VP-Marketing Operations and Chief of Staff

Northwestern Mutual•Milwaukee, WI

7d•$196,000 - $294,000

About The Position

Partner closely with the Marketing leadership team, Chiefs of Staff in adjacent functions, and Finance to align business objectives and operational budgets. Enable strategic initiatives by coordinating workstream interlocks, providing visibility into outcomes, executing key priorities, and driving operational efficiencies. Responsibilities include leading Marketing’s Program Management Office (PMO), managing departmental capacity and budgets to optimize spend, and executing programs that support Marketing’s MYS plan, roadmap, and strategic vision. Support marketing ROI objectives and advise the VP and Head of Marketing using marketing performance data. Serve as the Head of Marketing’s internal marketing communications lead and support departmental change management initiatives. Lead Marketing’s annual planning process and strategic roadmap, track initiatives and execution, and establish executive reporting on Marketing’s business impact. Coordinate high-value cross-functional initiatives and special projects; manage meetings, communications, operational reviews, and change initiatives. Oversee budget processes and support the development of Marketing competencies, curriculum, and career growth planning in partnership with HR.

Requirements

At least 15 years of experience in Field Sales and Marketing roles, with progressively broader responsibilities in operations, program and/or process management, financial management, P&L ownership, and/or business leadership.
Understanding of sales cycles and product lifecycles and their impact on Marketing’s ability to drive demand and revenue.
Experience across B2B, B2C, and B2B2C marketing, including field enablement, cross-channel marketing, integration of offline and online advertising, attribution modeling, and marketing mix modeling.
Persuasive leadership experience driving initiatives with demonstrable outcomes, engaging executives, and supporting others in articulating a vision.
Deep analytical and problem-solving skills, including using data-driven approaches to assess markets, industries, financial models, and business models.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Prior experience in large global enterprise organizations, launching and scaling startups, or integrating startups into established mature organizations.

Responsibilities

Manage the annual planning process and strategic roadmap, including initiative tracking, KPI alignment, and dashboard updates.
Advise the Head of Marketing, serve as a sounding board or liaison when needed, and manage executive communications.
Establish protocols for capturing and documenting Marketing’s strategic initiatives.
Ensure impact-level marketing measurement and executive reporting on Marketing’s contribution to the business.
Create and facilitate staff meetings, supporting decision-making, follow-up tracking, reporting, and cross-functional visibility.
Coordinate annual marketing planning milestones, participants, actions, templates, and calendars, aligning Marketing goals with the company’s MYS.
Clarify emerging initiatives so the team can prioritize and resource them.
Manage cross-functional initiatives and special projects initiated by the Head of Marketing.
Identify and execute initiatives that improve long-term operational excellence, with clear milestones, success measures, and operational plans.
Connect employees across the department through a regular cadence of engagement and appropriate strategic assets.
Plan and develop content for internal communications, all-hands meetings, and operational reviews.
Deliver change management and communications for technology implementation, data policy, and process re-engineering within Marketing.
Research, benchmark, and analyze opportunities to improve efficiency; propose systems or processes as needed.
Oversee team budgeting, connecting strategic goals to budget allocation and ROI.
Coordinate budget issues and work with the team’s finance business partner to ensure actuals meet targets and are accurate.
Participate in developing team roles and responsibilities, competency assessments, and skills development as directed by the Head of Marketing.
Gather and share internal and external marketing best practices and promote a Center of Excellence approach to developing marketing skills.
Lead development of marketing curriculum and career growth planning in partnership with HR.