Sr Marketing Manager, Back to School

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here. 

 
Target Marketing is well known for inspiring and surprising guests, and we pride ourselves on connecting them to the products and experiences they expect and love from Target. We study our guests to discover new insights, and then craft every interaction to build brand equity and enterprise sales. We are marketing experts who insist on a clear and cohesive understanding of our business objectives, guest segments and behaviors, strategies and tactics, overcoming obstacles and measuring for continuous improvement. Leveraging our collective assets and fostering a healthy, supportive and open team culture, we deliver a holistically gratifying experience that guests can only get at Target.

As a member of the Guest Marketing Strategy team, you will play a critical role in shaping how Target shows up during Back to School, one of Target's most important enterprise priorities.

As Senior Marketing Manager within Guest Marketing Strategy, you will lead Target's Back to School campaign from strategy through activation. You will define the campaign strategy, bringing a clear point of view grounded in guest insights, cultural context, and business priorities. You will partner across cross-functional teams to bring that strategy to life through a connected and compelling guest experience across the full marketing ecosystem. You will influence partners across Marketing, Creative, Media, Social, Digital, Merchandising, and Enterprise Insights, aligning stakeholders, influencing decisions, and driving brand and business impact.

Success in this role requires exceptional strategic thinking, creative judgment, executive communication, and the ability to lead large cross-functional teams through influence, driving alignment and decision making across a highly matrixed organization.

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

Core Responsibilities

• Define the strategic direction for the campaign by translating guest insights, cultural context, competitive dynamics, and business priorities into a clear point of view that guides creative development and inspires breakthrough work.

• Partner with Target Creative, agency, and cross-functional teams to bring the campaign's strategic direction to life through breakthrough ideas and experiences that strengthen Target's brand and drive business growth.

• Orchestrate the end-to-end Back to School campaign by aligning Marketing, Creative, Media, Social, Digital, Merchandising, Enterprise Insights, and agency partners to deliver a connected guest experience across the guest journey.

• Lead cross-functional teams through ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, driving strategic decisions, and balancing guest needs, business priorities, and executional realities throughout campaign development.

• Define success metrics, monitor campaign performance, and translate insights and learnings into actionable recommendations that strengthen future campaigns and improve marketing effectiveness.

• Represent the Back to School campaign across Marketing and Enterprise leadership forums, influencing decisions, building alignment, and driving momentum across senior stakeholders.

About You

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or a related field; or equivalent experience.

• 7+ years of experience in marketing strategy, brand strategy, integrated marketing, consulting, agency strategy, brand management, or related disciplines.

• Demonstrated ability to translate consumer insights, cultural trends, business priorities, and performance data into clear marketing strategies, strategic briefs, and executive recommendations.

• Strong strategic thinking, storytelling, and communication skills, with the ability to develop a compelling point of view, simplify complexity, and influence decision making across functions and leadership levels.

• Strong creative judgment with the ability to partner with creative teams and agencies, provide strategic direction, and influence breakthrough work from concept through execution.

• Strong understanding of full-funnel marketing and the role each channel plays in the guest journey.

• Proven ability to operate with speed, accountability, and sound judgment in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment while managing multiple priorities.

• Deep curiosity about consumers, culture, retail, shopping behavior, media, and the evolving competitive landscape.