Sr Manager, Brand Content & Thought Leadership at Blackbaud

Job description

Blackbaud is seeking a Senior Manager, Brand Content & Thought Leadership to shape how our brand shows up through the ideas, insights, perspectives, and stories we bring to market. This role will own Blackbaud’s brand narratives and integrated content and thought leadership strategy, strengthening our brand reputation, building market authority, and supporting corporate growth objectives. Reporting to the Head of Brand Marketing, this leader will oversee a team spanning thought leadership, Blackbaud Institute research and publications, customer storytelling, editorial content, and owned content channels. They will serve as the connective tissue across our brand narratives, proprietary research, customer evidence, expert perspectives, and thought leadership, ensuring everything works together to tell a differentiated and compelling story in the market. Key Responsibilities Content & Thought Leadership Strategy Own Blackbaud's brand narratives and integrated content and thought leadership strategy, defining the themes, perspectives, and priorities that strengthen our brand and market position. Develop annual and quarterly content priorities and plans that bring together research, thought leadership, customer stories, expert perspectives, and editorial initiatives around Blackbaud’s priority narratives. Develop big-picture, creative content and thought leadership ideas that bring our brand narratives to life in distinctive and compelling ways. Identify opportunities to strengthen Blackbaud's brand-level authority on key industry topics and emerging trends. Blackbaud Institute & Research Strategy Provide strategic oversight for the Blackbaud Institute, ensuring research and insights advance Blackbaud’s priority brand narratives and thought leadership. Identify opportunities to connect proprietary research with customer evidence, expert perspectives, and broader content initiatives to create differentiated points of view. Partner with the Blackbaud Institute Research and Content Lead to ensure the Institute roadmap supports broader brand and business priorities. Editorial & Owned Content Strategy Lead editorial strategy for ENGAGE, the ENGAGE Podcast, and future owned thought leadership channels. Ensure content themes, publishing priorities, and editorial plans are aligned across the organization. Establish content governance, standards, and editorial best practices. Drive consistency, quality, and audience relevance across all content types. Search, Discoverability & Content Innovation Partner with Blackbaud’s digital team to activate an effective brand-level discoverability strategy, including GEO and AEO. In partnership with Blackbaud’s digital team, respond to evolving search behaviors and emerging AI-driven content consumption trends. Support team to best practices for AI-enabled content development and content engineering. Drive innovation and shared standards across Global Marketing for content creation, distribution, and performance measurement. Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration Lead, coach, and develop a team responsible for research and insight-based content, customer storytelling, and editorial content. Set priorities, allocate resources and budgets, and create clarity around team goals and accountability. Partner across Vertical Marketing, Data Insights Center of Excellence, Digital Marketing, Corporate Communications, Customer Marketing, Customer Success, and Executive Leadership teams to advance a connected brand narrative and content strategy. Measurement & Performance Establish KPIs and success metrics across content and thought leadership programs. Use performance, audience, and market insights to evaluate impact and continuously optimize content investments. Qualifications 10+ years of experience in content marketing, thought leadership, editorial strategy, communications, or related disciplines. Experience leading high-performing content teams and complex, cross-functional initiatives. Demonstrated