About the Foundation & the Role
The Isaacson Foundation, doing business as Empower Ministry, is a faith-based, non-profit organization on a mission to develop quality people to equip Christian leaders to live out their God-given potential to advance the Kingdom. A top priority is creating a resource center to curate best-in-class tools and resources for ministry leaders, free-of-charge forever. Our ultimate goal is to save more souls by empowering successful Church leaders to amplify their impact, enhance operational effectiveness, and strengthen their ministries for lasting success. Learn more about initiatives on www.empowerministry.com, and be sure to check out our blogs. As a start-up organization, Empower Ministry wants teammates to work on site at our office in Gallatin, Tennessee, to support culture, camaraderie, and efficiency. We are non-denominational; the Apostles' Creed is our foundational belief.
The Marketing & Communications Manager is the Chief Marketing & AI Product Officer's (CMPO's) primary hands-on marketing leader and trusted operator during a critical build phase for Empower Ministry's brand, marketing, and communications function. This is a hands-on role for an experienced marketing strategist who can think strategically alongside the CMPO and then personally drive the work to completion — shaping campaigns and creative direction, executing digital marketing and advertising across channels, coordinating multimedia production, owning the editorial calendar (including social) end to end, managing all marketing-, brand-, communications-, and digital-related content on the Empower Ministry Resource Center, and keeping the operational backbone running — the marketing budget, vendors, and technology stack.
This role carries real ownership and judgment, not just task execution. The Manager is expected to represent the CMPO's voice and standards on marketing and brand matters, make sound calls independently within that mandate, and loop the CMPO in on decisions that need executive judgment. As the marketing function grows, this role is positioned to take on direct reports and/or manage third party relationships.
This is an ideal role for a seasoned marketing and communications leader who wants to help build a national ministry brand from the ground up and who is equally comfortable setting strategy, directing creative work, running the operational details, and rolling up their sleeves to execute.
Primary Responsibilities
Marketing Strategy & Creative Direction
- Partner with the CMPO to shape brand and marketing strategy, campaign concepts, and creative direction across channels, bringing independent point of view and recommendations, not just execution.
- Lead the development of visual concepts, messaging, and campaign materials, directing designers, vendors, and freelance contributors on the CMPO's behalf.
- Translate the CMPO's strategic vision into clear, execution-ready briefs and creative direction for internal and external contributors.
- Own the development of collateral and materials for the Church Brand Development initiative and the planned national Benefits of Faith campaign.
- Prepare and, where appropriate, present strategy materials, one-pagers, and campaign recaps to leadership, the board, and partner audiences.
Digital Marketing, Advertising, and Multimedia Execution
- Execute digital marketing across all channels — including the Empower Ministry website, email and newsletter communications, digital advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), and search engine marketing (SEM) — carrying out the digital strategy the CMPO owns.
- Coordinate the production of multimedia content, such as video series and podcasts, working with internal contributors, producers, and outside vendors to keep output on schedule, on-brand, and aligned with the CMPO's editorial direction.
- Coordinate and execute advertising campaigns, including the planned national Benefits of Faith campaign, and track advertising spend and campaign performance. The CMPO retains ownership of the advertising fund and ROI accountability.
- Compile and analyze marketing performance data across all channels, and prepare clear performance reporting for the CMPO to share with leadership and the board.
Marketing Operations, Budget, and Systems
- Track and reconcile the marketing budget against plan — monitoring spend across campaigns, channels, and vendors, coordinating invoices and purchase orders, and flagging variances to the CMPO, who retains budget authority and ROI accountability.
- Administer marketing vendor and subscription relationships — maintaining the roster of tools and services, tracking renewal dates and contract terms, and coordinating renewals and cancellations with the CMPO and COO, without creating or negotiating contracts.
- Administer the marketing technology stack — including the email and newsletter platform, social scheduler, analytics and tag configuration, UTM governance, and lead-capture forms — coordinating integrations and data flows with the CTO’s team, which owns the underlying platform and infrastructure.
