Global Thought Leadership Lead

Role Overview

We’re seeking a Global Thought Leadership Lead to drive SoftServe’s brand- and technology-level thought leadership. This role will own the development and execution of content that elevates our brand, showcases our technical expertise, aligns to key alliance partners and directly connects to our solution and service offerings.

The Global Thought Leadership Lead will work with a newly formed Editorial Board comprised of senior company executives from technology, industry, sales and alliance partner functions. He or she will source big concepts and competitive differentiation and positioning, ensuring alignment to service/solution offers and alliance partners. The role will own development of a comprehensive content strategy and tier 1 asset creation (POVs, Reports, global studies, etc.) that brings to market ideas our target audience hadn’t considered or heard of before. This strategic leader is skilled at turning complex insights into compelling outcome-based narratives that resonate with C-suite audiences.

Additionally, this role will be responsible for driving annual technology vision for SoftServe, working with senior executives to produce a provocative

This is a highly visible role that brings both strategic thinking and hands-on execution. It requires executive presence, ability to coordinate busy executives, and deftly drive prompt review and input.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Editorial Governance

• Own and lead the Editorial Board, establishing governance, processes and strategic direction for thought leadership topics
• Develop and manage the global Editorial Board content calendar, ensuring alignment with brand, business priorities, solution relevance, partner alignment and market resonance
• Produce SoftServe’s annual Tech Vision that addresses emerging technology trends with practical, how-to guidance that creates market differentiates
• Define editorial standards, quality benchmarks, and governance frameworks for enterprise-level thought leadership content
• Work with marketing analytics team to track content performance and create reporting mechanism to showcase top performing ideas

Facilitate Workshop, Content Ideation and Recurring Check-ins

• Lead and facilitate bi-annual ideation workshops with SoftServe executives from client-facing, alliance partner and technology functions to extract insights and ideas that become compelling thought leadership concepts
• Two sentence descriptors to be fleshed out further with SME
• Identify strategic brand-level outcome themes, technology topics, and narratives that connect thought leadership to specific solution/service offerings and partners that drive measurable business impact
• Drive collaborative sessions to identify relevant use cases, case studies, partner stories, and solution/technical differentiation points
• Focus on sourcing robust ideas, filtering for depth, logical flow, authentic/resonance
• Ensure quarterly check-ins, especially with SMEs connected to specific ideas that are being produced
• Pressure test ideas among the Board and then develop brief abstract on the most viable ideas

Global Thought Leadership/ Program Development

• Based on ideas from in-person workshop
• Take brief 2-3 sentence abstracts developed during ideation workshop, partner with SoftServe Research team (3rd party available independent reports and Semrush analysis of Gen AI prompts) for additional insights, and then Brand & Creative plus Content Marketing to convert abstracts into Big Ideas
• Develop high-value POVs/reports/studies as lead, top of funnel campaign assets
• Design and execute global research studies that establish SoftServe as a trusted advisor on critical industry and technology topics
• Identify and recommend to CMO/Marketing leadership external research firms with whom to work to create third-party credible reports
• Create messaging for each concept we take to market for use by other marketing functions

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• For in-person workshops, partner with Events on venue selection, including catering and venue on-boarding
• Coordinate closely with Brand, Content Marketing and Campaign/Events teams (including EMEA and N.A. campaign stakeholders) to ensure thought leadership supports marketing programs
• Provide Content Marketing leads with topic messaging and identified solutions so they can work with corresponding COEs to determine solutions readiness (uniqueness of IP, differentiation in accelerators, relevant use cases, compelling case studies)to develop solution messaging and supporting campaign content
• Collaborate with Campaign, Internal Communications, PR, Social, Web and Events teams to amplify thought leadership across owned, earned, and paid channels

Team & Resource Management

• Manage Editorial Board operations, including scheduling, meeting facilitation, content review processes, stakeholder communications and check-ins
• Work with Design and Web to produce and publish global assets
• Build scalable processes and templates that enable efficient content production without sacrificing quality

Required Qualifications

• 10 years of experience in editorial leadership, content strategy or thought leadership marketing roles, preferably within B2B technology, IT services, or digital consulting environments
• Proven track record developing and executing enterprise-level thought leadership programs, including annual tech vision, research studies, whitepapers, and executive-level content
• Strong facilitation skills with demonstrated ability to lead workshops, extract insights from technical experts, and drive creative ideation
• Demonstrative ability to be assertive and persistent in getting timely responses from SMEs
• Exceptional strategic thinking with ability to connect content initiatives to SoftServe partners, industries and solution to drive revenue objectives
• Excellent messaging and brand positioning expertise in developing a story architecture for organizing ideas and plot points to create a clear narrative flow that connects with target audience
• Outstanding writing and editing skills with ability to translate complex technical concepts for executive audiences
• Deep understanding of emerging technology trends (AI/ML, cloud, digital transformation, physical AI, robotics, augmented reality, etc.) and their business implications
• Familiarity with tools such as Asana, Jasper, Semrush AI, etc.
• Track record of content that has driven measurable business impact (pipeline, brand lift, sales enablement)

Key Competencies

• Strategic Vision: Ability to see the big picture and connect editorial initiatives to business strategy
• Thought Leadership Expertise: Deep understanding of what makes content truly valuable to executive audiences
• Collaborative Leadership: Proven ability to influence and align cross-functional teams without direct authority
• Intellectual Curiosity: Genuine interest in technology trends and their business applications
• Project Management: Strong organizational skills with ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously
• Stakeholder Management: Comfort working with senior executives, technical experts, and creative teams
• Analytical Mindset: Data-driven approach to content strategy with focus on performance and optimization

This posting includes an anticipated salary range that SoftServe expects to offer for this position. The range provided reflects the base salary only. Final compensation within this range will be determined based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: geographic location, relevant experience, education, certifications, skills, budget, and market conditions.

The anticipated salary range for this role is $150,000.00 — $180,000.00 annually, in line with our internal compensation framework and budget allocation for the role. Most candidates are offered a salary within this disclosed range. If the role is eligible for a variable pay plan, this would be considered separately and may provide additional earnings beyond the base salary range reflected here.

Please note, the information provided in this posting is a general summary and may not include all compensation elements or benefits associated with the position.

SoftServe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all associates. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.