About The Job:
The Senior Manager, Brand Content Strategy will own the brand content strategy for an assigned area end to end, shaping how the Northwestern Mutual brand shows up in the world through narrative, thought leadership, and integrated campaigns. This person will set the strategic direction, develop messaging frameworks and story arcs, and translate business and marketing priorities into content that builds trust, relevance, and engagement with priority audiences.

This role will lead content from strategy through execution, directing content creation using generative AI tools, internal content creators, and external agency and writing partners. The Senior Manager will develop briefs, guide content development, and edit, fact-check, and approve work to ensure everything that reaches the market meets a high bar for quality, accuracy, and brand consistency.

The Senior Manager will also play a critical role in connecting content across the broader marketing and communications ecosystem. Working across Brand, PR, Web, Social, Strategic Communications, business teams, and compliance partners, this person will help turn enterprise messaging and priorities into coordinated content experiences across channels, including thought leadership, brand campaigns, webinars, video, email, social, and web.

To do all of this, the Senior Manager, Brand Content Strategy will bring strong editorial judgment, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of audience needs. This person will steward brand voice, tone, and messaging while using performance data, emerging technology, and AI-enabled workflows to continually improve the quality, efficiency, reach, and impact of the content program.

What You’ll Do:

• Own the brand content strategy and editorial roadmap for an assigned area end to end, aligning content to business outcomes, marketing objectives, and audience needs while translating corporate messaging frameworks and business priorities into narrative platforms, story arcs, and strategic storytelling themes.
• Lead flagship content programs from strategy through publication, including thought leadership, brand campaigns, webinars, video, email, social, and web, and develop editorial points of view that build authority and relevance with priority audiences.
• Direct content production through generative AI tools, internal content creators, and external writing and agency partners, developing clear briefs and providing editorial direction, feedback, and iteration to produce compelling work at scale.
• Edit, fact-check, elevate, and approve content, ensuring everything that reaches the market meets a consistently high standard for quality, accuracy, clarity, and brand alignment.
• Champion AI-enabled tools and automated workflows as a lever for speed, quality, and scale, embedding emerging capabilities into day-to-day brand content production while maintaining strong editorial judgment and appropriate oversight.
• Amplify earned media and PR efforts by developing owned-channel content strategies that extend key stories, messages, and media opportunities across the broader brand ecosystem.
• Grow and deepen audience and client engagement across channels by creating content grounded in the needs and challenges of priority audiences, nurturing and advancing audiences through content journeys with narratives that build trust, relevance, and lasting affinity for the brand.
• Serve as a senior cross-functional partner across business, Brand, PR, Web, Social, Strategic Communications, channel, and compliance teams, connecting content strategy to broader activation plans and enterprise priorities.
• Mentor managers and content creators, providing editorial guidance, reviewing work, and helping foster a collaborative, high-performing culture focused on quality, innovation, and measurable business impact.
• Steward brand voice, tone, and messaging across touch points, ensuring consistency, clarity, and quality while adapting content appropriately for different audiences, formats, and channels.
• Define and report measures of success for the assigned content area, using performance data, content measurement tools, and GEO/SEO principles to evaluate effectiveness and continually optimize the content mix.
  

What You’ll Bring to the Role:

• Have a minimum of 7+ years of experience in brand, content strategy, editorial, content marketing, or a closely related field, with demonstrated experience owning a content or brand area end to end.
• Bring a strong foundation in writing and editing with the ability to recognize excellent content, understand what makes it effective, and provide precise, actionable feedback across long-form content, social, video, audio, email, and web.
• Demonstrate strong editorial judgment and hands-on proficiency with generative AI content tools and AI-assisted workflows, using emerging technology to accelerate content development and scale production without sacrificing quality, accuracy, or brand standards.
• Translate business and marketing priorities into clear, strategic briefs that inspire strong ideas and creative solutions rather than simply defining content outputs.
• Bring experience building narrative frameworks, strategic storytelling themes, and thought leadership platforms that connect brand priorities with the real needs, interests, and challenges of priority audiences.
• Excel at partnering across marketing and communications functions, including Brand, PR, Web, Social, Strategic Communications, business teams, and compliance, to build coordinated cross-functional content and activation plans.
• Understand how content performs across channels, with working knowledge of content measurement tools and GEO/SEO principles and the ability to use performance data to make informed decisions and optimize the content mix.
• Be a true owner of the work, capable of setting strategy and carrying it through execution while managing multiple partners, review cycles, formats, and channels.
• Bring strong judgment around brand voice, positioning, messaging, and the nuances of communicating with different audiences while maintaining a clear and consistent brand.
  

Skills You Have:

Content Management: Plans, develops, and oversees the creation, publishing, and lifecycle of content across platforms and channels; understands content strategy, editorial calendars, and how to scale production while maintaining quality and consistency.

Strategic Thinking: Uses critical thinking and knowledge of business demand to plan, design, prioritize, and execute high-impact initiatives and programs.

Cross Functional Partnering & Planning: Facilitates collaboration, communication, coordination, and planning with individuals and teams from different functions within the organization, and who have different areas of expertise, to achieve common goals.

Writing & Editing: Creates and edits persuasive content so that it is appealing, understandable, or relatable to the intended audience; has knowledge of the variety of formats, styles, and techniques for developing and reviewing materials – and applies that judgment to content produced with AI assistance.

Decision Making: Makes timely, data-driven decisions by understanding the probability of success, identifying risks, gathering business requirements, and developing value statements.

Project Management: Plans, organizes, and manages work to deliver on time and to standard across multiple stakeholders, review cycles, and publishing platforms.

Attention to Detail: Maintains accuracy and consistency across a high volume of content, ensuring compliance, brand, and editorial standards are met before anything ships.

Adaptability: Embraces and advances the use of new technologies and ways of working, evolving methods as tools and capabilities change.

#LI-Hybrid

Compensation Range:

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We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed but if you’re living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable, click here to learn more.

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Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes talented individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.