Content and Editorial Strategist

Position:

Content and Editorial Strategist

Reports to:

Marketing Manager

Compensation:

This is a full-time, exempt, grade 6 position

Date:

April 2025

Summary:

The Content and Editorial Strategist is responsible for creating, planning and prioritizing, and executing on content and editorial strategies to drive business growth goals, primarily strengthening the brand and thought leadership and boosting qualified leads and conversions. This position works across a marketing team and resources to achieve content marketing responsibilities such as editorial quality, positioning and personalization, SEO, organic ad advertising copy, website management, social content, and email marketing.

Responsibilities:

• Develops messaging and translates it into creative and meaningful narratives for Vanguard Charitable audiences, with a focus on engaging with the brand, driving growth, and retaining clients.
• Ensures the highest quality of content is consistently delivered to audiences through a robust editorial and review process.
• Conducts efficient and thorough research of the content needs and communication preferences for priority audiences, including segmented donor and prospective client groups, regulatory and governing bodies, and media/public relations.
• Stays abreast of industry, regulatory, market, and competitive trends to ensure effectiveness of communications.
• Interprets internal and external data of high complexity using conceptual thinking and business acumen to derive key insights for strategic content initiatives.
• Understands customer segmentation and behavior data, corporate and product-level value propositions, and available communication channels to create effective content strategy and tactics.
• Regularly interacts with content, product, research, advertising, client services, business development and design team members to produce quality content that aligns with the established strategy.
• Understands and effectively communicates trends and changes within Vanguard Charitable, competitor donor-advised funds, the regulatory environment, and the broader market to key end audiences, including prospective and current clients, internal staff, leadership, and the press.
• Manage content and editorial projects for marketing messaging, editorial calendars, sales, and client communication programs that may include email campaigns, brochures, creative briefs, talking points, client letters, advertising copy and more.
• Manages content projects from inception through implementation ensuring project deadlines set with Marketing Manager, automation, product and campaign teams are met. Collaborates to define project scope and requirements, establishes timeline, and ensures timely completion of deliverables. Looks for ways to assess success of deliverables.
• Optimizes content effectiveness across all channels including collateral, emails, social, and website. Coach content team to independently apply best practices of enhancing metadata for search engines, including on-page SEO elements such as title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and internal linking structure, with an outline process and adjusting to competitive changes.
• Member of team supporting media relations efforts, including the crafting of content for crisis management, media preparation and interviews, and holding statements.
• Drafts all new complex content and communications for Vanguard Charitable. Reviews the drafting, editing, and proofreading of marketing/sales content by others. Acquires necessary operational, legal and management approvals for all communications.
• Coaches content team members to do research and analysis to identify opportunities for organic traffic growth and optimize website content and metadata for search engines, demonstrating discipline in prioritizing and problem-solving.
• Works with their supervisor to create a culture of creativity and audience-intent centered curiosity and storytelling while developing organic, editorials, emails or ad copy.
• Participates in special projects and performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• College degree in journalism, communications, or writing or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of five years of experience in roles with progressive content development responsibilities, including leveraging research and analysis to form a position
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Proven ability to derive meaningful insights from analysis
• Proficient in content promotion tactics and operations including SEO and SEM efficiency, editorial and narrative, and effective advertising tactics.
• Ability to learn new concepts quickly and complete multiple, diverse assignments with high quality
• Knowledge of nonprofit sector and donor-advised funds, a plus.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft applications (PowerPoint, Word, and Excel)