Director of Brand Marketing

Job Description
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Director of Brand Marketing is a senior leader within the Marketing organization responsible for shaping and elevating the brand for one of the industry’s most beloved restaurant chains. This role drives the vision, strategy, and execution behind all brand-building efforts, ensuring Portillo’s shows up in a consistent and compelling way across every consumer touchpoint.
With a primary focus on increasing traffic and growing same-store sales, the Director of Brand Marketing champions integrated marketing initiatives that fuel brand relevance, deepen guest experience, and deliver measurable business impact. The Director of Brand Marketing is a strategic, creative, and results-driven leader with influence and experience shaping iconic, growth-oriented brands with a multi-state footprint, where brand stewardship, cultural relevance, and business performance are critical to success.
This role owns brand strategy, integrated marketing campaigns, promotional strategy, marketing calendar, media strategy and planning, social media, influencer marketing, and creative. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, the Director of Brand Marketing is based at the Restaurant Support Center in Oakbrook, Illinois and partners closely with IT, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Culinary, Strategy and Insights, and People teams as well as executive leadership and agency partners to translate brand marketing strategy into measurable business results at the company and restaurant level.
This is a hybrid position based at the Portillo’s Restaurant Support Center in Oakbrook, Illinois with on-site presence required Tuesday through Thursday.
Core Responsibilities
Enable our Purpose to create lifelong memories by igniting the senses with unrivaled food and experiences:
Family: Work together to make everyone feel at home, and we step up when someone needs help

Balance brand heritage with modern relevance to drive consideration, frequency, and loyalty in a highly competitive industry
Translate guest insights and market opportunity into a differentiated value proposition, messaging strategy, and creative platform that scales nationally while flexing locally
Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Culinary, Finance, and Supply Chain to develop and launch new products and platforms, ensuring menu introductions meet consumer needs, are operationally sound and drive profitable sales
Greatness: We’re obsessed with being the best and work hard to continuously improve. Our greatness is rooted in Quality, Service, Attitude and Cleanliness

Lead the evolution of Portillo’s brand strategy, positioning, architecture, voice and visual identity to strengthen relevance and preference with consumers
Translate brand strategy into actionable campaigns and creative that supports both long-term brand health and near-term performance
Ensure brand consistency across all consumer touchpoints to create a seamless and memorable guest experience
Lead national, regional and local promotional strategy and campaigns to drive traffic and same-store sales
Own the annual marketing calendar guiding promotional strategy, product news, limited time offers (LTOs), and brand campaigns
Oversee ideation, briefing, development, execution and measurement of multi-channel campaigns
Direct media strategy, planning and buying to drive awareness, frequency, and conversion
Own full funnel media plans across digital video, CTV/OTT, paid social, search, audio, OOH, and traditional channels
Manage media budgets with strong ROI discipline and accountability
Use data, testing, and market-level insights to optimize performance across campaigns
Partner with agencies to optimize media mix, targeting, and attribution models with the goal of maximizing ROI and restaurant traffic
Energy: We move with urgency and passion, while maintaining attention to detail

Leverage digital and social channels to amplify promotions and drive traffic and sales
Oversee organic and paid social media strategies and internal team, ensuring approach drives brand relevance, engagement and community growth
Optimize social media channel strategy, content pillars, partner platforms and social CRM
Expand influencer marketing strategy, including NIL program, to authentically amplify the brand and drive measurable results at the local, regional and national level
Fun: We entertain our guests, we connect authentically, and we make each other smile

Lead in-house creative team and external agency partners to deliver high-impact, performance-driven creative
Ensure creative excellence across menu design, packaging, advertising, digital, and in-store merchandising to influence purchase decisions
Maintain and evolve design standards and brand guidelines, optimizing for brand distinction, clarity and conversion at point of purchase
Demonstrate sound judgment that balances brand storytelling with commercial effectiveness
Lead, mentor, and develop a team of brand marketing and creative professionals
Own relationships with creative, media, digital, research and external agency partners
Set clear goals, priorities, and development plans aligned to traffic and sales objectives
Establish clear processes, briefs, KPIs, and performance expectations to ensure excellence
Build a culture that values creativity, accountability, and results
Other duties as assigned
ORGANIZATION RELATIONSHIPS
This role reports to the Chief Marketing Officer and leads a team of brand marketing and creative professionals. The Director of Brand Marketing partners closely with IT, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Culinary, Strategy and Insights, and People teams, and works with executive leadership and agency partners to translate brand marketing strategy into measurable business results at both the company and restaurant level.
Required Qualifications
Minimum Educational Level/Certifications

Bachelor’s degree required
MBA or equivalent a plus
Minimum Work Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

10+ years of progressive marketing experience (QSR / Fast Casual, Retail, or CPG preferred)
Visionary leader with the ability to move quickly, innovate boldly, and execute with excellence
Proven track record of driving traffic and same-store sales through compelling integrated marketing programs
Data-driven operator with fluency in performance metrics (ROAS, CPA, traffic, SSS, loyalty penetration, engagement rate, brand lift)
Significant experience building and leading brand, promotional, media, and social campaigns with measurable business impact
Deep expertise in integrated, multi-channel marketing including digital, social, paid media, influencer, and in-restaurant communication
Sound creative judgment with experience overseeing design systems and visual identity
Strong analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data, insights, and trends
Demonstrated people leadership and cross-functional influence
Experience managing cross-functional teams, agencies and marketing budgets
Exceptional communication, leadership, collaboration, and project management skills
Travel Requirement

Travel Up to 25%
Hot dog! The pay range for this role is $150,000.00 - $175,000.00 per year. Your actual compensation will depend on experience, location, and/or additional skills you bring to the table.
This Position Is Also Served With

Participation in a discretionary bonus program based on company and individual performance, among other ingredients
A monthly technology reimbursement
Equity awards
Quarterly Portillo’s gift cards
A bun-believable benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance along with paid time off, life insurance, and our 401(k) plan with a company match
Learn more about our benefits here
DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by incumbents assigned to this job. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the responsibilities, duties and skills required. The incumbent may be expected to perform other duties as assigned. This job may be reviewed as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity.