Senior Manager Content Strategy

Lumen; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 145,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

Lumen is seeking a Senior Manager, Content Strategy to drive messaging across programs, products, and customer journeys. You will lead a team, partner with Brand, Product Marketing, Communications, Digital Experience, and others to improve messaging effectiveness and reuse.

You will shape editorial practices, taxonomy, and governance, while influencing senior stakeholders and guiding complex initiatives in a fast-moving, AI-focused environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in Content Strategy, Editorial Strategy, Information Architecture, Messaging Strategy, or a related discipline.
• 2+ years of experience leading content professionals, teams, or major content programs.
• Advanced knowledge of messaging architecture, content strategy, editorial practices, and audience communication.
• Experience developing and applying messaging frameworks and content‑governance practices.
• Experience leading complex content initiatives across multiple functions.
• Experience improving content processes, systems, and reusable models.
• Experience presenting recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Experience influencing decisions across functions without direct authority.
• Strong systems-thinking, planning, facilitation, and project-leadership capabilities.
• Experience operating in complex and fast-changing environments.
• Experience in B2B technology marketing or customer communication strategy preferred.

Responsibilities

• Translate business, brand, customer, and creative priorities into actionable content plans and audience-specific approaches across programs, products, campaigns, channels, and experiences.
• Apply and advance practices in messaging architecture, editorial strategy, voice and tone, taxonomy, and content operations; advise senior stakeholders on alternatives and tradeoffs.
• Establish, apply, and improve standards for messaging, positioning, editorial quality, and content governance; resolve conflicts and align stakeholder needs.
• Lead development and adoption of content models, taxonomies, templates, modular frameworks, and lifecycle practices for personalization and reuse.
• Direct content strategy across customer journeys and omnichannel experiences to improve understanding and consistency.
• Coordinate the Message component across teams; present clear recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Establish measures for messaging clarity, usefulness, quality, consistency, and outcomes; use insights to refine approaches and practices.
• Lead, coach, and develop content strategists and editors; set objectives and manage resources.
• Improve intake, prioritization, planning, governance, and resource-management processes; balance planned initiatives with needs.
• Lead unusually complex work across programs and audiences, influencing brand consistency and campaign effectiveness.

Skills

Content Strategy

Editorial Strategy

Audience Strategy

Stakeholder Influence

Project Leadership

B2B Marketing

Job description

Lumen is the trusted network for the AI‑powered world, connecting people, data, and applications through our expansive fiber network and connected ecosystem. We enable secure, high‑performance connectivity across cloud, edge, and AI workloads for enterprises, governments, and communities.

At Lumen, you’ll work on infrastructure customers rely on today and build for what’s next, where performance, security, and resilience matter.

This is a high accountability environment where bold ideas drive real innovation for our customers, partners, and industry. The work is challenging, expectations are clear, and trust is built into how we operate. If you’re ready to take ownership, deliver meaningful impact, and help shape the future of AI‑ready connectivity, join us today.

The Role

Leads the Content Strategy team responsible for translating business priorities, customer needs, creative concepts, and established brand direction into clear, scalable messaging and content solutions. The role directs complex initiatives and advances messaging architecture, editorial practices, audience strategy, content systems, and governance to deliver consistent, audience-centered communication across channels and customer touchpoints.

Working within the broader content and creative strategy established by senior leadership, the Senior Manager sets team priorities, applies advanced functional expertise, and partners across Brand, Product Marketing, Communications, Digital Experience, Demand Generation, Design, Motion, Technology, and Operations to improve messaging effectiveness, content reuse, customer understanding, and team performance.

The Main Responsibilities

• Content and messaging strategy: Translate business, brand, customer, and creative priorities into actionable content plans, messaging frameworks, narrative structures, and audience‑specific approaches across programs, products, campaigns, channels, and experiences.

• Functional leadership: Apply and advance practices in messaging architecture, editorial strategy, voice and tone, taxonomy, information architecture, audience strategy, and content operations; solve complex communication challenges and advise senior stakeholders on alternatives and tradeoffs.

