Description

Follett Content Solutions has been a trusted partner for educators since 1873! We support our educators that touch more than 45 million students worldwide. Follett Content Solutions helps build a diverse collection of print and digital resources to support every student. We are currently hiring for a Director, Brand & Content within our marketing department. This position is a full-time exempt role. The pay for this position is $110,000.00 -$150,000 annually. This position will be a hybrid position with Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays in our McHenry, IL office and Wednesday & Fridays with work from home days. For the right candidate, we will consider remote. We offer an array of benefits, to see those benefits click here.

Any pay range disclosed is based upon a combination of neutral factors such as required qualifications, experience, education, skill, training, certifications, seniority, etc. Follett Content Solutions reserves the right to provide any successful candidate a salary at the most appropriate level set as a result of such candidate’ qualifications, experience, education, skill, training, location, certifications or seniority.

Position Overview

The Director, Brand & Content is a senior marketing leader responsible for building, protecting, and activating the Follett Content brand across every audience, channel, and touchpoint. Reporting to the VP of Marketing, this leader owns the full brand and content ecosystem - from brand strategy and positioning to content development, PR and communications, creative services, paid media, thought leadership, social media, and marketing project management and traffic operations.

This is a highly visible, cross-functional role that serves as the strategic connective tissue between brand, content, demand generation, and the broader business ensuring that every piece of content, every creative asset, and every communication is differentiated, on-brand, and measurably connected to business outcomes. This leader will partner closely with pillar business leads across Library and Classroom, Sales, and executive leadership while directly managing a team.

The ideal candidate brings equal command of brand strategy and operational execution - someone who can set a creative vision and champion it, develop a communications framework and ensure it is consistently applied across the organization, and foster a collaborative, feedback-rich environment where creative ideas can thrive and evolve. This is a role for a builder, a collaborator, and a storyteller who can roll up their sleeves when the business demands it and who understands that brand is not just what we say, it is how we show up in every interaction with every audience we serve.

Key Responsibilities:

Brand Strategy & Leadership 

• Own the Follett Content brand. Define, document, and steward brand positioning, voice, visual identity, and messaging architecture across all internal and external touchpoints.
• Champion brand standards and architecture. Provide strategic oversight of the brand style guide, design system, naming conventions; partner with Manager of Creative Services who owns day-to-day development, maintenance, and enforcement of brand standards across teams, partners, and channels.
• Translate business strategy into brand narrative. Partner with the VP, Marketing, pillar GMs, and executive leadership to ensure brand communications reflect strategic priorities and evolve with the business.
• Lead competitive and market intelligence. Monitor brand trends, competitor positioning, and industry dynamics to inform strategic recommendations.
• Report on brand health. Define brand KPIs, establish measurement frameworks, and present quarterly brand insights/performance to leadership and the broader marketing team.
• Stay current on brand, content and communications trends across the K-12 and public library market. Bring forward recommendations for how Follett Content’s brand expression and storytelling should evolve to remain relevant and differentiated.

Content Strategy & Execution

• Own the overall content strategy. Set the vision, framework, and priorities for content across our business – spanning video production, blogs, case studies, white papers, ads, webinars and social – empowering the content team to drive development and execution against that strategy.
• Drive content marketing performance. Hold strategic accountability for all content marketing initiatives that drive awareness, engagement, and qualified leads in support of revenue growth and retention; in partnership with VP of Marketing, establish KPIs and ensure the team is resourced and aligned to deliver against them. Create and share presentations on content program approaches and results with key stakeholders and partners, as needed.
• Own industry association and media partnerships. Serve as the relationship owner for key industry associations and media partners including Future Ready Librarians, ALA, AASL, eSchool News, iRead and CSLP; manage partnership strategy, co-marketing opportunities, and sponsorship alignment to ensure maximum brand visibility and impact.
• Oversee thought leadership and influencer programs. Provide strategic direction and oversight of thought leadership initiatives and influencer partnerships; ensure programs are aligned to brand positioning and audience priorities.
• Champion social media strategy and performance. Ensure channel strategy, content pillars, and performance are aligned to broader objectives and audience priorities; provide guidance, remove roadblocks, and serve as final approver on strategic direction and high-visibility content where necessary.
• Own paid media and media buys. Execute paid ads, display, and paid sponsorship opportunities; ensure media spend is tracked in budget and aligned to business/campaign goals and tracked for ROI purposes.
• Emphasize strategic connection. Serve as the strategic connective tissue between brand/content, marketing strategy/demand gen, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure efforts properly support business initiatives and outcomes.

Project Coordination & Operations Oversight

• Provide management oversight of project coordination. Support/guide Manager of Creative Services in their ownership of the project management platform and traffic management; review and weigh in on productivity and timeline reporting surfaced by the Manager and ensure project coordination standards are being met consistently across the team.
• Approve and align on marketing calendar priorities. Serve as the director-level decision maker on marketing calendar prioritization, acting on recommendations brought forward by Mgr. Creative Services and cross-functional stakeholders; ensure final priorities reflect strategic objectives, business needs, and revenue impact.
• Champion structure and flexibility. Endorse and support the process owned by the Mgr. Creative Services for handling urgent, out-of-queue requests; provide director-level guidance and decision making when prioritization or escalation is needed.

