Sr. Marketing Manager, LR Brand

About Learning Resources:

We are Learning Resources®, and learning is where we play. Voted one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces, we’re a growing, family-owned company known for our award-winning educational toys, including top sellers Pretend & Play® Calculator Cash Register, Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set and multiple Toy of the Year winners! We even help pets learn and grow through our pet brand Brightkins®. If you’re curious, collaborative, and a kid at heart, you’ll feel right at home here. Join us in shaping the future of learning with our award-winning team!

Team & Position Description:

We’re looking for a Sr. Marketing Manager to lead Learning Resources into its next phase of growth. We’re a mission-driven education brand with strong footholds in both consumer markets and schools, year-round placement in mass retail, and 20% awareness with the general public.Now we want to make Learning Resources a household name. We’re looking for someone who has grown brands without relying on massive media budgets, who knows how to craft stories that capture attention, and who sees creators, social media, entertainment and culture as critical tools for building a modern brand. We want someone resourceful, creative and willing to challenge the traditional brand-building playbook, while never compromising why Learning Resources exists: to instill a love of learning in kids everywhere.

What you’ll do day to day:

• Build and develop a high-performing, results-oriented Brand team. Work with centers of excellence in Media, Analytics, and Digital Shelf, as well as cross-functional partners in Product Development, Sales, Creative, and Finance.
• Own Learning Resources brand and go-to-market strategy, aligning to How Brands Grow methodology.
• Lead Product Marketing, Content, Organic Social, Creator and Public Relations, ensuring they work together to tell a compelling and consistent Learning Resources story.
• Manage the annual Marketing budget, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively to execute against strategy.
• Lead the development of annual marketing plans for all product lines to drive demand across channels. Work cross-functionally to execute.
• Scale our influencer, affiliate and creator ecosystem, including long-term community building to scale brand reach, attribution and advocacy.
• Partner with Product Development to develop market insights that shape our innovation strategy.
• Work with Sales to capture retail opportunities and then secure sell-through.

What we’re looking for (Key Performance Objectives):

• Within the first 3 months, assess the team and create individual development plans as needed to address skill gaps.
• Within the first 3 months, lead the team to reset its creator and affiliate strategy, with a main KPI to 5x sales on TikTok Shop.
• Within the first 6 months, establish a repeatable launch playbook for new products that integrates keyword research, content creation, media activation, retailer readiness, and performance measurement.
• Within the first 12 months, update the Learning Resources brand by expanding its portfolio of distinctive assets and launching those into market.

Ideal attributes/Requirements:

• 10+ years of experience in brand marketing
• Results-driven attitude – a self-starter who thinks and participates effectively, both independently and as part of a team
• Analytical skills, and sales acumen – must be able to gather, analyze and interpret data to deliver business insights
• Strong communication skills, including synthesizing information from a broad range of stakeholders and market research
• Proactive and resourceful in solving problems, making decisions and executing on goals
• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with management, sales teams, peers and agency partners and manage those relationships to achieve business objectives
• Proven track record of growing consumer brands and delivering results without relying on outsized media budgets.
• Exceptional brand storyteller with a strong instinct for what captures consumer attention, particularly across social, creator and emerging channels.
• Creative problem solver who is comfortable challenging established approaches, testing new ideas and finding unconventional paths to growth.

Physical Demands:

• Standing – up to 10% of the time
• Sitting – up to 90% of the time
• Oral communication and audio skills
• Visual skills to work with customer accounts which require use of a computer
• Ability to lift up to 20lbs

We are a drug-free workplace and an EEO employer.

Please note: This role will be filled by our internal recruitment team, so no assistance is needed from any outside staffing agency at this time.

Compensation Range: $138,000 – $148,000 annual salary – Actual compensation may vary due to other factors such as: years of experience, skill set and location. Total compensation includes profit sharing bonus potential, 401k matching, and a variety of other benefits (details can be found here).