Communications Management
- Own and manage internal communications — including recurring updates and reporting to staff, the board, and the EML Network — ensuring every piece is clear, consistent, and aligned with the Empower Ministry voice and brand in alignment with the CMPO's direction.
- Own and manage external communications — the organization's public voice across its channels, including the Resource Center — drafting and refining messaging on the CMPO's behalf and ensuring it is clear, on-brand, and consistent.
- Execute press, public relations, and media relations activities on behalf of Empower Ministry, including drafting press releases and media materials, coordinating with outside PR or media partners, and managing media inquiries in alignment with the CMPO's direction.
- Ensure all communications and published content are reviewed under the brand and communications review policies before going live, meeting the standard that requires marketing review of every piece.
- Serve as the hands-on editorial reviewer and copy chief for external-facing, brand-bearing, and broadly distributed materials — performing the communications check (grammar, clarity, tone, and accuracy) that the Editorial Review standard requires before materials are finalized, published, or distributed.
- Manage content rights, permissions, and licensing — including photo, video, and testimonial releases and consent (with particular care for materials featuring congregants, ministry leaders, and minors at events), third-party content licensing, and copyright and attribution — and ensure marketing communications meet applicable consent and opt-out requirements.
- Draft and coordinate donor, Priority Impact Partner, and other communications on the CMPO’s behalf, ensuring they are clear, on-brand, and consistent.
- Support crisis and rapid-response communications — preparing holding statements and coordinating timely responses to sensitive or reputational matters — with press contact and public statements routed to and authorized by the CEO, consistent with the Media and Public Statements policy in alignment with the CMPO's direction.
- Ensure marketing and communications content meets recognized accessibility standards — including readable structure, alt text for images, sufficient color contrast within the brand palette, and accessible email formatting — so materials reach the full audience. Design- and product-level accessibility is owned by the Product and Brand Experience Designer.
Social Media & Editorial Content Calendar
- Own the social media and overarching editorial calendar end to end — planning, coordinating, and scheduling content across all Empower Ministry channels.
- Set the content cadence and priorities in alignment with key initiatives, the annual calendar of events, and campaign priorities, in partnership with the CMPO.
- Coordinate with internal stakeholders and outside contributors to source content, gather assets, and secure approvals ahead of publishing.
- Write, edit, and direct social media and digital content, ensuring consistency with the Empower Ministry brand voice and visual identity.
- Monitor content performance and engagement, and use those insights to continuously refine the content strategy in partnership with the CMPO.
- Manage community engagement across Empower Ministry’s social channels — responding to comments and messages, moderating discussion, and escalating sensitive or time-critical matters to the CMPO — consistent with the Empower Ministry voice and brand.
Resource Center Content Ownership (Marketing, Brand, Communications, and Digital)
- Own and manage all marketing-, brand-, communications-, and digital-related content on the Empower Ministry Resource Center — ensuring it is well-organized, clearly laid out, current, and consistent with the Empower Ministry brand.
- Curate and design the marketing-, brand-, communications-, and digital-related resources on the Resource Center — selecting and organizing the strongest existing resources from open networks and creating new ones where gaps exist. (This is content and creative design, not actual instructional design.)
- Lead the development and upkeep of marketing-related toolkits and resources for local churches, such as the Church Brand Development toolkit — including assessment or diagnostic tools, SEO and website guidance, and plug-and-play materials — in collaboration with the Ministry Resources team and subject-matter experts.
- Maintain a curated list of marketing-related vendors on the Resource Center, incorporating endorsed vendors or those that are part of the foundation's group purchasing organization (GPO) program as appropriate. This role does not create or negotiate vendor contracts.
- Partner with the CMPO — who owns the overall Resource Center product vision and user experience — to keep the marketing-related content surface aligned with that direction and continually refreshed.
