VP-Marketing Operations and Chief of Staff

Northwestern Mutual•Milwaukee, WI

1d•$196,000 - $294,000

About The Position

Partner closely with the Marketing leadership team, Chiefs-of-Staff in adjacent functions such as Strategy and Field, 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. Lead Marketing’s Program Management Office, manage departmental capacity and budgets to optimize spending, and execute programs aligned with Marketing’s MYS plan, roadmap, and strategic vision. Focus on marketing ROI objectives and provide advice and consultation to 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. Manage the organization’s annual planning process and strategic roadmap, including tracking initiatives, verifying execution, updating dashboards, and working with leadership to define KPIs, scope, and process structure. Advise and support the Head of Marketing, manage executive communications, and oversee the documentation of strategic initiatives and information protocols. Ensure impact-level marketing measurement and executive reporting on Marketing’s business contribution. Plan and facilitate staff meetings, coordinate follow-up actions, and communicate decisions and updates to support cross-functional visibility and collaboration. Orchestrate annual marketing planning, manage high-value cross-functional initiatives and special projects, and clarify emerging initiatives so the team can prioritize and resource them. Drive operational excellence, employee engagement, internal communications, all-hands meetings, operational reviews, and change management for technology implementation, data policy, and process re-engineering. Research and benchmark opportunities to improve efficiency and propose systems and processes as needed. Oversee team budgeting and connect strategic goals with budget allocation and ROI. Coordinate budget issues, monitor actuals against targets, and work with the team’s finance business partner to ensure accuracy. Contribute to development of team roles, competency assessments, and skills development; share marketing best practices; promote a Center of Excellence philosophy; and develop marketing 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 responsibility 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 pressures on the Marketing organization to drive demand and revenue.
Experience in B2B, B2C, and B2B2C marketing.
Experience in field enablement, cross-channel marketing, integration of offline and online advertising, and attribution modeling and marketing mix modeling.
Persuasive leadership skills and experience driving initiatives with demonstrable outcomes, engaging with executives, and supporting others in articulating a vision.
Deep analytical and critical thinking skills.
Comfort using a data-driven approach to assess markets, industries, financial models, and business models.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in large, global enterprise organizations.
Experience launching and scaling startups or integrating startups into established, mature organizations.

Responsibilities

Manage the organization’s annual planning process and strategic roadmap, tracking initiatives and verifying execution and dashboard updates.
Work with leadership to determine key performance indicators, scope, and structure for the planning process.
Advise and support the Head of Marketing, serving as a sounding board, liaison, or proxy when needed, and managing 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 and facilitate staff meetings, support effective decision-making, and track and report follow-up actions.
Orchestrate annual marketing planning, including milestones, participants, actions, templates, and calendars, and align departmental goals with the company’s multi-year strategy.
Clarify emerging initiatives to help the team prioritize and allocate resources.
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 milestones, success measures, and operational plans.
Connect employees across the department through a regular engagement cadence 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 for efficiency, and propose systems or processes to streamline operations.
Maintain and oversee the team budgeting process, linking strategic goals to budget allocation and ROI.
Coordinate budget issues, ensure actuals meet targets, and liaise with the team’s finance business partner to ensure accuracy.
Participate in developing team roles and responsibilities, competency assessments, and skills development as directed by the Head of Marketing.
Gather and disseminate internal and external marketing best practices and promote a Center of Excellence approach to marketing skills development.
Lead development of marketing curriculum and career growth planning in partnership with HR.
Lead Marketing’s Program Management Office and manage departmental capacity and budgets to optimize spending.
Execute programs aligned with Marketing’s MYS plan, roadmap, and strategic vision.
Focus on marketing ROI objectives and provide advice and consultation to 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.