Public Relations (PR) & Communications

• Own the PR and communications strategy. Keeps abreast of industry/market news and sets the vision, framework, and priorities for PR, media relations and internal/external communications ensuring all efforts ladder up to brand positioning and business objectives. 
• Lead and develop the communications/PR function. Manage Communications/PR lead, providing strategic direction and editorial oversight where necessary; review and approve press releases, media pitches and key messaging before distribution.
• Oversee customer-facing marketing communications. Ensure all customer-facing communications adhere to brand standards and produce copy that is accurate, on-brand, and effective in capturing the attention of target personas.
• Maintain senior media and PR relationships: Serve as a senior point of contact for top-tier media and industry press; support Communications/PR lead in building and nurturing a broader network of contacts over time.
• Oversee internal communications strategy. Partner and manage the Communications/PR lead who owns day-to-day development and execution of internal comms; ensure executive and company-wide communications are strategic, consistent, and aligned and provide review/approval of announcements, org updates, and employee-facing content for tone, accuracy, and alignment with approved messaging.
• Drive performance and accountability. Establish KPIs for PR and communications; review reporting on reach, sentiment, and impact; make strategic adjustments based on results.

Creative Services

• Set and champion creative vision. Define the overarching creative direction, quality bar, and brand design principles that guide output from the creative services team ensuring every deliverable reflects brand standards and serves strategic objectives.
• Provide strategic oversight of the creative services function. Partner with the Manager/Creative Services to ensure the design team, copywriters, proofers, and freelancer pool are resourced, aligned, and consistently delivering at a high level; serve as a champion and advocate for the team’s work across the organization.
• Champion the brand design system. Provide strategic oversight of templates, style guides, and the Storefront/Locker library; provide necessary support to ensure systems are current, organized, and accessible across teams.
• Serve as senior creative approver and escalation point. Weigh in on high-visibility, high-impact creative output; serve as director-level escalation point for creative challenges, brand standard disputes, or resourcing issues that require cross-functional resolution. 
• Ensure cross-functional creative alignment: Serve as the senior liaison between creative services and the broader marketing organization ensuring creative output is strategically aligned to business priorities and escalating resourcing or capacity restraints to the VP of Marketing as needed. 

Budget and Resourcing Responsibility

• Support the annual budget process. In partnership with VP Marketing, develop and submit annual budget, related reports, and supporting rationale; contribute to reforecasting process as business needs evolve.
• Monitor and manage expenses. Track all brand/content related expenses consistently; ensure spending meets or stays within budget and flag variances proactively.
• Ensure timely financial administration. Submit expenses and invoices accurately and in a timely fashion in accordance with company processes and expectations.
• Manage staffing and contractor resource. Evaluate full-time, part-time, freelance, and contractor needs to support workload; oversee vetting, contract negotiations, onboarding, and ongoing management ensuring all contractors and freelancers have an appropriate agreements in place with FCS and that we are actively managing to it.

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive marketing leadership experience, with a strong track record in brand strategy, content marketing, and marketing communications; experience in preK-12 education, publishing, or library markets strongly preferred.
• Proven B2B marketing expertise with demonstrated success building brand presence, driving content performance, and supporting pipeline and revenue growth across complex, multi-segment businesses.
• 5-7 years of direct experience building, leading, and overseeing marketing communications, creative, and/or content teams - including direct reports, freelancers, and cross-functional contributors.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and align stakeholders at all levels - from individual contributors to executive leadership - in a matrixed, cross-functional environment.
• Strong strategic decision-making skills with the ability to leverage an understanding of business models, market dynamics, and organizational priorities to drive clear, confident recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong presence in presentations, executive communications, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Proven project management skills with a history of successfully leading and delivering complex, multi-workstream initiatives on time and within budget
• Strong analytical foundation with the ability to translate data, market research, and performance insights into actionable brand and content strategies.
• Deep understanding of marketing systems, tooling, and process optimization - including familiarity with platforms such as HubSpot, project management tools, and content management systems.
• A leadership style that motivates, develops, and holds teams accountable - with a clear ability to accomplish results through others and foster a high-performance team culture.
• Sense of urgency balanced with strategic patience; able to make tough decisions quickly, drive simplification, and champion innovation without sacrificing quality or brand integrity.
• Flexibility and composure in the face of ambiguity, shifting priorities, and a fast-paced, ever-evolving business environment.
• Perpetual curiosity and a genuine passion for education, literacy, and the markets we serve; have the drive to deeply understand our products, personas, and competitive landscape to develop best-in-class brand and content experiences. 

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment and need assistance or an accommodation in the application process due to a disability, please contact us by email or phone.

• Email: Send request to fcshr@follettcontent.com
• Phone: Request assistance by calling 708-884-8526

When contacting us, please provide your contact information, the job position or title, and state the nature of your accessibility issue.