Senior Brand Manager

POSITION OVERVIEW 

The Senior Brand Strategy Manager will be the brand steward and responsible for ensuring that all messaging and market-facing assets are aligned with the brand strategy to ensure a consistent and cohesive market impact the drives brand equity. This role involves creating brand messaging and materials that can be customized by Marketing, Sales and Customer Success to attract new customers, retain customers, and increase utilization and upsells. This position also manages the internal creative and events team.   

WHO YOU ARE  

• You are passionate about helping students create healthy & proficient relationships with technology 
• You are hungry, humble & smart 
• You are comfortable and thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment of rapid change and growth 
• You act with compassion and respect for customers, partners, and colleagues 
• You actively collaborate, constructively challenge ideas and seek opportunities to learn & grow
• You have an overall curiosity for artificial intelligence (AI) and other tech innovations  

WHAT YOU’LL DO 

• Brand Consistency 
  • Ensure that market-facing materials are up-to-date and aligned with the brand from a messaging and visual identity perspective. 
  • Implement tools and processes to ensure brand alignment across Marketing, Sales and Customer Success and other internal teams.  

• Strategy and Implementation 
  • Develop and implement brand marketing strategies that are aligned with the company’s growth plans. 
  • Provide direction to Marketing Managers to ensure strategic alignment and goal achievement for conversion, upsell, and renewals.
  • Establish marketing plan process aligned to company goals. 
  • Establish brand messaging and content strategies, at the national level. 
  • Craft an event strategy, on- and off-floor, to promote offerings and services with targeted audiences. 
  • Ensure design projects are scoped appropriately and executed on time.  
• Collaboration and Support 
  • Collaborate with Marketing Managers, Sales and Customer Success to create relevant and impactful messaging that can be customized by segment. 
  • Partner with other members of the Marketing team to ensure consistent brand, visual & strategic alignment. 
  • Work closely with the brand agency to implement brand plans.  
• Market Research and Analysis 
  • Conduct market research to understand market trends, customer needs and our brand presence/equity to inform brand strategy.  
  • Analyze market research findings to inform brand strategies and tactics.  
  • Leverage secondary data to hone brand strategy and recommend actions to enable marketing plans. 
• People Management 
  • Establish development plans for each team member. 
  • Provide direct, timely feedback to each team member to ensure employees are aware of and have opportunities to grow and improve.  
  • Establish a team culture focused on collaboration, accountability, and empowerment.  
  • Conduct employee performance reviews focused on OKRs. 

• Project Management  
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines.  
  • Strong organizational skills with the ability to work independently and as part of a team.  
• Event Management 
  • Ensure national and regional trade shows and events are impactful, and well executed.  
  • Represent the company at events, ensuring a consistent and compelling brand presence. 
• Tools and Technology 
  • Utilize marketing tools and technologies that allow the Leanring.com Marketing team to remain well-informed of effective branding efforts and approaches. 
  • Stay updated with the latest trends, tools, and best practices in branding.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING 

• Strategic Thinking and Creative Problem Solving 
  • Strategic thinking skills with the ability to establish national strategies that will be adapted to capture new customers and to retain existing customers in target regions. 
  • Ability to account for customization within the overarching brand story. 
  • Proficiency in working with teams to ensure initiatives and projects are scoped and prioritized appropriately, at the onset.   
  • Capability to provide direction to employees so they can effectively manage work queues and keep project owners abreast of progress and potential challenges. 
• Market Research and Analysis 
  • Expertise in leading and analyzing market research to inform brand strategies to build equity. 
  • Strong analytical skills to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing efforts. 
• Collaboration and Communication 

• Strong collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams including Customer Success, Customer Support, Sales, and Product Development. 
• Ability to work with teams to ensure initiatives and projects are scoped and prioritized appropriately, at the onset.   
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying brand insights and needs to internal stakeholders.  

• People Management 
  • Servant-leader acumen/philosophy.  
  • Ability to effectively manage a team of employees and build a positive, collaborative team culture.   
• Event Management and Promotion 
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of representing the company consistently and professionally through in-person customer events and digital communications. 
  • Experience in coordinating and managing national promotional activities and events. 

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred. Minimum of 7-10 years of related experience in marketing, with a focus on brand strategy. 
• Proven track record of establishing and honing B-to-B brand strategic plans. 
• Experience with HubSpot and SalesForce.  
• Track record of creating and managing digital campaigns (email, social media).
• Experience with ABM.
• Experience working with regional or segment marketing teams.  
• Experience managing a team.  
• Experience managing a creative team is a plus. 
• Experience working in the education technology industry is a plus. 
• Knowledge, experience and an overall curiosity leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for optimization of business practices