Senior Editorial Manager (Brand), DIG, Ruder Finn

Ruder Finn•Chicago, IL

5d•$120,000 - $140,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Ruder Finn’s Digital (DIG) practice brings together storytelling, strategy, social, influencer, analytics, and emerging technology to help brands connect with people in relevant and measurable ways. We believe the best work comes from curious minds, collaborative teams, and people who aren't afraid to challenge convention – or have some fun while doing it. We are looking for an experienced Senior Editorial Manager to join DIG and support our Brand Experience clients across food & beverage, consumer goods, health & wellness, and retail. This person will shape the stories, narratives, and short and long-form content that bring consumer brands and executive voices to life. Working closely with Brand Experience account leads and specialists across DIG, you’ll transform insights, trends, interviews, research, and timely brand moments into smart, engaging storytelling. Your work may include thought leadership articles, bylines, blog posts, executive LinkedIn content, speeches, op-eds, newsletters, reports, white papers, campaign narratives, case studies, press materials, and other owned, earned, social, and executive communications. The ideal candidate is a sharp storyteller, thoughtful strategist, strong editor, curious researcher, and collaborative partner who can move comfortably between brand, executive, and editorial styles. You know how to make complex ideas easy to understand, make familiar categories feel fresh, and turn cultural moments into content that is timely, media-worthy, and shareable. Most importantly, you bring energy, imagination, and a strong point of view to the work—and you’re always looking for the next great story.

Requirements

Approximately 8+ years of experience in writing, content strategy, journalism, public relations, marketing communications, editorial, or a related field with experience in consumer, brand, CPG and QSR.
Agency experience is strongly preferred
A portfolio of strong long-form writing samples, ideally including thought leadership, bylines, blog posts, executive communications, speeches, reports, case studies, white papers, or feature-style brand storytelling
Experience writing for consumer brands or categories such as food, wellness, lifestyle, parenting, retail, CPG, QSR, consumer tech, or other fast-moving consumer sectors
You can quickly understand a client's business, audience, voice, category, and communications goals, then translate that understanding into content that feels strategic and human.
You are a strong interviewer and researcher who knows how to find the story, pressure-test the angle, synthesize information, and build a clear argument without overcomplicating the work.
You have excellent editing instincts and can improve copy for clarity, structure, tone, flow, precision, and impact while preserving the intended voice.
You are tapped into trends, communities, and cultural moments, and you know how to turn emerging conversations into timely, ownable content ideas.
You are comfortable writing across channels and formats, from polished long-form pieces to headlines, social copy, messaging, press materials, and campaign language.
You are collaborative, curious, and proactive, with the confidence to share a point of view, ask smart questions, and help teams push ideas beyond the expected.
You are organized and deadline-driven, able to manage multiple writing assignments, feedback streams, and client priorities in a fast-moving environment.
You are comfortable using AI tools thoughtfully to support research, ideation, outlining, editing, workflow, and optimization, while maintaining strong human judgment and editorial integrity.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in advertising, communications, public relations, marketing, or a related field preferred
Bonus points for experience as a journalist, editor, speechwriter, executive communications writer, content strategist, or long-form brand storyteller.

Responsibilities

Create high-quality long-form content for consumer brand clients, including thought leadership articles, bylines, blog posts, executive LinkedIn articles, op-eds, speeches, newsletters, reports, white papers, case studies, campaign narratives, press materials, Q&As, and briefing documents.
Fluent in short-form copy skills as well, including attention grabbing headlines, taglines, social copy, key messages, captions, talking points, email copy, and promotional language, and translate key ideas into longer-form content.
Translate client business priorities, cultural trends, audience insights, research, interviews, and campaign ideas into clear, ownable narratives that connect to broader brand stories and measurable communications goals.
Partner with Brand Experience account leads to understand client objectives, category dynamics, consumer behaviors, competitive context, and the cultural moments shaping food, wellness, lifestyle, CPG, retail, parenting, and adjacent categories.
Develop content that make brand stories feel timely, useful, relevant, media-worthy, and shareable across earned, owned, social, executive, and internal channels.
Write in distinct brand and executive voices, adapting tone, structure, level of detail, and message for different audiences, formats, channels, and stakeholder needs.
Conduct research, interviews, trend scans, competitive reviews, and source gathering to build credible, well-supported content and sharpen strategic recommendations.
Collaborate closely with media, creative, strategy, social, influencer, analytics, and account teams so writing supports the larger campaign idea and ladders up to client priorities.
Bring proactive story ideas, content recommendations, editorial opportunities, and strategic pivots to client and internal teams, especially when the news cycle or cultural conversation shifts.
Edit and elevate content drafted by others, strengthening structure, clarity, voice, accuracy, headlines, openings, transitions, message pull-through, and overall readability.
Support client presentations and content planning by contributing to editorial calendars, message frameworks, content roadmaps, creative briefs, campaign plans, and new business materials.
Participate in brainstorms and pitch development, bringing a writer's eye for narrative, tension, audience value, and what makes an idea distinctive or memorable.
Maintain strong quality control across written materials, ensuring work is polished, accurate, on brief, on brand, and aligned with AP style or client-specific style guidance.
Manage writing workstreams with strong organization and accountability, balancing multiple deadlines, review cycles, stakeholders, and rounds of feedback without losing the thread of the story.
Stay current on culture, media, consumer behavior, content trends, AI-enabled search, editorial formats, and emerging storytelling tools, bringing smart learnings back to the team.