Consulting Marketing Lead - Technology, Insights, Analytics, AI

Zs Associates; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

ZS in Chicago is seeking a Growth Marketing Lead to shape marketing strategy for technology, insights, analytics and AI capabilities. You will partner with business leaders and cross-functional teams to translate priorities into portfolio direction and compelling market narratives.

The role emphasizes independent thinking, executive-level communication and the ability to drive growth through analytics, thought leadership and sales enablement materials. Hybrid work may apply.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years in marketing/portfolio strategy or consulting advisory.
• Strong recommendations, value propositions and messaging experience.
• Excellent analytical skills and data-driven storytelling.
• Ability to translate technology and AI topics into strategy and narratives.
• Effective stakeholder management and cross-functional influence.
• Ability to lead complex workstreams with ambiguity.
• Clear, persuasive communication and executive-ready materials.
• Experience aligning customer insights with portfolio priorities.

Responsibilities

• Develop market strategy, portfolio direction and growth planning.
• Translate insights into portfolio strategy and market narratives.
• Collaborate with leaders to align messaging and priorities.
• Support thought leadership planning and sales enablement materials.
• Lead cross-functional teams and manage delivery timelines.

Skills

Marketing strategy

Portfolio strategy

Commercial strategy

Consulting experience

Analytical thinking

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

ZS is a place where passion changes lives. As a management consulting and technology firm focused on improving life and how we live it, we transform ideas into impact by bringing together data, science, technology and human ingenuity to deliver better outcomes for all. Here you'll work side-by-side with a powerful collective of thinkers and experts shaping life-changing solutions for patients, caregivers and consumers, worldwide. ZSers drive impact by bringing a client-first mentality to each and every engagement. We partner collaboratively with our clients to develop custom solutions and technology products that create value and deliver company results across critical areas of their business. Bring your curiosity for learning, bold ideas, courage and passion to drive life-changing impact to ZS.

Growth Marketing Lead - Technology, Insights, Analytics, AI

ZS is seeking a Consulting Marketing Lead - Technology, Insights, Analytics, AI to lead significant components of consulting marketing and portfolio strategy work across ZS's technology, insights, analytics and AI capabilities. This role will partner closely with business leaders, consulting teams, Demand Generation and other marketing functions to translate business priorities, market insights, competitive intelligence, client needs and ZS expertise into clear positioning, messaging, portfolio direction, strategic recommendations and sales enablement materials.

You will develop the strategic foundations that guide marketing investments and go-to-market plans, ensuring that audience engagement, content, thought leadership and sales enablement are aligned to business objectives and delivered with impact across the marketing ecosystem. This role does not directly own campaign activation or execution; instead, it partners with Demand Generation and other marketing functions to ensure activation is grounded in clear strategy, positioning and audience insight.

This role requires independent thinking, stakeholder influence and the ability to connect customer insight, competitive intelligence, positioning, messaging and sales enablement needs to business impact. Success requires strong analytical judgment, strategic thinking, executive communication and the ability to translate complex market and business information into clear direction and action.

What You’ll Do:

Market strategy, portfolio direction and growth planning

• Develop a deep understanding of ZS's technology, insights, analytics and AI capabilities, including market opportunities, priority offerings, competitive dynamics, customer needs and stakeholder priorities.
• Lead market opportunity assessments and growth analyses to identify new business opportunities.
• Translate business priorities, market insights and client needs into portfolio strategy recommendations, growth strategies, positioning and market narratives.
• Contribute to annual marketing plans, quarterly business reviews, launch planning and portfolio evolution for supported solution areas, practices and ventures.
• Identify new opportunity areas or marketing claims that deliver competitive advantage.

Positioning, messaging and market-backed narratives

• Develop business and stakeholder strategies and messaging that are well-aligned to company brand, priorities and key messages.
• Develop positioning, messaging frameworks, value propositions and executive-ready narratives that support clear market differentiation.
• Partner with business leaders and SMEs to translate market trends, competitive intelligence, client needs, ZS expertise and business priorities into market-backed points of view and strategic artifacts.
• Collaborate on strategic narrative and thought leadership planning to identify differentiated points of view.
• Lead creative processes and brainstorming to identify novel solutions.

Thought leadership, strategic artifacts and sales enablement

• Partner with business leaders, consulting teams and Marcomms colleagues to develop market-backed strategic artifacts, thought leadership inputs and intellectual capital.
• Translate strategic narratives, market insights and positioning into sales enablement materials, proof-point packages and outreach tools that client-facing teams can use in business development conversations.
• Support development of frameworks, trend summaries, practice approach collateral, executive-ready materials and other strategic artifacts that can be amplified through campaigns and client engagement.
• Help business leaders connect portfolio decisions, market priorities and messaging to enterprise objectives and client needs.
• Partner with Demand Generation and other marketing functions to ensure go-to-market plans are grounded in clear strategy, positioning and audience insight.

Insights, analytics and performance learning

• Integrate multiple data sources, including customer insight, competitive intelligence, portfolio analysis and marketing performance data, to solve ambiguous strategic problems.
• Analyze marketing campaign data to deliver insights and recommendations.
• Use insights to inform messaging, portfolio direction, strategic recommendations and future planning.
• Support structured documentation of strategies, strategic artifacts, assets and outcomes so learnings can inform future planning and decision making.

Stakeholder leadership and cross-functional alignment

• Independently drive stakeholder discussions and alignment with business leaders, consulting teams and cross-functional marketing partners.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to supported business areas, helping leaders assess where to play, how to win and how to align marketing and portfolio decisions to enterprise priorities.
• Own complex, multi-phase projects, managing deliverables to timelines and budgets.
• Effectively prioritize and actively manage cross-functional team delivery and alignment.
• Develop clear, executive-ready recommendations, presentations and decision materials.
• Mentor and invest in others for team success.

What You’ll Bring:

• 5-8 years of experience in marketing strategy, portfolio strategy, commercial strategy, consulting or related advisory roles.
• Strong experience developing recommendations, business cases, value propositions, positioning, messaging or executive-ready materials.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort integrating multiple data sources into a cohesive story.
• Ability to translate complex technology, insights, analytics and AI topics into clear decisions, actions and strategic narratives.
• Effective stakeholder management and ability to influence cross-functional partners.
• Ability to lead moderately complex workstreams independently and manage ambiguity.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex insights into clear, persuasive recommendations.
• Experience connecting customer insight, competitive intelligence, market analysis, portfolio priorities and business objectives to strategic direction.
• Ability to develop market-backed narratives, value propositions, sales enablement materials and thought leadership inputs.