Head of Client Marketing

Northern Trust • Chicago, IL

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Head of Client Marketing will provide strategic leadership for the development and disciplined execution of marketing strategies that drive client acquisition, retention, and organic revenue growth. Leading a global team of client marketers, this leader will align segment-specific marketing strategies with enterprise and business priorities, channel sales leader objectives, and evolving client needs. They will partner across the business to define, operationalize, and deliver comprehensive client marketing programs and campaigns for priority target audiences. They will be accountable for annual segment-specific marketing plans, including channel- and firm-level campaigns, ensuring each initiative is strategically aligned, message-driven, effectively resourced, and delivered on time and on budget. Partner with the Head of Integrated Campaigns, Product and Content Marketing, to execute campaigns and evaluate campaign performance, identify opportunities to strengthen impact, and make data-driven recommendations that reflect channel nuances and client goals. They will also oversee the client marketing budget, ensuring resources are allocated with strategic intent, commercial discipline, and operational efficiency. As a senior leader within the Asset Management Marketing team, they will serve as a trusted partner to senior sales leaders, building durable relationships and developing a nuanced understanding of their priorities, growth objectives, retention challenges, and market opportunities. They will also lead effective collaboration with business stakeholders and corporate marketing centers of excellence—including product, compliance, investments, performance, digital marketing, and creative services—to ensure strategic alignment, coordinated execution, and a consistently client-centric approach. As both a strategic leader and student of the business, they will remain current on industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in client marketing, translating those insights into practical opportunities for the organization. They will also lead, mentor, and motivate a high-performing team of client marketing professionals, providing direction, support, and constructive performance feedback that strengthens both team capability and executional excellence.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive asset management marketing experience in channel or client marketing required, with demonstrated ability to lead strategy while driving high-quality execution.
• Deep understanding of institutional, wealth, and intermediary client segments and firms, including their unique nuances, buying psychology, commercial priorities, and sales requirements/cycles.
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
• Demonstrated ability to execute technical writing and craft nuanced, audience-specific messaging for institutions and financial advisors that communicates compelling, differentiated benefits informed by custom audience needs.
• Strong strategic thinking skills, with an innovative mindset.
• Ability to lead campaign-specific narrative development, including deep experience defining the messaging house, ideating campaign hooks, writing compelling headlines, and integrating and refining that messaging across campaign assets such as ads, landing pages, email, and social.
• Strong technical investment knowledge and executive judgment, with the ability to translate difficult or complex investment concepts into practical, applicable content and messaging.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the credibility and judgment to influence senior stakeholders on marketing strategy and best practices. Demonstrated experience collaborating with senior stakeholders across investment, sales, and product teams.
• A self-starter with a strong commercial orientation, high-performing mindset, intellectual curiosity, executive presence, and drive to win.
• Critical thinker with superior problem-solving skills and the ability to lead cross-functional teams, organize people and resources, and drive measurable outcomes in response to business needs.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, projects, stakeholders, and competing objectives while leading through transformation with confidence and operational discipline.
• Strong understanding of U.S. and international regulatory requirements and regulations, with the judgment to operate effectively in a highly regulated asset management environment.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa).

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of annual client marketing plans by channel—global institutional, consultants, wealth, and intermediary—by sub-segment, including pension, DC, foundation and endowment, wirehouse, and RIA, and at the firm level as appropriate. Plans should translate business priorities into channel-specific programs, events, content, and integrated campaign efforts.
• Partner with the Head of Integrated Campaign Strategy to shape, develop, and execute client-focused marketing campaigns, ensuring they remain on strategy, on message, on budget, and delivered on time.
• Oversee execution of programs designed to drive MQL delivery and SQL conversion, including ownership of sales engagement processes, MQL feedback meetings, reporting, and optimization strategies.
• Define and guide differentiated messaging strategies grounded in deep client-segment knowledge to resonate with target audiences, sharpen relevance, and drive engagement.
• Guide team members in developing effective sales enablement tactics informed by deep segment expertise, technical investment knowledge, and practical understanding of sales requirements and client decision journeys.
• Lead partnership on the development of custom content that drives engagement with institutions, consultants, and advisors by positioning Northern Trust Asset Management investment capabilities and subject matter expert thought leaders with clarity and commercial relevance.
• Ensure product and content strategy are integrated across pre-event, post-event, and experiential-event marketing to create a custom audience experience and a cohesive client journey that reinforces priority capability and campaign goals.
• Lead participation in campaign performance analysis, identify opportunities to improve effectiveness, and make data-driven recommendations based on client-segment nuances. Report results to business partners to increase awareness, accountability, and participation.
• Build and steward strategic relationships with critical business partners to ensure marketing strategies are aligned with business goals, responsive to client needs, and grounded in a client-centric approach.
• Establish and maintain an effective communication cadence that ensures transparency, alignment, and ongoing strategy implementation and optimization across partners.
• Oversee the client marketing budget with disciplined financial stewardship, ensuring resources are allocated strategically, efficiently, and in support of business priorities.
• Lead, mentor, and motivate a global team of direct reports, providing clear strategic direction, hands-on guidance, support, developmental feedback, and training.
• Maintain a forward-looking view of industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in client marketing, translating external insights into practical improvements and new opportunities.

Benefits

• retirement benefits (401k and pension)
• health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability)
• paid time off
• parental and caregiver leave
• life & accident insurance
• other voluntary and well-being benefits
• discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed