St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Principal Advisor - Strategic Projects and Communication (Memphis, TN)

Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8-10 years in user-experience, marketing, and communications with 3-5 years in a leadership role
  • Proven leader with a record of managing strategic projects
  • Experience working in complex, dynamic environments at senior levels
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills with experience in creating compelling narratives
  • Expertise in marketing/fundraising with solid business acumen and data analysis capabilities

Responsibilities

  • Serve as a strategic partner to senior marketing leaders and the Chief Marketing & Brand Officer
  • Translate complex business challenges and data into compelling narratives
  • Lead high-priority strategic projects for marketing leadership
  • Synthesize industry trends and organizational insights into actionable recommendations
  • Support educational initiatives to enhance marketing capabilities across the organization

Benefits

  • Core medical coverage including low-cost medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401K plan with a 7% employer contribution
  • Exceptional paid time off
  • Maternity and paternity leave
  • Infertility treatment program
  • Adoption assistance
  • Education assistance and enterprise learning and development
Full Job Description
Job Description

The Principal Advisor serves as a strategic partner to the Senior Director, Marketing Business Center, and a trusted advisor to the Chief Marketing & Brand Officer and senior marketing leaders. Operating at the center of the organization's most important priorities, this role helps shape and communicate the strategic direction of the Marketing Division while driving critical initiatives that advance organizational goals.

This position is responsible for translating complex business challenges, strategies, and data into clear, compelling narratives that inform decision-making, align stakeholders, and inspire action. A key aspect of the role is the ability to visualize strategy and create executive-level communications that bring ideas to life through impactful storytelling, business narrative development, and presentation design.

The Principal Advisor leads high-priority strategic projects on behalf of marketing leadership, provides thought partnership on emerging opportunities, and business challenges, and supports enterprise-level planning and execution. The role also serves as a steward of marketing intelligence, synthesizing industry trends, organizational insights, and competitive perspectives into actionable recommendations that strengthen strategic decision-making. Examples of projects include helping manage our Digital Innovation Advisory Council (DIAC) and leading the bi-monthly Marketing Review with the CEO and key executive leaders and developing Board-level communication and presentations.

In addition, the Principal Advisor helps advance the capabilities of the marketing organization by supporting leadership communications, strategic planning processes, and educational initiatives that build marketing/communications/creative acumen, strengthen organizational alignment, and elevate the effectiveness of the division.

Success in this role requires exceptional strategic thinking, executive presence, communication expertise, business storytelling, and the ability to influence across all levels of the organization. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable serving as a trusted advisor, strategic problem solver, project leader, and architect of the narratives that shape how the organization understands and advances its most important work.

Job Requirements:
  • 8-10 years of experience in the user-experience, marketing, and communications realm driving projects in a cross-functional environment including 3-5 years in a leadership position involving strategic project planning, management, and cost control. Bachelor's Degree preferred.
  • Proven leader with a track record of driving value through a book of strategic and diverse projects, a highly effective self-starter with the ability to work autonomously, organize and lead project teams, and/or serve as contributing member of a work group.
  • Demonstrated skills working within a complex environment at senior levels and able to work in a rapidly changing and dynamic environment. Demonstrated success coordinating and leading cross-functional teams and activities with strong organizational skills with the ability to negotiate and concurrently manage multiple priorities. Resolves conflicts diplomatically while driving toward creative solutions.
  • Strong business and marketing written skills coupled with verbal communication, presentation, and storytelling skills that typically comes from experience and hands-on working knowledge of tools used to create powerful visual presentations and/or digital experiences. Requires a background in creative design, user-centered design, creative writing and/or writing for business. Should have experience crafting Board-level communications and narratives.
  • Demonstrated expertise in a Marketing and/or Fundraising discipline with a track record of driving positive results; solid business acumen with the ability to analyze and organize data, metrics, and financial information into meaningful summaries and visualizations.
  • Ability to speak to large groups as well as one on one. Strong interpersonal skills, ability to be creative and to think strategically; understand difficult verbal or written instruction; ability to translate complicated information into written and visual narratives.


Location:
  • This position will be based at our National Executive Office in Memphis, TN
  • The position will be eligible for a hybrid work schedule.
Benefits & Perks
The following Benefits & Perks apply toFull-Time Roles Only
We're dedicated to ensuring children and their families have every opportunity to enjoy life's special moments. We're also committed to giving our staff excellent benefits so they can do the same.

  • Core Medical Coverage: (low cost low deductible Medical, Dental, and Vison Insurance plans)
  • 401K Retirement Plan with 7% Employer Contribution
  • Exceptional Paid Time Off
  • Maternity / Paternity Leave
  • Infertility Treatment Program
  • Adoption Assistance
  • Education Assistance
  • Enterprise Learning and Development
  • And more


About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases, particularly leukemia and other cancers. The hospital was founded in 1962 by entertainer Danny Thomas and is located in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. The hospital has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world. St. Jude is known for its groundbreaking research and treatment of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Learn more about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Size
4,500 employees
Industry
Founded
1962

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