Marketing & Loyalty Strategy & Business Operations (contract)

About the role

We are seeking a dynamic and highly experienced strategic business operations professional to join our Marketing and Loyalty team based in McLean, VA. In this role, you will serve as the operational backbone of the Marketing and Loyalty organization, empowering senior leadership to operate at peak effectiveness by connecting strategic priorities, driving execution, and ensuring the visibility and insights needed for informed decision-making. You will own the organization's operating rhythm, lead strategic planning efforts, craft compelling executive communications, and spearhead cross-functional initiatives that advance organizational goals. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role that demands a trusted partner who can navigate complexity, anticipate emerging needs, and independently drive meaningful results in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the operational integrator for the Marketing and Loyalty organization, ensuring strategic priorities remain connected across teams, surfacing risks before they impact execution, and providing leadership with the visibility, insights, and operating mechanisms needed to drive informed decision-making and organizational alignment.
• Partner closely with Strategy, Investment and Planning to translate strategic priorities, investment decisions, and leadership direction into an aligned Marketing and Loyalty Annual Plan and Investment Plan, with clear priorities and actions that guide execution across teams.
• Drive the Marketing and Loyalty organization's operating rhythm, including leadership meetings, business reviews, planning cycles, executive communications, and organizational priorities.
• Partner with senior leadership to translate strategic priorities into actionable plans, ensuring alignment, accountability, and execution across the organization.
• Anticipate emerging business needs and proactively identify operational risks, opportunities, and recommendations before they impact execution.
• Coordinate strategic planning activities, executive reporting, organizational priority tracking, and leadership deliverables to ensure alignment and visibility across the organization.
• Develop executive presentations, briefing materials, talking points, and communications that enable informed decision-making and effectively communicate organizational priorities.
• Drive organization-wide communications and engagement initiatives that strengthen alignment, transparency, and connection across the Marketing and Loyalty organization.
• Evaluate existing processes and identify opportunities to simplify work, improve operational effectiveness, and enhance organizational efficiency.
• Lead strategic initiatives and executive-sponsored special projects, ensuring successful execution across cross-functional teams.
• Serve as a trusted strategic partner to Marketing and Loyalty leadership, helping connect priorities, remove barriers, and drive organizational alignment.
• Partner across Commercial Services and enterprise teams to coordinate cross-functional initiatives and ensure successful execution of shared priorities.
• Collaborate with Marketing Operations leadership to align governance, planning, communications, and organizational priorities.
• Influence stakeholders at all levels through executive communication, structured problem solving, and proactive follow-up.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships that enable alignment, visibility, and informed decision-making across the organization.

Skills

• Proven ability to navigate complex, matrixed organizations while partnering with senior leaders to drive strategic priorities.
• Exceptional executive communication skills, including the ability to craft compelling presentations, business storytelling narratives, and organizational communications.
• Strong organizational, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly establish credibility, exercise sound judgment, and independently drive work forward with minimal direction.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with the ability to anticipate organizational needs and proactively surface risks and opportunities.
• Ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience coordinating executive communications, cross-functional initiatives, or organizational planning processes is a plus.
• Background in marketing, commercial, or customer-focused organizations is a plus.
• Familiarity with collaboration and workflow platforms such as Airtable, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, or similar tools is a plus.
• Experience in hospitality, travel, or consumer marketing is a plus.

Qualifications

• 7+ or more years of experience in business operations, strategy, management consulting or Chief of Staff.
• Proven experience supporting VP and Senior Director-level leaders through business planning, operational execution, and executive decision-making.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives from strategy through execution.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field preferred.
• Advanced degree such as an MBA or equivalent preferred.

Pay

65 – 75 USD hourly