Director, Marketing Management

If you’re passionate about becoming a Nationwide associate and believe you have the potential to be something great, let’s talk. At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

This hybrid position is based is in Columbus, OH. Candidates located near a Nationwide campus will collaborate in office 3 days per week and enjoy the flexibility of remote work the remaining days. Current Nationwide Remote Associates will also be considered.

We are seeking a strategic, results-driven marketing leader to serve as the Director of Marketing for our Group Benefits business. This individual will lead the end-to-end marketing strategy, execution, and team leadership to drive growth, brand equity, and customer engagement. This role is pivotal in elevating our brand in a key growth segment and ensuring our products reach the right audiences effectively to enable a thriving selling environment.

Strategic marketing leadership –

• Serves as the primary marketing leader for the Group Benefits business, responsible for aligning marketing strategy with business goals and delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Leads the development and execution of integrated marketing strategies based on deep customer insights, business priorities, and sales alignment.
• Champions the brand identity of Stop Loss and Voluntary Benefits across all touchpoints, ensuring consistent, compelling messaging and market positioning.
• Translates business objectives into actionable marketing plans that drive acquisition, retention, and engagement across target audiences
• Synthesizes data, market intelligence, and internal business knowledge to inform strategy, identify opportunities, and drive innovation.
• Define, manage, and optimize the marketing budget to ensure strategic investments and ROI.

Digital marketing expertise –

• Brings a modern digital mindset, with proven success in leveraging digital channels, tools, and tactics to effectively engage audiences and accelerate performance.
• Applies a test-and-learn approach to digital campaigns and continuously optimize for impact and efficiency.

People and team leadership and cross functional collaboration –

• Builds, leads, and inspires a high-performing marketing team, balancing strategic direction with hands-on execution.
• Acts as a player-coach, developing team members while driving results.
• Provides day-to-day leadership of team operations, including performance management, professional development, and workflow optimization.
• Fosters a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and continuous learning through mentorship and coaching.
• Attracts, retains, and grows top marketing talent, ensuring the team evolves with the needs of the business.
• Acts as a strategic partner to senior leaders across Sales & Distribution, Product, Finance and other enterprise functions to ensure seamless alignment and execution.
• Support business integration efforts through proactive collaboration, clear communication, and stakeholder engagement.

Proven experience in leading B2B or B2B2C marketing for complex or regulated products (insurance or financial services experience preferred).

FINRA Series 6 and 26 preferred.

Job Description Summary

Are you ready to put your marketing savvy, communications skills and data driven approach to work for one of the top brands in the insurance and financial services industry? If you want to influence a large marketing investment spend, drive business growth and profitable results using the best in class marketing technology, we want to hear from you!

As a Director, you'll use marketing proficiencies to plan, direct, and control the activities of associates responsible for the development and/or execution of a wide variety of projects across broad strategies. Using highly advanced marketing principles and standard methodologies, you'll execute on future business or marketing needs driven by quantitative data/research, competitive insights and/or consumer behaviors. We'll count on you to ensure a strong focus on end-to-end customer experience, delivering outstanding customer experience overall.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Leads team in the development and execution of strategies and plans that ensure long term sustainable growth of the business. Synthesizes data and uses this understanding to support identification and innovation of business building solutions. 

• Directs team responsible for leading projects and processes within area of responsibility to deliver results with multiple target completion dates and shifting priorities.

• Oversees team that implements digital and traditional marketing tactics and media including creative development process, planning, and execution.

• Leads creative development and provides feedback on look and feel. Develops strong creative briefs.

• Monitors emerging innovative trends in content, design and marketing tactics

• Reviews and analyzes customer insights, analytics and tools to understand and forecast market, competitor and customer needs and behavior. Helps to define appropriate target audiences, evaluate sufficiency, and effectively get results with data-based decisions.

• Ensures programs are on strategy and on schedule; holds team accountable.

• Hires and develops talent, provides consistent coaching and feedback, administers performance and compensation recommendations. 

May perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Reporting Relationships: Report to Associate Vice President/Vice President; will manage a team of four or more Marketing professionals; may also lead a matrix and virtual teams.

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration or related field; graduate degree preferred. 

License/Certification/Designation: Technical insurance designations such as CPCU, CLU, ChFC, FLMI considered a plus. Additional licensing may be required to hold this position; and associates will need to acquire the required federal and/or state licenses/registrations within the designated time period. Additional licenses/registrations may be required when new products and services are implemented. If an associate fails to acquire required licenses/registrations within the time period designated by the business unit, the associate will be ineligible to continue in the position. 

Experience: Typically, 10 or more years of related professional experience in marketing, insurance or related field. Masters or doctoral degree may be substituted for a portion of the experience requirements as appropriate. Previous management or project leadership experience.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: In-depth knowledge of marketing methodologies, distribution systems, and customers. Demonstrated knowledge of insurance and/or financial services products strongly preferred. Knowledge of project leadership concepts and methodologies. Command of verbal and written skills. Ability to develop and review research studies and communicate research findings, present market recommendations based on findings, develop and negotiate contracts/service agreements with internal/external contacts, lead market planning projects, and maintain relationships. Ability to lead and prioritize projects. Excellent ability to train, lead and mentor associates in all aspects of market planning. Demonstrates excellent proficiency in core marketing competencies, including strategy development, utilization of insights and analytics, building brand equity and developing effective marketing communications. Command of and ability to role model and deliver customer focus, operating capabilities, personal efficiency, strategic capabilities and build talent.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, proficiencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and HR Business Partner.

Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions:

Overtime Eligibility: Exempt (Not eligible)

Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Ability to work extended and/or non standard hours based on project load. Travel as required.

ADA:  The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job.  Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties. 

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.