Senior Director of Marketing and Communications

Location: Oakland,California,United States

For more than 75 years, Children's Fairyland has been a place where Oakland's children and families discover the magic of storytelling, play, and imagination. As the first original storybook park in the country — and the inspiration for Disneyland's design — Fairyland is woven into the fabric of this city and the Bay Area in a way few institutions can claim.

This isn't just a marketing job. It's an opportunity to be the chief storyteller for a beloved Oakland icon — to shape how tens of thousands of families, donors, community partners, schools, and neighbors understand and connect with a place that genuinely matters.

We are looking for an exceptional Senior Director of Marketing & Communications to lead Fairyland's brand, voice, and visibility across all channels and audiences. This is a senior leadership role reporting directly to the CEO and serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

The right person brings deep fluency across marketing, public relations, communications, social media, and digital content — and knows how to hold all of those disciplines together with strategic coherence. They are as comfortable building a media relationship as they are reviewing analytics, writing a donor newsletter, and coaching a team member, all in the same week.

This role also oversees Fairyland’s Events and Rentals strategy as a key driver of earned revenue, brand visibility and community engagement - including signature 21+ nighttime events and private park rentals.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Brand Stewardship

• Develop and lead a comprehensive, integrated marketing and communications strategy aligned with Fairyland’s long-term vision
• Shape and steward Fairyland’s brand identity, voice, and storytelling across all channels and experiences - including on-site events and rentals
• Collaborates cross-functionally with all departments at Fairyland to understand the organizational impact and drive strategic initiatives
• Serve as a key strategic partner to the CEO and Senior Leadership Team on communications, positioning, audience development, earned revenue opportunities, and public engagement
• Identify and elevate opportunities to increase visibility, audience engagement, and community impact
• Represent Fairyland externally at events, panels, and within community partnerships

Marketing, Communications & Events Execution

• Oversee the development and execution of multi-channel campaigns, including digital, social media, email, print, PR, and event marketing
• Provide strategic direction for Fairyland’s 21+ events and rental program, ensuring strong brand alignment, audience growth, and revenue performance
• Direct content strategy and production, ensuring consistency and quality across all platforms
• Manage media relations, including press outreach, storytelling, and reputation management
• Evaluate and implement digital tools and technologies (i.e. Asana, HootSuite, Wordfly) to enhance marketing effectiveness
• Use data and analytics to inform decisions, measure impact, and continuously refine strategy

Community Engagement

• Leverage and deepen relationships across Oakland’s civic, cultural, media, and philanthropic communities
• Build partnerships that expand Fairyland’s reach and strengthen its role as a community anchor
• Ensure communications authentically reflect and engage the diverse communities Fairyland serves

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing Marketing, Communications & Events team of four.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and inclusive team culture grounded in Fairyland’s values
• Set clear goals, provide ongoing feedback, and support professional development for team members
• Oversee departmental planning, budgeting, and resource allocation
• Ensure that processes, procedures and assignments of responsibilities are designed to meet marketing and communication goals in an efficient, manageable and effective manner
• Accountable for the performance of the marketing and communications program and ensuring alignment with CFL’s strategic goals

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor's degree in marketing or communications, or equivalent relevant experience
• 8+ years of proven success in a senior managemen