• Governance and consistency: Establish, apply, and improve standards for messaging, positioning, editorial quality, and content governance; resolve conflicts, align competing stakeholder needs, and escape decisions affecting enterprise strategy, policy, or positioning.

• Content systems and scalability: Lead the development and adoption of content models, taxonomies, templates, modular frameworks, and lifecycle practices that enable personalization, reuse, consistency, and reduced duplication and rework.

• Customer experience: Direct content strategy across customer journeys and connected experiences, identify communication gaps, and improve customer understanding and omnichannel consistency through intentional, audience-centered content design.

• Cross-functional partnership and influence: Coordinate the Message component of the broader Idea, Message, and Expression model; build alignment across creative and business functions; and present clear, evidence-based recommendations to senior stakeholders.

• Measurement and optimization: Establish measures for messaging clarity, usefulness, quality, consistency, scalability, delivery, and customer or campaign outcomes; create feedback loops and use performance insights to refine content approaches and team practices.

• Team leadership and capability development: Lead, coach, and develop content strategists, copywriters, and editorial contributors; set objectives and expectations, assign resources, remove barriers, strengthen functional capability, and support succession and workforce planning.

• Operational excellence: Improve intake, prioritization, planning, governance, review, and resource‑management processes; balance planned initiatives with emerging needs; manage capacity risks; and increase efficiency while maintaining quality.

• Scope and impact: Lead unusually complex work across multiple programs, audiences, products, and customer experiences, directly influencing messaging clarity, brand consistency, campaign effectiveness, customer understanding, stakeholder alignment, and team performance.

What We Look For in a Candidate

• 7+ years of experience in Content Strategy, Editorial Strategy, Information Architecture, Messaging Strategy, or a related discipline.

• 2+ years of experience leading content professionals, teams, or major content programs.

• Advanced knowledge of messaging architecture, content strategy, editorial practices, and audience communication.

• Experience developing and applying messaging frameworks and content‑governance practices.

• Experience leading complex content initiatives across multiple functions.

• Experience improving content processes, systems, and reusable models.

• Experience presenting recommendations to senior stakeholders.

• Experience influencing decisions across functions without direct authority.

• Strong systems‑thinking, planning, facilitation, and project‑leadership capabilities.

• Experience operating in complex and fast‑changing environments.

• Experience in B2B technology marketing or customer communication strategy preferred.

Compensation

This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors.

Location Based Pay Ranges

$132,232 - $176,310 in these states: AL AR AZ FL GA IA ID IN KS KY LA ME MO MS MT ND NE NM OH OK PA SC SD TN UT VT WI WV WY WA

$138,844 - $185,124 in these states: CO HI MI MN NC NH NV OR RI

$145,456 - $193,940 in these states: AK CA CT DC DE IL MA MD NJ NY TX VA WA

Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process.

Learn more about Lumen's:

Benefits (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/benefits-statement)

Bonus Structure

#LI-Remote

Life at Lumen

Life at Lumen is human and connected, even in a fast moving, AI‑focused organization. We set clear expectations and trust people to meet them. With real support and shared accountability, teams collaborate better, move faster, and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Our Lumen 8 behaviors guide how we interact, make decisions, and work together, shaping a culture built to perform and win.

Background Screening

If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/faq) . Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Equal Employment Opportunities

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status (collectively, “protected statuses”). We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training.

Privacy Notice

Lumen is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information collected during the recruitment and hiring process. Our Applicant Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect applicant information, as well as how individuals may request access to or deletion of their personal data.

To review Lumen’s Global Employment Applicant and Talent Community Privacy Notice, please visit:

https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/privacy-notice

Disclaimer

The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions.

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Please be advised that Lumen does not require any form of payment from job applicants during the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings will be posted on our official website or communicated through official company email addresses. If you encounter any job offers that request payment in exchange for employment at Lumen, they are not for employment with us, but may relate to another company with a similar name.