How to hire a brand director

How to hire a brand director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step brand director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a brand director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new brand director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a brand director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a brand director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect brand director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of brand directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Brand Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Brand Director	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$44-79
   Chief Marketing Officer	A Chief Marketing Officer defines marketing strategies and oversees all marketing operations of a company. They are responsible for building a highly efficient team of marketing professionals.	$34-121
   Director Of Communications And Marketing	A director of communications and marketing spearheads a company's marketing and communication projects in adherence with the company's vision and mission. Being the director, they have the authority to make decisions, delegate responsibilities among managers and teams, and direct the project and program cycle from planning to execution, solving issues and concerns if any would arise... Show more	$27-63

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Brand Strategy
   • Brand Marketing
   • Digital Marketing
   • Brand Management
   • Integrated Marketing
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Market Research
   • Brand Positioning
   • Project Management
   • Brand Awareness
   • Brand Development
   • Consumer Insights
   • Direct Reports
   • ROI

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage relationships with SEO consultants and all SEM vendors to ensure all participants are rowing the same way for maximum growth.
   • Develop and manage new health brand strategy including creation of healthcare professional/dietitian program.
   • Analyze Nielsen and research data to understand consumption trends and target consumer.
   • Maximize effectiveness and impact by harnessing data to drive predictive, consistent results, make better decisions and maximize ROI.
   • Measure, analyze and report to executive leadership on marketing programs and campaign performances against predetermine KPI s and ROI.
   • Launch CRM programs leveraging digital platforms that engage high net worth consumers in Russia and hard-to-reach trend-setters in the UK.

   More brand director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your brand director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A brand director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a brand director in Arizona may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level brand director usually earns less than a senior-level brand director. Additionally, a brand director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average brand director salary

   $123,533yearly

   $59.39 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level brand director salary

   $92,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 13, 2026

   Average brand director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Oregon	$146,315	$70
   2	California	$143,158	$69
   3	Massachusetts	$139,884	$67
   4	New York	$130,818	$63
   5	Connecticut	$127,010	$61
   6	Washington	$123,172	$59
   7	New Jersey	$122,491	$59
   8	Michigan	$121,766	$59
   9	Texas	$119,313	$57
   10	Wisconsin	$118,780	$57
   11	Missouri	$117,863	$57
   12	Georgia	$117,764	$57
   13	District of Columbia	$117,412	$56
   14	Minnesota	$117,369	$56
   15	Ohio	$116,017	$56
   16	Virginia	$115,066	$55
   17	Maryland	$114,639	$55
   18	Pennsylvania	$112,282	$54
   19	Indiana	$111,115	$53
   20	Arizona	$105,879	$51

   Average brand director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	PayPal	$164,328	$79.00	26
   2	Yelp	$163,339	$78.53	17
   3	celio	$159,955	$76.90
   4	Altar'd State	$159,847	$76.85	119
   5	Intuit	$153,257	$73.68	64
   6	Nike	$150,854	$72.53	21
   7	Wieden+Kennedy	$144,743	$69.59	1
   8	Zapier	$144,543	$69.49
   9	TBWA Worldwide	$144,317	$69.38
   10	Chewy	$144,277	$69.36	6
   11	Williams Sonoma	$142,449	$68.49	7
   12	AstraZeneca	$142,141	$68.34	26
   13	Gap Inc.	$142,059	$68.30
   14	Constellation Brands	$141,713	$68.13	2
   15	Hearst	$141,684	$68.12	7
   16	Edelman Financial Engines	$140,852	$67.72	2
   17	Boehringer Ingelheim	$140,407	$67.50	21
   18	Condé Nast	$140,061	$67.34	9
   19	Amazon	$139,521	$67.08	142
   20	Under Armour	$139,226	$66.94	4

4. Writing a brand director job description

   A good brand director job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a brand director job description:

   Brand director job description example

   Candidates must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to qualify for this role. See below for more information.
   
   Yelp's mission is to connect people with great local businesses. Yelp's Enterprise team partners with National businesses to provide industry leading digital advertising solutions. Yelp's premium native search advertising products deliver strong ROI by helping clients connect with potential customers at the bottom of the purchase funnel. Yelp has become an essential part in client's Local advertising mix and the Enterprise team is growing fast.
   
   We are looking for an entrepreneurial, sales driven leader to generate revenue with our search re-targeting product, primarily through Agencies. You will develop and work a territory and drive new business from prospecting to close. As Yelp's Brand Sales Director, you will drive revenue and growth of Yelp's search re-targeting products through our audience platform.
   
   To succeed in this role, you will need to have relevant digital or advertising sales experience and a demonstrated track record of exceeding goals. The Brand Sales Director role is key to Yelp's success and offers significant career growth opportunities within Yelp's Enterprise Sales team!
   
   Where You Come In: You will work across a territory of strategic accounts while prospecting for new accounts that are a strong fit for Yelp's advertising solutions You will own the full sales cycle from prospecting to close You will map client organizations and build relationships with multiple contacts focusing on decision-makers You will understand client's business objectives and challenges and align Yelp's search re-targeting solutions to accomplish their goals You will partner with clients & agencies to develop a strategy utilizing Yelp's Audience Platform product You will identify budgets within the client's organization tied to driving in-store, e-commerce & brand sales to fund new Yelp campaigns You will collaborate with Yelp's Account Management and the Customer Success teams to ensure strong client experiences and program performance post-sale Lead ad hoc projects focused on the strategic revenue growth opportunities
   
   What it Takes to Succeed:5+ years relevant experience across Sales, Digital, Advertising and Agency roles.Proven track record of exceeding multi-million dollar Sales TargetsExperienced communicator with proven track record of Executive outreach You are motivated and tenacious with an unwillingness to settle for anything less than your best!You are hungry to grow your career and tackle new challenges with a clear desire to have a big impact on Yelp's revenue and client set!You have a strong track record of exceeding revenue targets and comfortable closing $150,000+ deals Entrepreneurial with history of building partnerships from scratch Ready and willing to roll up your sleeves and build something big at YelpEasy-going, cool headed, with a track record of collaboration and working well internally Bought in to Yelp's mission and naturally puts the company and team first Able to Travel 15-20% of the time #LI-REMOTE #LI-TU1
   
   What You'll Get:Available your first day: Full medical, vision, and dental (Employee-only plans available at no cost to the employee)15 days PTO per year for first 2 years of employment (accrual begins on date of hire); number of PTO days increases after 2 years of tenure, 7 paid wellness days, 12 paid holidays, 1 floating holiday Up to 14 weeks of parental leave Monthly wellness reimbursement Health Savings, Flexible Spending and Dependent Care accounts 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer match Employee stock purchase plan Target salary is 110K plus performance based incentives (uncapped commission).
   Other Requirements:You must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be eligible for this role. Exceptions are made only where legally required.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right brand director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your brand director job on Zippia to find and attract quality brand director candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit brand directors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new brand director

   Once you've found the brand director candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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