbreaking, culturally inspired ideas. 

In this role, you’ll be leading roughly 75% of our campaign calendar, including creative strategies with our agencies to define the right messaging and advertising go-to-market plans. The campaigns span multiple brand stories, such as core food products, affordability, trust, local and digital, balancing between impulsive, timely campaigns, and evergreen always-on narratives. 

You will be a creative catalyst for tactics that inspire brand love and elevate McDonald’s role in culture. You will also collaborate with cross-functional partners across various teams – Brand, Content & Culture, Brand Communications, Digital, Media, Operations, Business Insights, and Consumer Insights to align tactics to program and business goals.  That means we are not only looking for a creative crafter but also a business savant who asks “why” before “what.” Lastly, you understand the power of a national approach but are also comfortable with seizing the full firepower of localized work, as you will lead our local creative strategy. 

As a key member of the Brand, Content & Culture leadership team, you will be responsible for overall agency relationships, strategic leadership, and team management to ensure we deliver creative excellence and effectiveness holistically, not just within an individual campaign. And as a leader of the campaign cross-functional teams, you will be responsible for providing input, cultural understanding, and creative thinking to elevate the marketing campaigns and partnerships. 

In this role, you will: 

• Ensure the brand vision, strategy and voice are reflected in all marketing efforts related to our key brand stories (core, affordability, digital, trust) to drive the business and elevate the brand in culture.  
• Align key stakeholders across the system on campaign ideas, execution and performance/learnings  
• Manages a team of 6 people : 3 managers, 3 supervisors 
• Oversee Agency scoping for creative content 
• Driving brand reappraisal and affinity by working with national agencies to deliver feel good marketing campaigns, befitting of the McDonald’s brand 
• Develop integrated marketing strategies for national campaigns that deliver on McDonald’s and Business Goals 
• Collaborate with cross-functional marketing teams, both national and local, to ensure collaboration and communication. 
• Review and approve multiple assets throughout the campaign development such as scripts, casting, translations, POP and creative assets 
• Lead teams that handle agency deliverables and timelines in a multi-agency environment 
• Partner with Brand and Menu Strategy team to support calendar and brand needs 
• Provide direction to team on day-to-day tasks 

• 8+ years experience in Marketing or related field required, either in-house or at an  agency 
• Proven experience developing integrated communication strategies and campaigns 
• Proven management experience with team of 5+ people 
• Strong knowledge of marketing standard methodologies and trends 
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, collaborative environment 
• Adept at running concurrent projects and priorities 
• Proven team leadership skills with project management experience 
• Excellent communications and storytelling skills 
• Consumer-centric approach 
• Ability to identify the need for change and lead teams through it 
• Effective ability to balance experience with budget 

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact [email protected]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.