Vice President (VP), Strategic Communications & Commercial Marketing

Role Overview

Smartly is seeking a strategic, commercially driven Vice President (VP) of Strategic Communications & Commercial Marketing to lead our global communications, brand PR, analyst relations, corporate events, and customer and field marketing teams.

Reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), this executive will transform global communications into a modern Center of Excellence and high-performance commercial engine. This leader will connect brand narrative, earned media, industry influence, and experiential events directly to pipeline growth, customer retention, and overall GTM execution.

Strategic Mandate & Key Objectives

• Commercial Event Impact: Lead and scale global event strategy to drive significant event-influenced pipeline while maintaining industry-leading customer retention for programs and events.
• Industry Validation & Visibility: Drive earned media, thought leadership, and executive visibility to establish Smartly at the center of industry conversations across advertising, AI, and creative technology.

Chief Brand Storyteller:  Beyond traditional PR and media relations, this leader will craft and oversee high-stakes GTM narratives deployed across C-suite keynotes, Customer Advisory Boards (CABs), growth summits, and customer-facing executive forums.

• Pipeline & Funnel Growth: Support broader marketing lead generation, improving conversion rates across the sales funnel in close partnership with commercial enablement.
• Brand Architecture & Alignment: Elevate global brand awareness and internal alignment around Smartly’s mission, vision, and core positioning.
• Customer & Partner Engagement: Launch and scale shared customer and partner education programs to foster long-term brand advocacy.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Communications, PR & Executive Visibility

• Global Strategy: Own and execute Smartly’s global corporate and brand communications strategy across earned media, executive communications, thought leadership, analyst relations, and industry awards.
• Executive Thought Leadership: Build and manage a strategic speaking program for executive leadership, securing high-impact keynotes, podcast appearances, and panel opportunities at top industry conferences.
• Narrative Architecture & Keynote Storytelling: Own the narrative design and maintain a clear, differentiated narrative that connects product innovation, customer success, and market point-of-view across all channels..

Commercial Event Strategy & Operations

• Revenue-Driven Events: Lead the Global Events team in executing high-impact commercial events focused on attendee engagement, pipeline contribution, and measurable ROI.
• Operational Excellence: Streamline event logistics, budget management, and post-event sales enablement to maximize business impact.
• Strategic Partnerships: Partner with specialized external agencies for experiential design and creative production to maximize internal operational efficiency.

Comms Ops & Modern Workflows

• Comms Ops Framework: Establish a specialized Comms Ops capability to power communication programs with automated workflows, tech stack integrations, and analytics.
• AI-Augmented Content Pipelines: Leverage modern AI tools to streamline content repurposing, multi-market translations, and asset creation while protecting brand standards.
• Agency Optimization: Manage external PR agency retainers and vendor performance, focusing agency investment on high-tier media relations and strategic communications.

Customer Advocacy & Storytelling

• Scalable Advocacy Engine: Develop a streamlined customer advocacy program that regularly captures, produces, and publishes customer success stories and case studies.
• GTM Enablement: Provide localized, authoritative customer success collateral to support global sales and marketing teams.

Cross-Functional Governance & Team Leadership

• GTM Alignment: Serve as a strategic gatekeeper and partner to Product, Sales, and Partnership teams to ensure coordinated, well-planned GTM initiatives.
• Team Enablement & Culture: Foster a collaborative, high-performing team culture with a strong focus on sustainable workloads, clear SLAs, and ongoing professional development.

Qualifications & Core Competencies

• Experience: 10+ years of progressive leadership in Corporate Communications, PR, Brand Marketing, or Comms Operations within B2B SaaS or digital media organizations.
• Commercial Mindset: Proven track record of aligning brand and communications programs directly with revenue goals and sales funnel metrics.
• Strategic Narrative Mastery: Exceptional executive speechwriting, keynote, messaging development, and media relations capability.
• Modern Workflow Integration: Hands-on understanding of Comms Ops, AI-assisted content tools, and workflow automation.
• Process & Governance: Strong capability in operational discipline, agency management, cross-functional SLA enforcement, and budget management.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, or a related field (MBA or relevant advanced degree preferred).