NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Are you ready to use your content creation, storytelling, digital marketing, and multimedia skills to expand the impact of a pioneering social enterprise and correct the vision of millions of low-income customers so they can work, learn, stay safe, and care for their families?

VisionSpring seeks a collaborative, technically savvy storyteller. The global senior manager of content marketing provides marketing leadership to scale up VisionSpring’s eyeglasses sales and Vision Access Programs across eight markets in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The person in this position develops creative campaigns to drive sales in a growing network 800+ mission-aligned institutional partners, such as eye hospitals, vision centers, NGOs, and government agencies, and accelerate the uptake of eyeglasses among end-consumers who live on less than $4 per day.

The global senior manager develops the global marketing content strategy and leads its implementation for B2B product sales campaigns and B2C behavior change communication. The person in this role develops messaging architecture and website content, and manages digital marketing to drive conversion, in addition to overseeing day-to-day content creation and in-market roll-out and amplification, event management, and marketing operations. The global senior manager develops team members through coaching, mentoring, and supporting stretch assignments in order to build VisionSpring’s marketing and communications capacity.

The global senior manager supervises five in-country marketing team members and works closely with the global communications manager, the global multimedia manager, and business development, programs, and fundraising colleagues across eight key markets—Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. This position reports to the global director of marketing and communications (based in Chicago, U.S.) and may be located in Nigeria or Ghana.

ABOUT YOU

• You are an excellent writer and storyteller. You light up when your cohesive, creative campaign resonates with your audience.
• You have an eye for design and love generating distinctive messaging that allows mission-driven organizations to do good, better.
• You are deeply curious about social enterprise models and the experiences of partners and customers. You are an organizational ambassador and inspire excitement.
• You find joy in collaborating with team members across cultures and time zones.
• You enjoy creating structure in a dynamic organization, have exceptional focus and follow-through, and prioritize before you act.

ABOUT US

• VisionSpring is creating access to affordable eyewear, everywhere. Clear vision creates opportunities for increased learning, work, safety, civic participation, and quality of life.
• As a social enterprise, social change motivates us first. Our focus on sales and revenue targets serves and advances our mission objective—to increase functioning, productivity, and income earning potential for our low-income consumers by correcting refractive error with eyeglasses.
• We are working to transform the systemic dysfunction of an optical market that has failed to deliver eyeglasses—a 700-year-old technology—to 1.1 billion consumers in need of vision correction, most of whom live on less than $4 a day.
• We serve low-income consumers, not as beneficiaries but as customers. Our customers expect a high-quality and affordable product, and they will spend limited discretionary income for the immediate and tangible benefits of vision correction.
• By selling eyeglasses, we awaken new demand and seed a viable market. By selling new eyeglasses we are able to serve four times as many people per dollar input than the alternative of donating recycled ones. To efficiently scale, we must deliver each new unit with lower cost.
• We run our business on both sales metrics and social impact measures. We use a range of organizational forms and practices to get the job done.
• We believe in scaling our impact, not our organization. We are a lean team of doers.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Strategy, Planning, and Reporting
• Co-direct, develop, and execute the strategic and long-term roadmap of the product, service, and strategic communications content plan to amplify VisionSpring’s story.
• Create and develop a content creation program, including co-directing the timing and implementation of the editorial calendar and process.
• Track content creation activities, prepare and submit content performance reports and plans to scale. Contribute to marketing and communications budget creation.
• Co-create and design a dynamic tactical content strategy and a 3-5-year content road map with key KPIs to measure success as VisionSpring creates, delivers, and publishes engaging content.
• Contribute to reports on marketing and communications metrics.

Content Creation, Development, and Oversight
• Work closely with the CEO, global director of marketing and communications, and the direct team to master the visual and written production of the VisionSpring “voice.”
• Capitalize on opportunities to teach colleagues how to create dynamic content with the VisionSpring voice.
• Prioritize and manage high-performance content including videos, social media posts, annual and quarterly reports, donor communications, product and program support materials, fact sheets, website collateral, briefings, newsletters, blogs, and scripts.
• Maintain VisionSpring’s brand throughout all content including appropriate use of logo, consistent look and feel, and messaging.
• Build and co-manage a team of direct reports and indirect management of international consultants to produce digital, print, and multimedia content for omnichannel publication.
• Oversee the management of content developed for in-market fundraising and business development while supporting program implementation.
• Collaboratively oversee communications, multimedia, project management, and marketing operations in key markets; manage global direct and indirect teams as they create and edit content, and contribute to the design of social media campaigns, grant proposals, digital and print materials for programs, products, press opportunities, and publicity amplification.
• Negotiate contracts with, and manage, supply chain of creative agencies and freelancers.

Website Content Development and Digital Marketing Management
• Collaborate with the global director of marketing and communications and website consultants to refresh and maintain VisionSpring’s website for greater lead generation and engagement.
• Inform a staged website redesign leveraging external UI/UX designers and coders.
• Design opportunities to improve visitor conversion to partner/donor.
• Support the continual improvement of international SEO website strategy.
• Leverage Google Analytics to develop future digital content strategy.
• Co-create and execute full lifecycle global multimedia campaigns.

WHAT’S REQUIRED

• Minimum of 15 years of experience in marketing, communications, and/or product management and 7 years of experience leading global teams and projects.
• Outstanding writing, editing, public speaking, and interpersonal communications skills.
• Leadership experience in campaign development and messaging architecture, including for branding, product/service sales, and consumer behavior change.
• Experience marketing to low-income consumers and/or clients serving this segment in global geographies.
• Eye for design and experience overseeing layout and graphics development, including use of Lightroom, Photoshop, and Adobe Premiere.
• Comfort using Google Analytics, Google Ads, and PPC.
• Impeccable attention to detail with strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Commitment to developing people and working respectfully across a diverse team.
• Must be legally and permanently authorized to work in Nigeria or Ghana.
• Able to travel, up to 25% of time, for domestic and international assignments to locations with limited infrastructure.
• You will impress us if you have any of the following: (1) Master’s degree in marketing, filmmaking, journalism, communications, or another relevant field; (2) Website management and knowledge of multimedia production process; (3) Experience with social enterprises and/or nonprofits; and/or (4) Understanding of marketing automation platforms.

COMPENSATION

• Salary range is $30,000-45,000 USD per year, based on breadth and depth of relevant experience.
• Annual performance-based bonus.

TO APPLY

• We want to know more than just what you have done. We want to know who you are. What are the passions and talents that draw you to this role?
• Please update your CV/résumé to include links to your portfolio of content marketing work AND a phrase or sentence describing the business of each organization where you have worked. Applications without this information are disadvantaged in the process.
• Please submit a complete application, including a thoughtful cover letter and CV/résumé, to https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/Details/1713343/VisionSpring-Inc/Global-Senior-Manager-Content-Marketing
• Please note, only candidates invited to interview will be contacted.
• At VisionSpring, diversity, equity, and inclusion are directly aligned with our core value to advance equity. Our mission is predicated on removing a fundamental barrier to full economic and social participation—uncorrected blurry vision. The values that underpin our mission energize our commitment to a diverse and inclusive team. A diverse team also allows VisionSpring to approach problems with nuance and develop unique insights that drive an outsized positive impact in the world. We actively recruit, develop, and retain talented people from diverse backgrounds and support everyone in being exactly who they are. VisionSpring is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes people from all experiences, abilities, and perspectives to apply.