Creative Marketing Director

Creative Marketing Director

Organization: The Lincoln Institute of California Location: Irvine, CA — Hybrid (weekly in-office team meetings required) Job Type: Full-time Start Date: August 24, 2026 Pay: $71,000 per year, plus performance bonus of up to $6,000

About the Lincoln Institute

The Lincoln Institute of California is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that develops the next generation of student leaders through civic engagement, leadership training, and career connection. Our programs — Future Leaders of California, Project 307, and Institute Connect — serve students across California's community colleges, universities, and high schools, with a concentration in Orange County.

We are a small, fast-moving team where your work is visible, your ideas get built, and the audience you're speaking to is a generation of students deciding what kind of leaders they want to become.

The Opportunity

We're looking for a Creative Marketing Director to own the Lincoln Institute's brand and social media presence from the ground up. This is a build role, not a maintenance role. You will define how the Institute looks, sounds, and shows up across every channel — and you'll be the person accountable for growing an audience that actually converts into student participation.

If you want a role where you set the creative direction rather than execute someone else's, this is it.

The Brand We're Building

We want this brand to embody California — not the caricature, but the real thing. The optimism, the ambition, the sense that this is still the place people come to build something. The coastline and the Central Valley, the campuses and the small businesses, the immigrant work ethic and the entrepreneurial nerve. California is the greatest place in the country to live, work, and build a future, and our students are the ones who will keep it that way.

The person in this role will translate that into a visual and verbal identity: color, imagery, typography, tone, and story. We want students to see our brand and feel like they belong to something bigger than a program — that they belong to California and have a stake in what it becomes.

What You'll Do

Build and own the Lincoln Institute's brand identity — voice, visual system, messaging, and brand standards across all programs and materials, rooted in a distinctly Californian sense of place and possibility

Develop and execute the organization's social media strategy across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X, with a focus on reaching collegiate and high school audiences in California

Produce and direct content: short-form video, graphics, photography, and copy — both hands-on and by managing contractors, interns, and student ambassadors

Design branded collateral for programs, events, board and donor materials, recruitment campaigns, and fundraising

Lead marketing campaigns for program recruitment, events, and the Institute's voter registration and civic engagement initiatives

Establish and report on performance metrics — audience growth, engagement rate, reach, content output, and conversion into student signups

Partner with program staff and campus leaders to capture stories and content in the field

Maintain and improve the Institute's website presence and email marketing

What We're Looking For

3+ years of experience in marketing, brand management, content creation, or social media strategy

A portfolio that demonstrates strong visual and creative judgment — we want to see work you've shipped

Proven ability to grow a social media presence and back it up with numbers

Hands-on production skills: video editing and graphic design (Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, CapCut, Figma, or equivalent)

Strong writing and an instinct for platform-native voice, especially with Gen Z audiences

Self-directed and organized — comfortable owning a function without a large team behind you

A genuine feel for California — its regions, its culture, and what makes it a place worth building in

Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent professional experience

Reliable transportation and willingness to travel to campuses and events across Southern California

Bonus points for: nonprofit or advocacy experience, familiarity with California higher education, motion graphics, paid social management, or experience building a brand from scratch.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary: $71,000 per year

Performance bonus: up to $6,000 annually, tied to social media growth and branding benchmarks

Hybrid schedule: flexible remote work with required weekly in-office team meetings at our Irvine office

Paid time off and holidays

Meaningful, high-visibility work with direct impact on students across California