Who We Are: Since 1931, Aikens Group has been building strong relationships across the Shenandoah Valley - starting with a single house built at night by a woolen mill worker named Harry Aikens, and growing into a family-owned portfolio of seven award-winning hotels, dozens of commercial and residential properties, and a construction division spanning Virginia and West Virginia.
Our mission: we build strong relationships by delivering quality products with exceptional service, and we are committed to the quality of life of our team members, who are the cornerstone of our success. Our vision is to be the trusted resource for development in every community we serve.
The Opportunity: The Marketing Manager is a newly established, company-wide leadership role reporting directly to the Executive Management Team. This individual will serve as the primary architect of Aikens Group's brand identity, digital presence, and marketing strategy across all four business divisions - Hotels, Residential Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, and H&W Construction - and will be the connective tissue between them, building on the Aikens Group brand while honoring the unique identity of each division and property.
This position holds full responsibility for Aikens Group's cultural marketing in both directions - inward, to team members across every division, and outward, to tenants, prospective partners, and the public - as well as for building overall market awareness of Aikens Group's products and brand identity.
This person will operate as a key member of the leadership team, self-generating their own campaigns and initiatives. This position is central to Aikens Group's long-term growth strategy and will eventually serve alongside the company's executive team. The ideal candidate understands how to market a family-owned business authentically, operates with creativity and discipline in equal measure, and is genuinely excited about telling the Aikens Group story across multiple platforms and audiences.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Own all social media, content, and video for the Aikens Group family of brands.
- Build and execute a local marketing plan to promote our hotels, meeting and banquet space, and restaurants across our Virginia and West Virginia markets.
- Tell the story of who we are - a family-owned company with a genuine variety of products, from hotels to apartments to commercial space.
- Manage our digital presence: websites, Google Business, online reviews, and email marketing - including on-page SEO, metadata, and tagging to keep us visible in searches.
- Represent Aikens Group in the community - Chamber of Commerce, local sponsorships, and civic partnerships.
- Help us recruit by building out our employer brand and careers presence.
- Manage marketing vendors and a growing marketing budget.
Qualifications:
- 5+ years in marketing, brand management, or communications - hospitality, real estate, or multi-unit experience preferred.
- Demonstrated success managing social media channels with a track record of growing engagement and brand presence.
- Strong video production skills.
- Experience creating and managing multi-channel digital marketing campaigns.
- Proficiency in social media tools (Meta Business Suite, Later, Hootsuite, or comparable platforms)
- Familiarity with reputation management tools.
- Working knowledge of SEO fundamentals and website metadata management.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or comparable design tools.
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365 Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with an ability to adapt voice and tone across channels and audiences.
- Creative vision balanced with financial discipline.
- Comfortable presenting ideas and results to ownership and the Executive Leadership team.
- Collaborative mindset with the ability to work cross-functionally with property managers and finance leadership.
Education:
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, or related field required.
Compensation & Growth:
The posted wage range for this position is $65,000 - $70,000 annually, commensurate with experience, plus performance bonus potential (target 10%, stretch up to 15% of base), plus benefits. This role is built to grow, with title and scope expected to progress in step with a phased rollout of duties and divisions.
Phase 1 - Hotel Portfolio, Marketing Manager: Build and execute a local, market-by-market marketing plan across the hotel portfolio. This is the sole focus for this role until the function is fully established and running. Base compensation: $65,000 - $70,000
Phase 2 - Residential Real Estate
Phase 3 - Commercial Real Estate, Director of Marketing: Once the hotel marketing function is fully built and running and the scope has successfully expanded to the Real Estate divisions, the title will elevate to Director of Marketing, reflecting a true company-wide responsibility.
Phase 4 - H&W Construction, Executive Director of Marketing: With the function mature across hotels, real estate, and potentially H&W Construction, the role advances to a senior leadership title with a standing seat on the Executive Management Team.
Movement from one base salary tier to the next is not automatic and is not tied to a calendar anniversary. Each tier increase is triggered when the Executive Management Team confirms that the current phase's marketing function is fully established and operating.
Benefits:
- 401(k) with a company match (50% of your contribution up to 4% of pay)
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Basic life and AD&D coverage after one year
- Paid time off that grows with tenure
- Paid holidays
- Employee discounts across the portfolio after 90 days
- Pool & fitness center access at any Aikens Group hotel, plus a discounted wellness center membership.
- Annual Christmas bonus
Pay: $65,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply
Education:
Work Location: In person
