Brand & Communications Manager

Gilson Inc•Middleton, WI

About The Position

The Brand & Communications Manager is responsible for strengthening and protecting the Gilson brand by ensuring it is communicated clearly, consistently and effectively across all audiences and channels. This role transforms business, product and customer priorities into compelling communications that bring the Gilson brand to life. It determines the messaging approach, narrative, tone, creative direction and brand expression needed to connect with the intended audience, while ensuring all communications align with Gilson’s brand standards and positioning. Working closely with Category, Marketing and commercial teams, the Brand & Communications Manager translates subject-matter and market expertise into communications that are engaging, differentiated and easy for customers to understand. The role combines brand stewardship, strategic communications and hands-on execution, with accountability for both the quality and consistency of how Gilson presents itself to the market.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience in marketing, communications, business, science or a related discipline.
7+ years of progressive experience in brand management, marketing communications, corporate communications or related discipline.
Demonstrated experience owning or significantly contributing to brand strategy and brand governance.
Experience developing messaging, narratives and communications for complex products, services or markets.
Experience managing creative agencies, freelancers and other external partners.
Experience working across multiple functions, business units or geographic regions.
Strong brand strategy and brand management expertise.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to translate complex scientific, technical or business concepts into clear and engaging customer communications.
Strong storytelling, messaging and editorial judgment.
Ability to distinguish between strategic communication needs and production requests.
Strong creative judgment without needing to personally perform every creative discipline.
Ability to influence stakeholders and maintain brand standards while operating collaboratively.
Strong project and agency management skills.
Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
Ability to operate effectively within a global and cross-functional organization.
Strong business acumen and understanding of how brand and communications contribute to commercial performance.
Data-driven approach to measuring brand health and communication effectiveness.

Nice To Haves

Experience in life sciences, laboratory products, scientific instrumentation, healthcare, medical devices or another technical B2B environment strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own and evolve Gilson’s master brand positioning, narrative, value proposition, architecture and voice.
Translate company and business strategy into annual and multi-year brand and communication priorities.
Ensure the Gilson brand is consistently and effectively represented across markets, audiences and communication channels.
Identify opportunities to strengthen Gilson’s brand positioning and differentiation in the market.
Maintain and continuously improve brand guidelines, messaging frameworks, templates and communication standards.
Provide guidance to teams on the appropriate use and expression of the Gilson brand.
Review high-visibility communications and materials to ensure brand consistency, quality and alignment.
Create tools and frameworks that allow teams to work independently while maintaining appropriate brand standards.
Translate customer insights, business priorities, value propositions and scientific or technical information into clear and compelling customer-facing communications.
Develop and refine messaging, narratives, headlines, storytelling approaches and editorial content.
Simplify complex scientific and technical information without losing accuracy or credibility.
Ensure communications clearly articulate Gilson’s value and differentiation for the intended audience.
Develop creative briefs that provide clear direction for internal and external creative resources.
Determine the most effective way to communicate key messages based on the intended audience, objective and communication channel.
Recommend appropriate narrative, format, tone, creative treatment and communication approach.
Develop communication plans for priority brand, product and corporate initiatives.
Ensure communications work together to reinforce a consistent Gilson story rather than operating as disconnected activities.
Lead the development of priority corporate communications, major company announcements and reputation-building initiatives.
Partner with Category marketing teams to develop customer-facing communications for new product launches and other key product initiatives.
Develop thought leadership and corporate storytelling that strengthens Gilson’s reputation and market position.
Support executive and leadership communications when strong external or brand-focused messaging is required.
Partner with Category Marketing to understand target customers, customer needs, category priorities, value propositions and technical content.
Transform those inputs into clear, engaging and brand-consistent customer communications.
Partner with Demand Generation team to develop messaging and content that can be effectively activated through campaigns and digital channels.
Work with Regional Growth teams to ensure global communications can be appropriately adapted for local customers and markets.
Facilitate alignment across these teams when communication priorities or requirements overlap.
Develop scalable communications, templates and content that regional teams and channel partners can easily use and adapt.
Provide regional teams with clear guidance for adapting global content while maintaining the Gilson brand.
Balance global brand consistency with legitimate market, language, cultural and customer requirements.
Reduce unnecessary one-off content creation by increasing the use of reusable and adaptable communication assets.
Establish and maintain measures of brand health and equity, including awareness, consideration, trust, differentiation and preference.
Track the effectiveness of key brand and communication initiatives.
Use customer, market and brand insights to identify opportunities for improvement.
Translate results into specific recommendations and actions to strengthen Gilson’s brand and communications.
Identify when external agency or vendor support is needed and determine the appropriate scope of work.
Select, brief and manage creative, research, content, translation and production partners.
Set clear expectations for quality, timing, budget and deliverables.
Ensure external partners understand and consistently represent the Gilson brand.
Monitor agency performance, quality and value.
Manage Brand & Communications priorities, projects, timelines and resources.
Balance longer-term strategic initiatives with ongoing communication needs and hands-on execution.
Establish efficient workflows and clarify roles and responsibilities across projects.
Prioritize work based on business and customer impact.
Identify and eliminate low-value, duplicative or overly customized communication activities.
Increase the reuse and scalability of high-value content and brand assets.
Build strong working relationships across Marketing, Commercial, Product Management, R&D, Regional Growth and other functions.
Work with subject-matter experts to ensure communications are technically accurate while remaining understandable and engaging for customers.
Provide brand and communications expertise to business leaders and project teams.
Act as a trusted advisor on how Gilson should communicate important business, product and customer messages.