Brand Strategy, Managing Director (Location Flexible)

We are the leading provider of professional services to the middle market globally, our purpose is to instill confidence in a world of change, empowering our clients and people to realize their full potential. Our exceptional people are the key to our unrivaled, culture and talent experience and our ability to be compelling to our clients. You'll find an environment that inspires and empowers you to thrive both personally and professionally. There's no one like you and that's why there's nowhere like RSM.

RSM is seeking a visionary Brand Strategy Leader to define, evolve, and steward our enterprise brand strategy and platform in support of the firm's business and growth ambitions. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer and serving on the Marketing and Communications Leadership Team, the Brand Strategy Leader will develop a deep understanding of RSM's objectives, markets, clients, and offerings and translate that into a distinctive brand point of view. You will shape how RSM is understood and experienced across and through marketing and communications activities.

The Brand Strategy, Managing Director will lead brand stewardship across the marketing and communications function including brand positioning and narrative, talent brand, brand partnerships and activation, advertising / media strategy and brand-side agency relationships. You will partner closely with Content, Communications, Marketing, Growth, Analytics and internal and external creative leaders to ensure the brand platform is usable, relevant and consistently reflected in across work. The leader will work in partnership with the Global Executive Office and regional counterparts to align enterprise brand direction.

What you'll do

• Lead enterprise brand strategy. Create, evolve, and steward RSM's strategy and platform, including positioning, value proposition, brand promise, narrative architecture, messaging principles, audience considerations, and strategic expression.
• Integrate brand across marketing and communications. Ensure the brand platform guides campaigns, demand generation, events, experiences, communications, and other priority initiatives across markets. Bring strong brand judgment to briefs and strategic decisions without becoming an approval bottleneck.
• Drive brand activation and partnerships. Lead the brand perspective on partnerships, sponsorships, and activation opportunities, helping determine where and how RSM should show up regionally to build awareness, relevance, and preference with priority audiences.
• Advance the talent brand. Oversee talent brand strategy in close partnership with HR and Talent Acquisition, supporting a consistent and compelling employer brand across regions.
• Guide agency, advertising, and creative partnerships. Lead brand-side agency relationships and provide informed direction on advertising, media, and brand activation. Partner with internal and external creative leaders to translate brand strategy into distinctive creative expression without assuming the creative director role.
• Measure and optimize brand performance. Partner with Analytics, Growth, and Marketing leaders to define meaningful brand measures. Use research, market response, campaign performance, and qualitative insights to strengthen future activations and investment recommendations.
• Lead through influence and collaboration. Build the brand capabilities needed for an evolving organization, establish standards, develop talent, manage agency partners, and influence senior stakeholders across RSM's federated model.

What you bring

• Bachelor's degree with relevant professional experience required; masters degree preferred.
• 15+ years of experience in brand strategy, integrated marketing, brand leadership, or a related field, including significant leadership responsibility within a complex, matrixed, federated, or multinational organization.
• Demonstrated success creating or materially evolving an enterprise brand platform and applying it across multiple audiences, channels, business units, markets, or regions.
• Experience working in an organization with enterprise-wide standards and shared strategic direction, along with regional or local flexibility in how those standards are activated and executed.
• Proven ability to align enterprise brand strategy with regional business priorities, market dynamics, and audience needs while maintaining a cohesive brand.
• Strong marketing and commercial fluency, with the ability to understand what an organization sells, how it grows, whom it serves, and how brand can support those objectives.
• Experience leading or significantly influencing brand activation, partnerships and sponsorships, advertising, media, and agency relationships.
• Experience with talent brand or recruitment marketing strategy, or close partnership with HR and Talent Acquisition.
• A combination of in-house and agency or consultancy experience is strongly preferred.
• Significant experience managing senior agency and creative partners may also quali.