Newport News, Virginia
Hiring Range
$102,200.00 - $140,525.00/Annual
Actual pay is determined based on job-related factors such as relevant experience, education, credentials, skills, internal equity, and business needs.
This is a hybrid position. Candidates must reside within the local area or be within a reasonable commuting distance of the work location to support required onsite attendance.
Overview
The Senior Manager, Brand Strategy & Engagement serves as Riverside's brand steward and strategic leader for brand engagement, consumer perception, employee advocacy, brand intelligence and creative brand expression. Reporting to the System Director, Brand & Integrated Communications, this role is responsible for protecting, strengthening and activating the Riverside brand across key stakeholder touchpoints while ensuring brand strategies are informed by meaningful audience, employee and consumer insights.
The Senior Manager leads enterprise brand governance, consumer reputation initiatives, employee advocacy programs, brand engagement strategies and creative development efforts that strengthen awareness, trust, loyalty and affinity for Riverside.
The Senior Manager oversees the Brand Manager and Marketing Coordinator and works closely with Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Digital Content and operational leaders to ensure the Riverside brand consistently reflects the organization's mission, values and strategic priorities.
What you will do
- Brand Strategy, Governance & Stewardship
• Serve as the primary steward of the Riverside brand, ensuring consistent application of brand standards across organizational touchpoints.
• Oversee enterprise brand guidelines, including visual identity, voice, tone, messaging and brand architecture.
• Lead brand governance efforts to ensure consistency across communications, marketing, digital, events and community engagement activities.
• Partner with communications, marketing and operational leaders to strengthen the Riverside brand experience.
• Conduct ongoing brand assessments and recommend improvements that enhance brand consistency and effectiveness.
• Support naming strategies, signage initiatives, affiliations and enterprise brand decisions.
- Brand Engagement & Advocacy
• Serve as executive sponsor and strategic leader of Riverside's StoryMakers Creator Community.
• Lead Riverside's Brand Ambassador initiatives and employee advocacy programs.
• Partner with the Communications, Content Strategy, Earned Media & Public Relations to ensure alignment across Story Creators, Education Creators, Brand Ambassadors and Executive Voices initiatives.
• Create opportunities for authentic storytelling that deepen connections with employees, consumers and community stakeholders.
• Oversee creator engagement, recognition and participation strategies supporting sustained program success.
- Brand Insights, Reputation & Perception Strategy
• Lead Riverside's brand perception, consumer reputation and audience insight strategies.
• Serve as strategic lead for the Team Member Insights & Reputation Council, translating Riverside Voice findings and employee feedback into actionable brand, engagement and reputation strategies.
• Identify perception gaps and emerging trends impacting employee trust, culture, engagement and brand advocacy.
• Develop messaging frameworks and brand strategies that reinforce Riverside's culture, values and employer brand promise.
• Lead Riverside's Brand Strategy & Insights Team and establish a structured process for gathering, analyzing and applying employee, consumer and audience insights.
• Develop ongoing processes for monitoring reputation indicators, consumer feedback, online reviews, brand sentiment and audience perceptions.
• Partner with Human Resources, Internal Communications and executive leadership to align employee experience initiatives with brand objectives.
• Utilize insights to guide storytelling initiatives, engagement programs, employer brand strategies and brand improvement opportunities.
• Deliver recommendations that strengthen trust, credibility, alignment and long-term brand equity.
• Develop a strategic plan and operating model for the Brand Strategy & Insights Team, ensuring insights drive measurable brand improvements, messaging refinements and storytelling opportunities.
- Brand Creative Strategy & Traditional Media Development
• Lead brand strategy and creative development for traditional marketing assets, ensuring alignment with Riverside's brand standards, messaging framework and organizational priorities.
• Partner with Riverside designers to develop creative concepts, messaging strategies and visual assets for traditional media channels.
• Oversee development of print advertisements, radio creative, outdoor advertising, billboards, transit advertising and brand-awareness initiatives.
• Provide strategic direction and final brand review for traditional media creative prior to production and deployment.
• Partner with the Senior Manager, Digital Media & Performance Marketing to align creative strategies with audience targeting, campaign objectives and media plans.
• Ensure all creative assets effectively communicate Riverside's value proposition, reinforce brand positioning and strengthen consumer perception.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Communications and Public Relations teams to ensure consistency across paid, earned, shared and owned channels.
• Monitor effectiveness of brand creative and recommend enhancements based on audience insights, market trends and perception data.
- Team Leadership & Program Management (10%)
• Lead, coach and develop the Brand Manager and Marketing Coordinator.
• Establish departmental priorities, goals and performance expectations.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement and accountability.
• Guide resource allocation, workload management and program prioritization.
• Ensure successful execution of brand programs, engagement initiatives and strategic projects.
• Build organizational understanding of Riverside's brand strategy and engagement objectives.
- Brand Measurement & Insights
• Establish measurement frameworks that evaluate brand health, engagement, advocacy, reputation and participation.
• Monitor performance trends and engagement metrics related to brand initiatives and storytelling programs.
• Develop executive-level reports and recommendations demonstrating brand impact and effectiveness.
• Use insights and analytics to continuously refine and improve brand strategies.
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelors Degree, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Business Administration or a related field (Required)
Experience
- 5-6 years Progressively responsible experience in brand management, communications, marketing, consumer engagement or related disciplines. (Required)
- Demonstrated direct-to-consumer brand experience, including developing and activating consumer-facing brand strategies, integrated campaigns and audience engagement initiatives that build awareness, preference, trust and loyalty.
Skills and Abilities
- Experience developing and implementing brand strategies and engagement initiatives.
- Experience leading teams and developing marketing or communications professionals
- Demonstrated ability to translate research, insights and feedback into actionable business and brand strategies.
- Experience managing cross-functional programs and enterprise initiatives
To learn more about being a team member with Riverside Health System visit us at https://www.riversideonline.com/careers.
