Head of Brand

Job description

ABOUT PRIMER Primer is a growing network of K–8 schools restoring the timeless foundations of American education. Inspired by the original teaching primers that shaped a nation of readers, thinkers, and builders, our schools begin with what has always worked, and build for what lies ahead. Close-knit learning environments. Skilled educators. A culture that takes kids seriously as learners and leaders. Primers shaped the first 200 years of American children. Primer will ready them for the next. ABOUT THE ROLE Primer has all the makings of an iconic brand: a big vision to solve one of the hardest problems in America, real stories of lives we’ve changed across the country, and strong cultural tailwinds pushing us forward. We hear from parents, educators, legislators, and community leaders every day about the lives we’re changing — from families who felt stuck in the traditional system and now see their child thriving at Primer, to parents who “feel like they have their child back” after a few months at Primer. Your job is to harness this momentum and craft a brand that millions of families from all walks of life trust with the most important decision they make each year: their child’s school. You will own the entire surface area of Primer’s brand — from our big-picture narrative to individual brand assets across visual design, photography, film content, and copy. You’ll inherit our existing brand systems, which you see today across Primer.com http://Primer.com, and be tasked with growing this foundation into the future of Primer’s brand. There are three unique challenges in this role: - First, our brand must be both aspirational and accessible. Most education brands opt for pure exclusivity or pure accessibility, but that won’t work for Primer. - Second, we are a central marketing & brand org with dozens (and soon hundreds) of local Primers. These campuses are the primary way families experience the Primer brand post-enrollment, and nailing the local manifestation of our brand will require systems that scale down to (and empower) those working at the campus level. - Finally, you’ll need to develop (or have) a nuanced intuition for how Primer should fit into the overall education ecosystem. Education is tough, riddled with many strong opinions, which presents both a challenge and an opportunity. If you shape our public perception with conviction — and succeed — you will have crafted one of the all-time great American brands. RESPONSIBILITIES - Define what Primer stands for. Own our narrative — where we fit in the broader education ecosystem, how we show up, what we're for and what we're against. - Craft our brand norms. These are the standards that define our voice, language, and visual identity. The kind of thing a campus team or a writer can actually pick up and use, not a deck that sits in a drive. - Build the local engine. We have hundreds (and soon thousands) of local educators who are the face of Primer to our families. Creating a consistent brand experience is a unique challenge, and you will own it end-to-end. - Consistency without bottlenecks. Build the operating system that dials in every public-facing artifact we ship. Fight the approval-chain-by-vibes with clear standards and lightweight checks against them. - Partner with Growth, Admissions, and Product to establish the messaging, identity, and creative standards used across marketing, admissions, and the product experience, enabling each team to execute within those standards. - Lay the groundwork for employer brand and PR, so our story lands with parents, future staff, and the public alike. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - A strong operator who loves building systems. You're clear-eyed about the complexity of a central brand function with dozens of local spokes. - Someone who's done a lot with a little. You've held a high bar in a resource-constrained environment. - A brand leader who’s done it before — you’ve built brands that feel both aspirational and accessible, and understand what it takes to connect with everyday American families. - A clear writer and editor with real taste. You can set the voice and language standards and enforce them. - Someone who'll hold the line and be easy to work with at the same time. You can say no when something's off and make people glad they asked. - Genuine. We take families, students, and the teachers who serve them seriously. You'll make sure the brand does too, in every community we're in. WHY THIS ROLE MAY NOT BE A FIT - You want a pure-play exec role. This may grow into that. Today it's a hands-on role building the brand backbone, not running a scaled marketing org. - You want to own the funnel. Growth is responsible for acquisition, conversion, and enrollment performance. Brand defines the narrative, messaging, and creative standards. - You think great brand means routing everything through you. If your model is "approve it all myself," you'll be the bottleneck this role exists to remove. Primer is a mission-first company. We believe our mission is the highest-leverage way we can create positive change. In service of that, we keep work centered on mission execution and avoid social or political activism at work that’s unrelated to the mission. If that energizes you, we’d love to see you apply.