Manager of Brand Marketing & Partnerships

Position Overview

 

The Manager of Brand Marketing & Partnerships translates creative vision into compelling brand storytelling and cultural activation. This role owns the narrative strategy across earned and owned channels while driving hands-on execution of PR, influencer, partnership, and event initiatives that amplify brand presence and relevance.

 

Working closely with the Creative Director and CEO, this leader ensures the brand is consistently expressed in market through meaningful partnerships, community engagement, and culturally resonant moments. This is a highly collaborative role requiring both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.

 

Key Responsibilities

Brand Narrative & Campaign Storytelling

• Translate creative direction into clear seasonal narratives and campaign messaging
• Develop integrated storytelling frameworks across PR, social, retail, and wholesale channels
• Ensure brand voice and positioning remain cohesive and differentiated across all external touchpoints
• Partner with Creative to brief and align on campaign storytelling and activation concepts
• Partner with executive leadership to define seasonal campaign priorities and amplification tiers across channels.

PR & Influencer Strategy and Execution

• Lead PR strategy and manage agency relationships where applicable
• Identify, source, and directly engage influencers, ambassadors, and cultural tastemakers aligned with brand positioning
• Oversee and execute product seeding initiatives, including hands-on assembly and distribution of PR packages
• Build and maintain strong external relationships that drive long-term brand equity
• Track influencer and PR performance in collaboration with Digital & Customer Insights and refine future activation strategy based on performance insights

 

Partnerships & Cultural Activation

• Identify and execute strategic collaborations and culturally relevant partnerships
• Develop launch narratives and activation plans for collaboration moments
• Ensure partnerships align with creative vision and commercial objectives
• Represent the brand externally in partnership meetings and activation environments

 

Events & Field Activation

• Own concept, experience design, and in-market execution for brand events, partnering with Marketing Operations for logistical alignment:

o  Trunk shows

o  Sample sales

o  Retail activations

o  Community and influencer events

• Partner with Marketing Operations to ensure asset readiness and logistical coordination
• Gather qualitative insights from in-market activations to inform future initiatives

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Marketing Operations & Execution to ensure narrative alignment with launch timing and channel deployment
• Partner with Sales (wholesale and retail) to ensure brand storytelling supports field teams and customer experience
• Collaborate with Merchandising to align storytelling with product strategy and channel nuance
• Communicate field feedback and market insights back to Creative and executive leadership
• Partner with Marketing Operations to ensure activation plans are aligned with launch timelines, asset readiness, and budget parameters.
• Partner with Marketing Operations on brand positioning and promotional strategy for sample sales and retail events to ensure narrative alignment and audience engagement.

Qualifications

• 6–10+ years of experience in brand marketing, PR, influencer marketing, partnerships, or cultural activation
• Experience in premium fashion, eyewear, lifestyle, or culturally relevant consumer brands
• Strong understanding of brand storytelling and seasonal narrative development
• Direct experience managing PR agencies and/or in-house press relationships
• Hands-on influencer sourcing, outreach, and relationship management experience
• Experience executing product seeding programs at scale
• Demonstrated track record of executing partnerships and collaborations from ideation to launch
• Experience conceptualizing and executing brand events, trunk shows, and activations
• Strong written communication skills with ability to craft campaign narratives and briefing documents
• Ability to evaluate influencer and PR performance in partnership with analytics teams
• Comfort operating in founder-led or creative-driven environments

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Ability to lift up to 15 pounds as needed.
• Must be able to navigate all areas of the organization's facilities.

Garrett Leight California Optical provides equal employment opportunities and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. The statements above are intended to describe the general nature of the work and should not be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required to perform the role successfully.

Location : Downtown Los Angeles, CA

Employment Type : Full-Time, Hybrid (3 days in office)

Pay Range : The expected base pay range for this role is $75,000–$90,000 annually. Actual compensation may vary based on experience, skills, and qualifications.