Marketing Communications & Engagement Senior Manager

Company Overview

Since 1943, Ochs has been providing clients comprehensive, custom and innovative employee benefit plans. During this time, we developed expertise in working with the public sector and pooling insurance, allowing us to offer competitive rates and rate stability.

Ochs is a subsidiary of Securian Financial Group and is located in St. Paul, Minnesota - we are Midwestern in our values, yet national in our scope. To bring clients the best possible solutions, we combine our own expertise with that of industry partners. By working together, we can deliver more value, more choice, and more support.

Ochs is driven by the belief that our continued success is based on providing exceptional service and earning our customers’ business every day.

Job Overview

The Marketing Communications & Engagement Senior Manager is a hands-on leadership role responsible for identifying marketing opportunities and developing, recommending, and implementing strategic marketing solutions that advance the Company’s overall strategic goals. The role exercises independent judgement in managing and leading the day-to-day execution of marketing initiatives and oversees marketing operations, communications, campaigns, client engagement initiatives, sales enablement materials, brand-related projects, and the work of the Marketing team, ensuring that recommendations and deliverables are accurate, timely, and aligned with the Company’s brand standards and approved strategic direction.

Key Responsibilities

Marketing Strategy and Organizational Alignment

• Identify differentiators, competitive advantages, and positioning opportunities for business development, client retention, and other strategically important initiatives.
• Evaluate business needs and stakeholder input to identify where marketing can address organizational challenges or create new opportunities.
• Develop and recommend strategic marketing solutions that directly support the Company’s overall strategic goals, growth priorities, client-retention objectives, sales enablement needs, and market position.
• Translate approved strategic priorities into defined marketing objectives, recommendations, work plans, and measures of success.
• Gather requirements and collaborate with the executive leadership, Sales, Client Services, and other internal stakeholders to refine proposed marketing strategies and ensure organizational alignment.
• Present strategic recommendations, supporting rationale, resource requirements, anticipated outcomes, and proposed measures of success to the Vice President, Service and Sales Enablement.
• Monitor approved marketing initiatives and recommend changes when results, business priorities, or market conditions indicate that an adjustment may be necessary.

Brand, Messaging, and Market Positioning

• Develop and maintain messaging frameworks, value propositions, differentiators, and brand standards consistent with the Company’s approved strategic direction, including related templates, and quality-control processes.
• Recommend positioning approaches for business development, client retention, high-profile pursuits, and other strategically important initiatives.
• Ensure consistent branding, messaging, quality, and strategic alignment across marketing channels and materials.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the Company’s market presence and communicate its value to clients, prospects, partners, and other key audiences.

Marketing Execution and Engagement

• Lead the development and execution of approved marketing campaigns, communications, presentations, digital content, enrollment communications, sales collateral, and client-facing resources.
• Lead marketing initiatives from concept through implementation.
• Create, edit, review, and finalize high-priority deliverables while balancing hands-on project work with team leadership responsibilities.
• Manage website content, social media, email communications, templates, and other marketing resources.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of marketing activities and provide recommendations regarding continuation, modification, or discontinuation.

Sales and Client Engagement Support

• Partner with Sales, Client Services, and other internal teams to develop strategic marketing solutions that support growth, retention, onboarding, enrollment, and client engagement.
• Support proposals, finalist presentations, business development communications, conferences, and client-retention initiatives.
• Recommend messaging, positioning, and engagement approaches for significant opportunities and high-profile pursuits.
• Coordinate marketing support for conferences, benefit fairs, enrollment meetings, and client events.

Team Leadership and Workflow Management

• Supervise and develop Marketing team members through coaching, feedback, regular team meetings, and one-on-one meetings.
• Translate approved marketing priorities into team assignments, project plans, timelines, and production expectations.
• Manage project intake, workloads, deadlines, resource allocation, and competing priorities.
• Review and approve routine marketing deliverables prior to publication or distribution, consistent with approved strategies, brand standards, and delegated authority.

Marketing Operations and Performance Reporting

• Monitor the effectiveness of marketing initiatives, reporting results, and recommending adjustments based on business needs, stakeholder feedback, and available performance information.
• Maintain marketing records, reporting, project schedules, timelines, and the annual marketing calendar.
• Establish appropriate project goals and performance measures for approved marketing initiatives.
• Recommend and implement approved process improvements that enhance marketing efficiency, quality, responsiveness, and effectiveness.
• Escalate and collaborate with the Vice President, Service and Sales Enablement on decisions involving material changes in strategic direction, brand positioning, organizational priorities, budget, resource commitments, or business risk to for approval.
• Manage relationships with carrier partners, vendors, and external marketing resources within approved parameters.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Public Relations, or related field.
• Eight (8) years of experience in marketing, communications, client engagement, brand management, or related work.
• Previous supervisory, team lead, project management, or workforce leadership experience preferred.
• Strong writing, editing, proofreading, presentation, and communication skills.
• Proven ability to develop marketing concepts and campaigns while contributing directly to the creation of deliverables.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working cross-functionally with internal teams and external partners.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and publishing or design tools.
• Experience with Salesforce, website management, email marketing, social media, and digital marketing platforms preferred.
• Employee benefits, insurance, financial services, professional services, or other highly regulated industry experience preferred.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work 40 hours per week
• Ability to utilize keyboard, mouse and computer for approximately 7.5 hours per day
• Ability to operate telephone throughout the workday
• Ability to lift/carry/push/pull up to 25 pounds

*The physical job requirements described above are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.*

Pay: $110,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Education

* Bachelor's (Required)

Experience

• Marketing: 8 years (Required)
• Management: 5 years (Preferred)
• Insurance: 2 years (Preferred)
• Salesforce: 1 year (Preferred)

Ability to Commute

* Saint Paul, MN 55101 (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Saint Paul, MN 55101