Marketing Director

Would you like to work for an employer that has been named for the 9^th year in a row as “Best Places to Work in Illinois”? Are you someone who keeps up with local community events and wants to be part of the growth in the community? At Sterling Federal Bank, we are not just known for our stellar presence in the community, having been here over 130 years and going strong! We are also extremely proud to be a local community bank making a difference in our customers’ lives and also the region with our annual Charity Challenge supporting area non profits donating over $40,000 annually. We are a huge partner to United Way in Lee, Ogle, Whiteside and Clinton counties, most recently named in 2026 as Lee County United Way “Business Champion of the Year”.

Are you ready to join an award-winning, equal opportunity employer, where you’ll find more than a job?  Where you will enjoy competitive benefits and take part in meaningful volunteer projects? We are seeking a Marketing Director to assist in the promotion of our services. 

Role

The Marketing Director is responsible for supporting Sterling Federal Bank’s vision, mission, and values by supporting sales growth, brand awareness and executing the strategic goals of Sterling Federal Bank while meeting regulatory compliance. This role involves collaborating with Executive team, Branch Managers, Mortgage and Commercial sales depts, and entire SFB team as well as community stakeholders to develop impactful solutions that enhance both the sales process and the organization’s goals and visibility in the community. By overseeing marketing efforts, the Director will ensure alignment with and support deposit and lending corporate goals, optimize sales training materials, and facilitate community partnerships to support community involvement. The incumbent will also serve as the Bank’s primary employee representative, administrator, and coordinator for all corporate giving, philanthropic initiatives and community outreach.

Precise Roles, Tasks & Responsibilities

·        20%      Establish and implement bank wide marketing plan. Create and execute all product, email and social media campaigns. Contributes to marketing effectiveness by identifying short-term and long-range issues that must be addressed; providing information and commentary pertinent to deliberations; recommending options and courses of action. Ensure compliance with banking advertising rules.

·        10 %    Research and analysis of market trends, consumer demographics, competitor products, and other relevant information to form marketing strategies. Lead the formulation, implementation, evaluation and administration of the company's marketing and market development functions. Implements, updates, and helps develop the monthly/quarterly/annual marketing calendar coinciding with the organization's budget and goals.

·        10%     Develop detailed marketing plans/campaigns for all media channels. Approves and oversees the creative development of promotional materials, website content, advertisements, and other marketing-related projects across the company. Develop and maintain proficiency in various software programs for production, design and tabulation of various marketing pieces and research materials.

·        10%     Develops and updates content for the bank’s customer facing website, internal intranet and social media platforms with current disclosures, product changes, promotions, and financial literacy. Responds to questions and social media messages in a timely and brand positive manner.

·        10%      Works within the department budget to develop cost-effective marketing plans for each product or service.

·        10%     Tracks marketing and sales data and creates detailed written reports and verbal presentations to bring to senior executives. Analyze and assess the results in the form of a return-on-investment (ROI) analysis and recommends refinements to enhance performance.

·        5%        Annually evaluates the Bank’s product mix and design of products and marketing efforts to determine whether we can improve their responsiveness to the community.

·        15%     Maintains the Marketing Events/Sponsorship Listing and distributes to Executive Management.

·        10%     Serves as the Bank’s community and charitable events coordinator and representative. Identifies and administers Bank participation and/or sponsorships at various external events across all market areas. Coordinates employee and guest participation at all external events. May be required to represent Bank at such events. Maybe required to serve on external committees and/or boards across all market areas.

·        Must comply with all company policies and procedures, applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Patriot Act, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

·        Additional responsibilities as required

Preferred Skills & Experience:

·        Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business or a Related Field

·        Prior demonstrated experience in marketing campaigns in financial services industry or related business in the targeted geographic area (Lee, Whiteside, Ogle, Clinton county)

·        3 to 5 years’ prior experience

·        Ability to work independently (self-motivated)

·        Complete projects within required timeframes

·        Ability to adapt to and manage changing priorities independently in a fast-paced environment

·        Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with superior attention to detail

·        Constant problem solving

·        Understand brand management, digital content standards, automated email campaigns, campaign tracking, Google Analytics

·        Proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook

Compensation

$65,300 to $98,000

Benefits

·        Paid vacation, personal, sick time

·        12 paid holidays

·        Paid option for health & dental insurance for employee

·        Paid life and ADD insurance

·        Paid Long Term disability insurance

·        Up to 3% 401K company match

·        4% of wages to 401k as nonelective contribution

·        Flexible spending plan

Sterling Federal Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer