Senior Executive Director, Marketing Strategy & Innovation

Senior Executive Director, Marketing Strategy & Innovation

Location: Vancouver, BC

Department: Brand

• Employment Type: Full Time / Hybrid / Indeterminate
• Language Designation: English Essential
• Posting Close Date: October 26, 2025

About Destination Canada

Tourism is the heartbeat of communities from coast to coast to coast. At Destination Canada, our aspiration for the tourism industry is to generate wealth and wellbeing for all of Canada and enrich the lives of our guests. Our mission is to influence supply and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad. We seek diverse, ingenious thinkers teeming with intellectual curiosity and a deep desire to grow Canada’s tourism industry – strengthening the socio-cultural, environmental and economic vitality tourism brings to Canada.

About The Role:

At Destination Canada, we are not only launching a bold new platform: Canada, naturally, but we are also evolving our global marketing and sales strategy. Our mission is to make Canada the antidote to what global travellers are craving – in travel and beyond. 

We are seeking a Senior Executive Director to bring our strategy to life. Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Strategy & CMO, this leader will oversee a team of ~15 and a global portfolio of partners and agencies. This is not a maintenance role. This is a rare opportunity to lead the transformation of how Canada shows up in the world: for being distinct to being loved. To ensure Canada is discovered and trusted as a destination of choice for our global travellers and decision makers.  

You will architect and execute a cutting-edge content strategy that prioritizes authenticity, cultural resonance, and impact over reach, while embracing new technologies and artificial intelligence to amplify creativity, efficiency, and insight. 

This is more than a senior marketing role; it’s a mandate to help shape a global cultural movement. At Destination Canada, we believe travel should enrich the lives of our guests and bring wealth and well-being to our communities. With Canada, naturally, we will inspire the world to drop façades and reconnect with what is most real. If you are a strategist who delivers, a collaborator who inspires, and a leader who thrives on making bold ideas tangible, we want you to help us make Canada the world’s most beloved destination. 

Key Accountabilities

Strategic Leadership

• Translate the vision of Canada, naturally. into a clear, actionable roadmap with measurable impact.
• Prioritize authentic content and values’ aligned partnerships, that deliver cultural resonance and conversion.
• Drive disciplined choices about where and how we show up, ensuring investment ladders to awareness, authority, and ultimately, choosing Canada.
• Develop and implement innovative marketing strategies with AI technology at the core. 

Content & Platform Execution 

• Lead the content architecture for Canada, naturally, ensuring authority and discoverability in an AI-driven world. 
• Oversee the development of DC’s owned platforms and owned content as a trusted hubs for travellers and large language models (LLMs). 
• Collaborate with DC marketing teams across the globe to develop partnerships and initiatives. 
• Establish clear guidelines and strategic frameworks for partners (DMOs, airlines, OTAs, publishers, creators) to ensure coherence and authority. 
• Create frameworks to evaluate and prioritize partnerships based on authenticity, authority, resonance, and alignment. 
• Develop standards, systems and processes (both human and technological) for content creation, curation, distribution, maintenance, and repurposing. 
• Develop and evaluate the effectiveness of social media strategies that support global marketing and partnership objectives. 
• Cultivate exceptional working relationships with agencies and other suppliers to produce superior results. 
• Oversee brand communications for Business Events, ensuring alignment with the global brand strategy.   

Cultural Impact & Brand Love 

• Ensure Canada shows up in spaces where “realness is currency”  
• Orchestrate authentic brand acts and cultural interventions that make Canada relevant in everyday culture. 
• Advance partnerships with key opinion leaders and influencers – extending beyond traditional travel or industry voices. 

Conversion & Measurement

• Obsess over continuous improvement and insights.
• Impact moving audiences from craving realness to booking their Canadian reset. 
• Implement partner pathways that service both the traveller and our partners.
• Define and track metrics across cultural relevance (buzz, brand love), awareness (engagement, reach), and conversion (yield, visitation). 
• Provide insight and performance reporting to senior leadership, the Board, and key industry partners. 
• Partner with DC Insights & Analytics teams and industry partners to identify, develop, and evolve iconic tourism experiences. 

Ai-First Mindset

• Champion an AI-first approach to reimagining marketing workflows, not only to drive efficiency but to fundamentally transform how we work. 
• Proactively identify, test, and implement AI tools to automate processes, capture and accelerate engagement, and elevate the overall effectiveness and impact of marketing. 
• Inspire a culture of innovation, learning and continuous improvement. 

What You Need

• Strategist & Executor: 10+ years in brand, marketing, or content leadership with a proven track record of building platforms that drive both cultural impact and measurable results.
• Global Marketing Expertise: Experience leading integrated strategies across multiple international markets.
• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead teams of 10+ and manage significant budgets and partner networks.
• Content Authority: Deep experience in content architecture, digital ecosystems, and the evolving role of AI in reshaping marketing.
• Collaborator: Skilled at leading through influence, fostering alignment across partners, agencies, and internal teams.
• Cultural Instincts: Strong understanding of digital communities, cultural conversations, and how to authentically insert brands into them.
• Analytical & Creative: Equally comfortable setting KPIs and diving into data as you are shaping bold creative ideas.
• Values-Aligned: A natural ambassador for Canadian values – authenticity, fairness, stewardship of nature, and collective well-being.
• AI-First Mindset: Proved track record of reimagining and transforming marketing workflows through artificial intelligence.

It Would Be Great If You Also Had

• French fluency is a significant asset. 

Compensation

Salary range: $154,180 - $200,434

Within the range, the base pay offered is determined by multiple factors, including job-related skills and relevant education/experience. Please note starting salaries for new hires typically fall between the minimum and mid-point of the range, to support internal equity and allow room for progression as employees grow and excel in their roles. The range above reflects base pay only and does not include the competitive at-risk pay program and benefits that we offer!

Other components of our total rewards offerings include:

• Extended health and dental benefits
• Minimum 3 weeks of accrued vacation plus other paid time off
• Employee assistance program
• Defined contribution pension plan
• Generous parenthood top-up
• Flexible working options like compressed workweek and hybrid model
• Support towards your professional growth with learning and development opportunities, mentorship and more.

Things You Should Know:

• This role follows a hybrid work arrangement, where work is performed onsite at least 3 days per week. Please note the work arrangement is subject to change.
• There may be some requirement for travel, both domestic and international.

At Destination Canada, we believe that Canada's diversity is its greatest asset and is what touches travellers' hearts most deeply. To that end, we are committed to inclusive leadership within our workplace, workforce, and interactions with partners and travellers alike. Destination Canada is an equal opportunity employer committed to reflecting Canada's diversity through fair and accessible hiring and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. If you require accommodations at any point in the recruitment process, please reach out to accessibility@destinationcanada.com.

We know that applying for a new job can be both exciting and intimidating, and we sincerely appreciate your interest and effort. Only those applicants under consideration will be contacted.

Privacy Policy Acknowledgement

Personal information collected in relation to your application is collected pursuant to the Canadian Tourism Commission Act and under the Privacy Act. It will be used to evaluate your application and maintain an inventory of candidates for work opportunities and staffing pursuant to Destination Canada’s personal information banks PSU 911 and PSE 902. Information will be retained for a minimum of 2 years.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree to our Privacy Policy.