Responsibilities

• The Senior Brand & Content Lead within OpenStax at Rice University owns brand strategy, editorial voice, and external content and communications across the OpenStax K-12 and Higher Education markets.
• OpenStax is a nonprofit educational initiative of Rice University that publishes free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks and builds interactive teaching and learning tools used by students and educators across high school and higher education.
• Working under the direction of OpenStax marketing leadership, the Senior Brand & Content Lead develops and implements complex, multi-audience communications and marketing strategies; sets, governs, and enforces the OpenStax brand and style guide; leads public relations, media relations, and external communications; supports executive messaging; owns the editorial voice, content calendar, and the organization’s owned content channels, including the blog, newsletters, podcast, and social media; and serves as a core member of the cross-functional product marketing group, contributing to positioning, messaging, and sales-facing collateral.
• This is an individual-contributor role that drives cross-functional collaboration across marketing, product, design, sales, and leadership and provides expert guidance and mentorship to colleagues without formal supervisory authority.
• Oversees strategic long-range plans and programs to meet organizational objectives; crafts and defines the comprehensive communication and brand strategy; directs vendor relationships; innovates, writes, designs, and orchestrates production of marketing and communication materials; leads market-research and analysis initiatives; guides use of results for strategic marketing direction, product segmentation, and customer targeting; participates in university-wide and cross-functional initiatives; provides expert guidance and mentorship; owns brand strategy and governance for OpenStax across K-12 and Higher Education; leads PR and external communications; owns the editorial voice and content calendar; coordinates with growth/demand and events teams; serves as a core member of cross-functional product marketing; owns and grows OpenStax’s owned content channels; performs other duties as assigned.
• Partners with the Design Lead on brand execution across visual and written materials; supports development of sales and marketing materials in partnership with sales and marketing colleagues; contributes to a culture of learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement; performs other duties as assigned in support of OpenStax and Rice department objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience above and beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.
• Four or more (4+) years of experience in brand management, content strategy, communications, marketing, or public relations
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong leadership and strategic-management skills
• Strong project-management and organizational skills
• Strong organizational and creative skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong editorial and brand judgment, including experience developing or maintaining brand or style guidelines
• Ability to manage multiple content workstreams and editorial calendars simultaneously

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Writing, or a related field
• Eight or more (8+) years of experience in brand management, content strategy, communications, or public relations, including experience developing or maintaining brand or style guidelines
• Experience in a nonprofit, higher education, K-12, or edtech organization
• Experience owning brand or content strategy across more than one audience or product line simultaneously
• Direct experience with media relations, press outreach, or executive communications
• Experience contributing to product marketing or sales-facing collateral as part of a cross-functional group
• Familiarity with marketing automation or CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Pardot)

Benefits

• Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits