VP-Marketing Operations and Chief of Staff

Northwestern Mutual•Milwaukee, WI

About The Position

The VP-Marketing Operations and Chief of Staff partners with Marketing leadership, Chiefs of Staff in adjacent functions, and Finance to align business objectives and operational budgets. The role enables strategic initiatives by coordinating workstreams, making outcomes visible, supporting execution of key priorities, and driving operational efficiencies. It leads Marketing’s Program Management Office, manages departmental capacity and budgets, supports programs tied to Marketing’s MYS plan, roadmap, and strategic vision, and advises the VP and Head of Marketing using performance data to advance marketing ROI. The position also serves as the Head of Marketing’s internal communications lead and supports departmental change management. The role oversees annual marketing planning and the strategic roadmap, tracks initiatives and performance measures, coordinates executive reporting, and ensures strategic initiatives are documented. It organizes staff meetings and cross-functional programs, coordinates special projects, and maintains communications and engagement across the department. It also supports operational excellence, technology and process change initiatives, budgeting and ROI alignment, and 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 expansive 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 respective pressures on Marketing to drive demand and revenue.
Experience in B2B, B2C, and B2B2C marketing, including field enablement, cross-channel marketing, integration of offline and online advertising, and attribution 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 comfort 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 organization’s annual planning process and strategic roadmap, including tracking initiatives, confirming execution, and maintaining dashboard updates.
Work with leadership to determine key performance indicators, scope, and structure for the planning process.
Advise the Head of Marketing, serve as a sounding board and liaison or proxy when needed, and manage executive communications.
Oversee capture and documentation of Marketing’s strategic initiatives and establish an information protocol across the team.
Ensure impact-level marketing measurement and executive reporting on Marketing’s contribution to the business.
Create, plan, and facilitate staff meetings, supporting effective decisions and follow-up tracking and reporting.
Orchestrate the annual marketing planning process, including milestones, participants, actions, templates, and calendar, and align Marketing goals with the company’s MYS.
Clarify emerging initiatives so the team can prioritize and resource them.
Manage and coordinate high-value cross-functional initiatives and special projects initiated by the Head of Marketing.
Identify and execute initiatives that contribute to long-term operational excellence, with clear project milestones, success measures, and operational plans.
Manage department-wide employee connection and engagement, using appropriate strategic assets and a regular cadence.
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 for efficiency, and propose systems or processes to streamline work.
Maintain and oversee the team budgeting process, linking strategic goals to budget allocation and ROI.
Coordinate budget issues across the team to keep actuals on target and work with the team’s finance business partner to ensure accuracy.
Participate, as directed by the Head of Marketing, in developing team roles and responsibilities, competency assessments, and skills development.
Gather and disseminate 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.