Job Description

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Populus is looking for a Sr. Marketing Manager to help lead brand, marketing, and storytelling for one of the most talked-about hotels to open in the U.S. in years. You'll report to hotel leadership and work in close partnership with Crescent's corporate marketing team, helping shape and execute the property's marketing strategy day to day. This role moves fluidly between commercial execution, cultural programming, and brand storytelling, with regular exposure to ownership and leadership conversations.

ABOUT POPULUS

Populus is the first carbon positive hotel in the United States. Its architecture is inspired by the aspen groves of Colorado, with a ground floor built to feel like a forest floor, and a philosophy that runs through everything from the furniture to the food. It sits at Civic Center Park, in the middle of the city, not away from it. Guests come for the design; they stay for Pasque, Stellar Jay, and Little Owl — and increasingly, because Populus has become a gathering place for people who care about art, sustainability, food, and community.

This role blends brand execution, community building, and commercial support in one seat — helping shape how Denver, and the industry, understands what Populus is building, while staying close to the numbers behind it: occupancy, direct bookings, F&B performance, and return on every marketing dollar spent.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Commercial Execution & Reporting

• Execute the marketing strategy and annual plan against revenue, occupancy, and ownership targets; manage day-to-day budget tracking and agency coordination against measurable return.
• Partner with Revenue Management and Sales to prioritize demand generation across rooms, F&B, and events.
• Support the presentation of strategy and results to ownership and Crescent leadership, translating brand work into commercial language and flagging risk and opportunity early.

Brand, Programming & Storytelling

• Protect and evolve the Populus brand across every guest touchpoint, guiding creative direction so photography, content, and campaigns feel unmistakably Populus — with Pasque, Stellar Jay, Little Owl, and the hotel reading as one coherent world.
• Develop signature programming and activations, partnering with the Sustainability & Experience Manager to turn environmental commitments into experiences guests can feel.
• Lead content strategy across social, digital, PR, and earned media, and help build a digital-PR and press strategy that gets Populus written about by the outlets that matter to this audience.

Community, Partnerships & People

• Build relationships with local artists, farmers, makers, and civic leaders, representing Populus as a genuine participant in Denver's cultural and business community.
• Develop partnerships — from art collaborations to nonprofit alignments — that extend the brand's reach and credibility.
• Partner closely with the Sustainability & Experience Manager and work cross-functionally with Operations, Revenue, and Sales.

WHAT MAKES YOU SUCCESSFUL

You're equally comfortable in a budget review and a creative review — you have a point of view on design, culture, and brand, and you can also read a P&L. You've helped build something from scratch, not just maintained a playbook someone handed you. You care about sustainability because you actually care, not because it tests well, and you coach instead of dictate.

THE POPULUS WAY

• Integrity — the highest environmental standard in every decision, not just the visible ones.
• Bravery — a considered risk over playing it safe.
• Transparency — owning shortcomings as openly as wins.
• Interdependency — sharing what we know; partners and guests as collaborators, not audiences.
• Thoughtfulness & Curiosity — deliberate decisions, better questions, staying open to being wrong.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Hospitality, or related field.
• 4-6+ years of progressive marketing experience in lifestyle hospitality, luxury, design, or consumer brands, with strong storytelling and a track record of measurable commercial results.
• Experience supporting budgets, agencies, and cross-functional projects; team lead or informal management experience is a plus.
• Fluency in digital marketing, social, PR, CRM, and paid media, with an eye for when to lead personally and when to delegate.
• Genuine interest in sustainability, design, food and beverage, and community — not just a hospitality resume.
• Preferred: experience with an independent or design-forward hotel brand, a launch or repositioning, or a property with a strong sustainability mission.

WHY JOIN POPULUS

Populus isn't trying to be the next big thing in hospitality — it's already redefining what a hotel can stand for, and this role sits close to the center of that story. You'll help build brand and community work that outlasts a single campaign, grow alongside a team that trusts you, and help prove a hotel can put the planet first and still be one of the most talked-about places in Denver. If that sounds like the job you've been waiting to be trusted with, we'd like to meet you.