As a global marketing experience company, Quad’s goal is to help our clients win every day. We use our data-driven integrated marketing and manufacturing platform to streamline solutions for our clients, reduce friction and enhance their marketing spend effectiveness. We’ve built a rich legacy by believing in our people, allowing them to act like owners and to take charge of their own success. Whether an operator, sales rep, a graphic artist or a clinician, we’re all driven to perform at our best— for ourselves and our clients. At our core, we’re a company that believes we can always create a better way.

General Purpose of Job
The Sr Executive Director Direct Marketing Creative & Insights is responsible for leading and integrating Quad’s Direct Marketing Creative and Accelerated Marketing Insights (AMI) functions. This role establishes the strategic direction, operational excellence, innovation roadmap, and performance standards across both disciplines to drive measurable marketing effectiveness and enterprise growth.

This leader ensures that creative strategy and data-driven insights operate as a unified capability—translating research, analytics, testing, and performance data into high-impact creative solutions that differentiate Quad in the marketplace.

The role owns functional strategy, talent leadership, operational governance, and capability evolution across Creative and AMI, with enterprise-level impact.

Key Responsibilities

Functional Strategy & Organizational Leadership

• Establish and implement mid-term (3-year) strategic direction for Direct Marketing Creative and AMI
• Own and evolve the integrated Creative + Insights operating model
• Define discipline standards, frameworks, and best practices across both functions
• Oversee departmental budgets and resource planning
• Drive alignment with broader Agency Solutions and enterprise priorities
• Represent Creative and AMI capabilities in executive leadership forums

Direct Marketing Creative Leadership

• Provide executive oversight to the Group Creative Director and broader DM Creative team
• Establish creative quality standards and strategic frameworks
• Ensure creative solutions are grounded in performance data, testing insights, and research
• Lead creative innovation in direct mail, performance marketing, and multi-channel integration
• Review and elevate strategic creative output to ensure alignment with brand and performance objectives
• Foster a culture of bold thinking, accountability, and measurable impact

Accelerated Marketing Insights (AMI) Leadership

• Set the strategic direction for AMI offerings and ensure alignment with enterprise and client needs
• Oversee primary research, syndicated research integration, testing frameworks, and insight delivery
• Advance research methodologies and data capabilities
• Ensure insights translate into actionable creative and marketing strategies
• Partner with Analytics and Data teams to enhance measurement and performance reporting
• Serve as executive sponsor for high-impact research and innovation initiatives

Innovation & Capability Development

• Champion the integration of research, analytics, and creative testing into marketing strategy
• Lead development of new tools, methodologies, and offerings that strengthen Quad’s competitive positioning
• Identify and scale best practices across teams
• Ensure both functions leverage emerging technologies and AI-driven capabilities
• Foster cross-functional collaboration across Creative, Analytics, Production, Sales, and Strategy

Job Requirements    
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Analytics or related field 
Experience: 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in direct marketing, creative strategy and/or analytics

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities    

• Demonstrated success evolving functional capabilities and operating models
• Strong understanding of direct marketing production environments (inline, conventional, digital)
• Expertise in research methodologies, testing strategies, and performance analytics
• Executive-level strategic thinking with ability to connect data, creativity, and business outcomes
• Strong financial acumen, including budget ownership
• Exceptional leadership and talent development capability
• Ability to integrate qualitative and quantitative insights into compelling strategic direction
• Deep understanding of marketing performance measurement and multi-variant testing
• Advanced communication skills with executive presence
• Ability to operate with high autonomy and influence across functions
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite