Director of Marketing – Vernon, CA

About Our Client:

Our client is an iconic Southern California multi-unit restaurant brand with decades of history, an incredibly loyal following, and an ambitious vision for its next chapter.

As the company prepares for significant future growth, they’re looking for a hands-on Director of Marketing who can help strengthen the brand today while building the marketing capabilities needed for tomorrow.

This is an opportunity to own and shape the marketing function, expand the brand’s reach, drive restaurant-level growth, and introduce it to new guests while protecting the heritage, authenticity, and product quality that have made it a Southern California favorite.

What Our Client Offers You:

• $160k – $190k + BOE
• Annual bonus opportunity
• Medical benefits: 95% employer-paid medical, plus comprehensive benefits
• 401(k)
• Paid Time Off: Holiday, vacation, and sick time
• High-impact opportunity: Direct partnership with the CEO and close collaboration with restaurant operations and company leadership
• Opportunity to help shape the marketing infrastructure behind an ambitious multi-unit growth strategy

What You’ll Do:

As Director of Marketing, you’ll own the day-to-day leadership and execution of the marketing function while serving as a strategic partner to the CEO and Operations team.

This is a role for someone who can set the strategy and roll up their sleeves to make it happen. You’ll spend time close to the restaurants, operators, guests, and communities while building scalable programs to support future growth.

• Own the brand. Strengthen positioning, messaging, storytelling, creative direction, and brand standards while protecting the authenticity and heritage behind the brand.
• Drive restaurant-level growth. Develop marketing strategies focused on traffic, frequency, retention, guest acquisition, sales, and measurable ROI.
• Win locally. Build scalable local store marketing programs, community partnerships, grassroots initiatives, and tools that restaurant leaders can execute effectively.
• Strengthen restaurant execution. Partner closely with Operations and restaurant leaders to ensure brand standards and marketing programs consistently come to life at the store level.
• Grow loyalty and digital engagement. Lead loyalty/CRM, email, digital, social, reputation management, and other guest engagement initiatives.
• Grow catering and new revenue opportunities. Partner across the organization to strengthen catering awareness, customer acquisition, and sales.
• Support new restaurant growth. Develop repeatable marketing playbooks and launch strategies for new restaurant openings and market expansion.
• Bring products to market. Partner with Culinary and Operations on menu innovation, promotions, new product launches, and limited-time offers.
• Own performance. Manage marketing budgets, KPIs, analytics, reporting, and ROI optimization.
• Stay ahead of the curve. Identify and apply emerging marketing technologies, tools, and AI capabilities that can improve execution, guest engagement, insights, and efficiency.
• Lead while staying hands-on. Work with a lean internal team and external agency/vendor partners while remaining directly involved in execution and helping determine how the marketing function should evolve as the company grows.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• 7+ years of progressive marketing experience, with meaningful leadership responsibility
• Strong multi-unit restaurant marketing experience required, ideally within QSR, fast casual, or another high-volume restaurant environment
• Strong in-house brand experience with direct ownership and execution of marketing programs
• Proven success driving measurable restaurant traffic, sales, guest engagement, or brand growth
• Experience across local store marketing, digital/social, loyalty/CRM, guest acquisition and retention
• Experience working directly with restaurant Operations, GMs, or field leadership to translate marketing strategy into store-level execution
• Experience with new restaurant openings, catering, community marketing, or market expansion strongly preferred
• Ability to balance brand strategy with hands-on execution
• Comfortable working within a lean, entrepreneurial environment where you’ll both lead and do
• Strong analytical skills and ability to use data to measure performance and guide decisions
• Curiosity around emerging marketing technology, tools, and AI
• Collaborative leadership style and ability to partner directly with the CEO and leaders across Operations, Culinary, HR, and Finance
• Ability to travel up to 25%

Recruiter Information:
Stephanie Mattice
stephaniem@kinsa.com