Head of Marketing - Strategy & Operations

Guardian Life Insurance•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a critical leadership role responsible for driving Strategy & Operations for the overall operational efficiency of the FPRS & CSWM Marketing organization. This role serves as a senior strategic advisor and operational partner to the Head of Marketing (FPRS & CSWM) and as a trusted advisor to senior marketing leadership—acting as a primary interface to executive stakeholders and ensuring that strategy is translated into clear priorities, disciplined execution, and measurable outcomes. The role owns the end-to-end marketing operating model, including process design, performance management, planning, and budget oversight. A core expectation of this position is to influence decision-making through executive-level communication—synthesizing complex strategies, operational realities, and performance insights into concise, action-oriented narratives for QBRs, leadership meetings, steering committees, and ad hoc executive forums. Success in this role requires a strong marketing foundation, exceptional business judgment, comfort operating at the executive level, and the ability to seamlessly move between strategic leadership and hands-on execution.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in marketing operations, marketing strategy, business operations, or related roles
Strong marketing background required, including understanding of campaign execution, channels, performance measurement, and go-to-market dynamics
Proven experience partnering with and influencing executive and senior management stakeholders (VP/SVP and equivalent), with demonstrated ability to drive decisions and outcomes
Experience operating as an executive advisor/strategic operations partner to a senior leader in a complex, matrixed organization
Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional initiatives without direct authority
Deep experience with marketing technology platforms, analytics, and operational enablement
Exceptional ability to synthesize complexity into executive-ready narratives and presentations
Highly effective communicator with strong executive presence
Comfortable balancing strategic leadership with hands-on execution
Bachelor’s degree required
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

MBA or relevant advanced degree strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Own and evolve the marketing operating model, ensuring scalable, repeatable execution across teams, channels, and initiatives
Design and continuously improve enterprise-grade processes, workflows, and governance models that drive efficiency, clarity, and accountability
Act as a central integrator across Marketing, Sales, Product, Finance, Technology, and Compliance, partnering with senior leaders to drive alignment, resolve trade-offs, and deliver against shared priorities
Proactively identify risks, resourcing constraints, and execution challenges; provide executive-level options, implications, and recommendations to enable timely decisions
Establish and maintain consistent operating rhythms, planning cadences, and decision-making forums across the marketing organization
Develop dashboards and reporting that provide leadership with reliable, actionable insights
Translate performance data into clear, concise executive narratives, including implications, risks, and recommended actions
Lead the development and facilitation of Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), owning storyline, structure, and final executive-facing deliverables for senior leadership audiences
Prepare presentations, readouts, and written materials for executive and senior leadership meetings, proactively framing decisions, trade-offs, and recommended actions
Serve as an extension of the Head of Marketing, managing priority intake, decision and issue escalation, and follow-through across leaders to ensure commitments turn into action
Serve as the primary liaison for firm/agency alignment, partnering with field leaders to translate requests into clear workstreams and advising the Head of Marketing on what to prioritize and execute
Serve as a strategic thought partner to senior marketing leadership, helping shape priorities, messaging, and decision framing
Own leadership operating rhythm for the Head of Marketing (staff meetings, 1:1s, exec forums), including agenda-setting, pre-reads, decision capture, and follow-ups
Enable effective communication across senior stakeholders by synthesizing inputs, clarifying decisions, and aligning execution
Drive strategic prioritization for the organization (annual priorities, OKRs, and cross-functional commitments), ensuring alignment to business outcomes and capacity
Lead the annual and multi-year marketing planning and budgeting process, in close partnership with Finance
Develop business cases, investment proposals, and ROI narratives to support strategic initiatives
Track and manage marketing spend, capacity, and headcount against approved plans
Ensure disciplined execution while enabling flexibility to respond to evolving business priorities