Director, Marketing Activation

Title: Director, Marketing Activation

Location: Chicago, IL

Job Type: FT

About the Role:  

The Director of Marketing Activation is responsible for leading the strategy, development, and execution of Curaleaf’s regional and field-based marketing activations across the route-to-market. This role owns the activation vision from planning through execution, ensuring national brand initiatives are translated into impactful, compliant, and locally resonant programs. 

As a senior leader, this role oversees regional activation teams, sets executional standards, manages significant budgets, and serves as the primary activation partner to Sales, Brand, Trade, and Compliance. The Director ensures Curaleaf’s brand shows up consistently, creatively, and effectively at the point of sale, events, and experiential touchpoints, while driving measurable commercial impact.

What You’ll Do: 

Activation Strategy & Leadership 

• Own the end-to-end activation strategy across regions, translating national brand priorities into scalable, compliant field execution frameworks. 
• Roll out activation standards, toolkits, and playbooks to ensure consistency across markets while allowing for local flexibility. 
• Serve as a senior activation thought-partner to Brand, Trade Marketing, and Sales leadership. 

Team Leadership & Development 

• Lead, coach, and develop Regional Activation Managers and/or Field Execution teams. 
• Set clear expectations, performance goals, and development plans for activation talent. 
• Build a high-performing, collaborative team culture focused on impact, accountability, and continuous improvement. 

Regional & Field Execution Oversight 

• Oversee execution of regional marketing calendars, events, demos, pop-ups, and in-store activations. 
• Ensure best-in-class merchandising, POS, and experiential execution across all channels and outlets. 
• Act as the ultimate brand steward for field execution, ensuring standards are upheld across all activations. 

Cross-Functional Partnership 

• Partner closely with Sales, Brand Marketing, Trade Marketing, Compliance, and Operations to align priorities and execution. 
• Influence internal stakeholders to drive focus on high-impact initiatives that support commercial objectives. 
• Serve as a key liaison between national strategy and field realities, providing feedback and insights upward. 

Budget & Agency Management 

• Own and manage activation budgets at the regional level. 
• Oversee agency partners, event vendors, and creative execution partners. 
• Ensure budgets are allocated effectively to drive ROI and sales performance. 

Promotions, Launches & Commercial Impact 

• Lead activation planning and execution for major promotions, seasonal moments, and product launches. 
• Ensure sales teams and retail partners are equipped with the tools, assets, and training needed for successful execution. 
• Measure activation success through sales performance, engagement metrics, and field feedback. 

Consumer Engagement & Brand Advocacy 

• Champion consumer-first activation thinking, grounded in “retailtainment” and engaging in-store experiences. 
• Ensure activations resonate with the target consumer while complying with all regulatory requirements.
• Drive innovation in how Curaleaf engages consumers at the point of sale.

What You’ll Bring:

• Deep understanding of field marketing, experiential marketing, and retail activation 
• Strong people leader with proven experience managing and scaling teams 
• Highly organized with the ability to manage complex calendars, budgets, and stakeholders 
• Comfortable operating in highly regulated industries 
• Strategic thinker who can balance creativity with operational rigor 
• Commercially minded, with a clear understanding that sales performance validates activation success 
• Digitally savvy with experience leveraging tools and platforms for execution and reporting 
• Service-oriented leader who collaborates without territorial behavior 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

Education 

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, or related field required 
• MBA or advanced degree preferred 

Experience 

• 8–10+ years of experience in field marketing, activation, or shopper marketing 
• 3–5+ years in a people leadership role 
• Proven experience working in or with highly regulated industries (cannabis strongly preferred) 
• Experience managing agencies, vendors, and large-scale activation budgets 
• Willingness to travel across multiple markets 

WORK REQUIREMENTS 

This role requires adaptability, high stress tolerance, and comfort operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment. Travel is required.