CMPO Partnership & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Serve as the CMPO's primary operator across marketing, brand, and communications workstreams, exercising sound independent judgment within that mandate.
- Own the tracking of deliverables, deadlines, and follow-ups across marketing, brand, and communications workstreams, keeping the CMPO focused on the highest-leverage decisions.
- Lead logistics and messaging support for major meetings, retreats, and EML Network events, as needed.
- Own the participant experience for major meetings, retreats, and EML Network events — shaping the attendee journey and on-site messaging touchpoints, beyond logistics alone.
- Represent the CMPO in select meetings and cross-functional conversations, and take on additional scope and direct reports as the marketing function grows.
- Stay current with marketing, digital, and AI trends and tools, bringing fresh thinking and best practices to keep Empower Ministry's marketing sharp, effective, and on mission.
- Serve as the internal point person for brand and template enablement — training staff to use the approved templates and brand standards, answering brand questions, and reducing editorial-review load by helping teams get materials right the first time. Templates are built by the Product and Brand Experience Designer.
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, digital marketing, or a related field; a master's degree is a plus.
Experience & Skills
- 10+ years of progressive experience in marketing, brand, or communications, including experience operating with significant autonomy or in a senior individual-contributor capacity.
- Strong digital marketing background is essential, including hands-on experience with digital platforms and systems used to organize, manage, and deliver content — such as intranets, content management systems, or similar organizational systems. AI marketing experience is a plus.
- Experience curating, organizing, and maintaining content on a website, intranet, or resource library, keeping it well-structured, on-brand, and up to date.
- Excellent organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced, start-up environment.
- Experience managing marketing budgets, vendor and subscription relationships, and a marketing technology stack (such as email, analytics, and social-scheduling platforms).
- Working familiarity with AI tools for content creation, research, or workflow support is important to this role and expected of a strong candidate.
- Experience working for or with nonprofit, faith-based, or mission-driven organizations is a plus.
- Prior experience supporting or partnering closely with an executive (e.g., CMO, VP of Marketing, agency principal, or founder) is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to translate executive vision into strategy, creative direction, and execution with minimal oversight.
- Proven track record owning a social media and content editorial calendar at an organizational level, including planning, coordination, scheduling, and performance analysis.
- Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to independently evaluate vendors, tools, and resources and bring well-formed recommendations to leadership.
- Fluency with brand guidelines and visual identity systems, and the judgment to make sound creative calls within established brand standards.
- Hands-on graphic design skills are a major plus for this role.
- Experience with people-management and team building.
- Experience directing designers, freelancers, or agency partners.
- Sound judgment and discretion, with the ability to represent the CMPO's voice and standards independently.
Faith Alignment
- Agreement with the foundation's Christian mission, vision, purpose, core values, and beliefs.
- Demonstrated personal walk with Christ, and active local church involvement.
- Passion for advancing the Kingdom of God and supporting ministry leaders.
Reporting & Collaboration Structure
This role reports to the Chief Marketing & AI Product Officer (CMPO) and is a core member of the Marketing & AI Product team. Day-to-day, expect close, frequent collaboration with:
- The CMPO: strategy, direction, prioritization
- Product & Brand Experience Designer: peer on campaigns, brand assets, and templates
- The AI Specialist: peer on Resource Center content and church-facing AI resources
- The CTO's team: martech, website, and publishing support for the Resource Center and other platforms
Note on Scope: Empower Ministry is in an early, formative season, and this role sits within a function that is still being built. This description reflects the role as understood today; it is not exhaustive, and responsibilities, priorities, reporting relationships, and scope are expected to evolve as the Foundation grows. The team member may be asked to take on additional or adjusted duties consistent with the role and the mission.
Pay: $80,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Application Question(s):
- How do the mission, vision, purpose, and/or initiatives of Empower Ministry resonate with you?
Education:
Experience:
- Marketing: 8 years (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- Gallatin, TN 37066 (Required)
Work Location: In person
