Senior Director Brand & Product Marketing

Who we are

Semafor is a global news platform for an increasingly complex world in which consumers are overwhelmed by too many news sources and unsure what to trust. We are building Semafor to enable world-class journalists to deliver reporting and insights with rigor in journalistic forms that ensure a new level of transparency. Our editors and reporters distill the most important stories from all over in formats that uncover the forces shaping the stories, explain the interests behind polarizing narratives, and replenish the stock of shared facts. As a global platform, Semafor recognizes that smart people can disagree and that informed readers need to understand alternative points of view from competing centers of power and culture in a multi-polar world. Want to join us? Read on.


The Role

You will lead the strategy, narrative architecture, and market positioning that define how Semafor shows up to CEOs, policymakers, investors, and partners worldwide. Reporting directly to the Chief Brand & Strategy Officer, you will own the end-to-end brand and product marketing function-setting the vision for how Semafor's journalism, global convenings, and commercial platforms are positioned, packaged, priced, and brought to market. This is a senior leadership role that sits at the intersection of Brand, Editorial, Revenue, Product, and Events, requiring a rare combination of strategic sophistication, commercial acumen, and creative ambition.

You will define the frameworks, standards, and systems that enable disciplined experimentation, thoughtful product extension, and scalable growth. You will build and lead a high-performing product marketing team-including a Senior Director as your operational right hand-and serve as a senior strategic partner to executive leadership and priority commercial accounts. You will also own market research, competitive intelligence, and pricing strategy as core inputs to Semafor's commercial engine, ensuring that every product and partnership is grounded in rigorous market understanding.

This role requires someone who can operate at both the 30,000-foot strategic level and in the details of go-to-market execution, bringing the intellectual rigor and creative energy that matches the caliber of Semafor's journalism.
Your Responsibilities
1. Narrative Architecture & Brand Stewardship

• Own and continuously refine Semafor's enterprise-level narrative across masterbrand, products, regions, and stakeholder segments, developing clear messaging hierarchies, value propositions, and proof points that differentiate Semafor in the global political economy landscape.
• Ensure cohesion across B2B and audience-facing positioning, aligning brand expression across platforms and markets. Act as a strategic filter for new initiatives, partnerships, and extensions to ensure alignment with brand standards and long-term positioning.
• Translate brand strategy into practical frameworks that teams can apply consistently across materials, campaigns, and experiences.

2. Market Research, Competitive Intelligence & Pricing Strategy

• Own competitive intelligence, market research, and audience insight programs that inform product positioning, pricing, and go-to-market strategy. Build systematic approaches to understanding Semafor's competitive landscape and audience needs.
• Lead pricing and packaging strategy in partnership with Revenue Operations, establishing frameworks for monetization across digital, events, and integrated programs. Ensure pricing reflects market positioning and drives commercial performance.
• Develop and maintain competitive landscape analysis to identify differentiation opportunities, white space for new offerings, and strategic threats. Translate market feedback and client insight into refined positioning and product development priorities.

3. Product Marketing & Go-to-Market Strategy

• Set the strategic direction for product marketing across digital products, newsletters, global convenings, and integrated programs. Establish scalable go-to-market systems, materials, and playbooks that arm Revenue and Creative Strategy with clear positioning and packaging frameworks.
• Serve as a primary liaison between the Brand & Strategy Organization and Editorial, Product, and Events, partnering with business and editorial leadership to translate newsroom priorities and journalistic strengths into market-facing product opportunities.
• Establish repeatable launch frameworks for new products, refreshes, and expansions. Guide innovation from concept through launch, ensuring alignment with brand positioning and measurable business impact.

4. Revenue Enablement & Strategic Partnerships

• Equip Revenue with differentiated value propositions and market-facing narratives that strengthen pipeline and accelerate deal velocity. Ensure product marketing strategy directly contributes to revenue growth, renewal strength, and long-term account expansion.
• Support high-value, complex accounts in partnership with the Head of Creative Strategy by shaping integrated partnership frameworks and multi-platform investment narratives. Bring strategic clarity and creative thinking to business development conversations.

5. Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Integration

• Build and lead a high-performing Brand & Product Marketing team with clearly defined ownership areas and performance standards. Recruit, develop, and retain top talent, fostering a culture of generosity, ambition, accountability, and strategic thinking.
• Establish operating rhythms, workflows, and prioritization frameworks that balance speed with rigor. Manage resources thoughtfully to deploy finite capacity against the highest-impact opportunities.
• Drive alignment across Brand, Editorial, Product, Events, Revenue, and Creative Strategy on major initiatives and launches.

What Makes You Qualified

• 12+ years of experience in brand strategy, product marketing, or platform marketing within a media organization, information services platform, agency, consulting firm, or adjacent sector, with significant experience operating at the intersection of editorial, commercial, and event-driven businesses.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree in marketing, strategy, or a related field strongly preferred.
• A minimum of 5-7 years of progressive management experience, with a demonstrated record of building and leading high-performing, high-velocity teams and establishing clear standards of excellence.
• Deep understanding of media and newsroom operations, digital publishing models, and the mechanics of executing across newsletters, live journalism, digital platforms, and integrated programs.
• Proven track record of owning narrative architecture and go-to-market strategy across complex, multi-product portfolios, with clear, measurable business impact including demonstrated ability to generate revenue through marketing strategy, product positioning, and commercial enablement.
• Experience leading market research, competitive intelligence, and pricing strategy functions that inform commercial decision-making.
• Exceptional strategic storytelling skills with the ability to distill complexity into sharp, compelling narratives tailored to CEOs, senior executives, and government leaders. Advanced proficiency in Google Slides with strong design judgment.
• Experience operating across global markets; familiarity with Gulf institutions and senior stakeholder dynamics is a strong advantage.
• This is an in-person role with four days per week expected in our New York or Washington, DC office. Domestic and international travel on an as-needed basis.
• Salary Range is $190,000 to $215,000 base salary plus annual performance bonus.

Additional job details

Semafor offers a Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) policy to our full-time, salaried employees who may take paid time off as-needed without a prescribed limit or defined balance.

Semafor, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and enthusiastically encourages people from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. Semafor, Inc. will consider all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical and/or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.