Strategic Marketing Communications Leader

About the Role

This role provides strategic leadership for the development, integration, and execution of marketing communications strategies across the Crop Protection and Specialties businesses. The position leads a high-performing team of marketing communications professionals and serves as a strategic partner to Marketing, Sales, Field Marketing, Digital, Brand, and other key business functions. A critical member of the broader Marketing Communications leadership team, this leader drives communications excellence, champions cross-business collaboration, establishes effective ways of working, and ensures resources and investments are aligned to the highest-value business priorities.

The role has significant responsibility for people leadership, agency and partner management, annual planning, organizational effectiveness, brand stewardship, and oversight of an annual marketing communications budget.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Crop Protection and Specialties marketing communications managers and communications specialists, establishing strategic direction, priorities, expectations, and ways of working across the businesses.
• Translate business strategies, portfolio priorities, growth objectives, product launches, and customer needs into integrated marketing communications strategies and activation plans.
• Champion a customer-first approach, ensuring communications strategies are grounded in customer journeys, audience needs, market insights, and clearly defined business objectives.
• Identify opportunities to connect strategies and investments across portfolios and businesses to create greater impact, efficiency, and consistency.
• Lead and support cross-sell initiatives, identifying opportunities to integrate messages, programs, content, media, and investments across the enterprise.
• Drive execution excellence across campaigns, product launches, portfolio initiatives, customer programs, content development, media programs, and other priority communications.
• Create, deliver, and evaluate digital communications, content creation, social media, paid media, and SEO/SEM strategies to optimize the customer journey.
• Utilize data, analytics, and marketing automation platforms to track campaign performance, evaluate ROI, and optimize messaging.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the agricultural marketplace, customers, channels, competitive environment, and business priorities to ensure communications strategies remain relevant and commercially focused.
• Continuously improve the annual Marketing Communications planning and input process for Crop Protection and Specialties.
• Establish processes and tools that improve visibility, accountability, prioritization, and resource optimization across the Marketing Communications organization.
• Identify and implement best practices that can be leveraged across Crop Protection, Specialties, and other business platforms.
• Work closely with advertising agencies and manage external vendor relationships to ensure high-quality deliverables within budget.
• Provide strategic oversight and management of an annual Crop Protection and Specialties marketing communications budget.
• Serve as Brand Champion and steward, ensuring communications consistently reflect corporate and portfolio brand standards while interpreting and implementing evolving brand strategies and guidelines.

Requirements

• Deep understanding of agricultural industry, distribution channels, field sales organizations, farming practices, and go-to-market strategies.
• Experienced and skillful in the fields of advertising and communications.
• Proven track record of mentoring and people leadership.
• Ability to provide quick turnaround on projects and to react quickly to changing priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to define expectations, monitor details and progress, influence, persuade, and negotiate to keep projects on schedule.
• Demonstrated ability to work with other department members to build and reach consensus and support.
• Experience with integrated digital marketing, content strategy, media planning, customer journey development, and marketing measurement.
• Ability to interface and provide clear direction to external partners such as ad agencies.

Qualifications

• BS Degree in agriculture, advertising, marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in communications, digital marketing, or marketing program management is preferred.

Location & Schedule

Based in Indianapolis, this role can accommodate a flexible work arrangement where you may work multiple days a week from home. This position offers a comprehensive domestic relocation benefits package.

Benefits

• Numerous development opportunities offered to build your skills.
• Health benefits for you and your family starting on your first day of employment.
• Four weeks of paid time off and two weeks of well-being pay per year, plus paid holidays.
• Excellent parental leave which includes a minimum of 16 weeks for mother and father.
• Future planning with our competitive retirement savings plan and tuition reimbursement program.