Position Overview

Vice President of Marketing

Reports to the Chief Executive Officer

Is This You?

Do you want to make a difference? Are you ready to use your strategic, analytical marketing skills and understanding of new media to drive a consumer business? Do you want to be part of an energized, dedicated and engaged executive team? Would you describe yourself as an entrepreneurial marketer – hands-on, treat each dollar spent like it’s your own, prepared to roll up your sleeves with a focus on results? Have you had experience with localized marketing programs where you test and learn? Have you developed programs that develop leads for a sales force? Are you someone who would be described as a collaborator – able to impact and influence key stakeholders and gain buy-in without direct authority?

If so, please read on…

Company Background

In 1960, six concerned Canadians created the non-profit Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation (CSTF or ‘the Foundation’) with a simple purpose:  to encourage and promote the advancement of education in Canada.  As the Foundation surpasses its fiftieth year of partnering with Canadian families, many hundreds of thousands of Canadians have benefited from their participation in the Canadian Scholarship Trust Plan. The Foundation is proud of its legacy as the pioneer in education savings plans in

Canada, and its history of paying out more than $2.2 billion to help turn the aspirations of parents into the realization of a higher education for their children. Today the Foundation manages over $3 billion in education savings for over 250,000 Canadian families through 489,000 plans, and its assets have grown by over 45% in the last 5 years.

Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation is a non-profit organization governed by an independent and highly engaged Board of Directors from across the country.  The

Foundation is the sponsor of the Canadian Scholarship Trust Plans.  The Plans are marketed, managed and administered through the Foundation’s wholly-owned subsidiary, C.S.T. Consultants Inc. (CST), which operates in every province and territory through 28 branches and a ‘captive’ sales force of over 650 sales representatives.

Why Join CSTF?

The company has continued to see significant gains in a number of areas identified as key drivers to its strategy.  Improved service, prudent risk management, and better cost efficiencies have all contributed to increased customer satisfaction ratings, enhanced returns, and improved employee engagement.  With a new ‘incremental strategy’ in place and an orchestrated effort to better leverage existing customer relationships, CSTF is well positioned to take a more dominant position within its niche sector in the highly competitive financial services space.

In keeping with its focus on achieving results, delivering value, and strengthening its workforce, one of CSTF’s key priorities is to extend the awareness and reach of the organization to ensure that more Canadians have the financial means to attend post-secondary education.  The organization has recently completed a comprehensive customer segmentation study which has resulted in a clear understanding of its target customers, and a refined focus on where and how to reach those customers.  The organization is now ready to develop and implement a marketing strategy designed to increase awareness of the organization and its products, but more importantly to drive increased sales volumes by more effectively targeting key customer segments in critical markets.

Along with the opportunity to join an industry leader with plans for growth, the Vice President of Marketing will also be attracted to:

A company that is proud of its history and the contributions it has made to making post-secondary education possible for many families

An energized, dedicated and engaged executive team that embraces new thinking and operates with focus and transparency

The opportunity to make a significant difference by creating and implementing new marketing approaches to support the company’s exciting growth plans

A company that lives by its core values and is committed to providing the highest level of value and service to its clients

The Position

The Vice President of Marketing reports to the CEO and is a key contributor to the continued growth of the company.  S/he works closely with the CEO and members of the Executive Team to develop and oversee the implementation of the marketing strategy, and is responsible for increasing awareness and driving sales growth in key customer segments and markets.  This includes development of a metric-driven approach to monitoring success of marketing programs to ensure appropriate ROI on marketing investments.

Specific Accountabilities

Key areas of responsibility for the Vice President of Marketing include:

Strategic business planning

Actively participates as a valued member of the Senior Leadership Team (which includes the CFO, Vice President: Operations, Sales, IT, Regulatory & Corporate Affairs and CEO) and contributes to the development of CSTF’s strategic and operational plans

Architects the company’s strategic marketing plan and structure to optimize penetration of segmented markets

Supports the CEO on matters relating to governance and participates in discussions with the Board of Directors as appropriate

Collaborates with and provides support to peers to strengthen and effectively implement business plans, and to identify, explore and solve problems

Development and Implementation of Strategic Marketing Plans

Develops and oversees the implementation of strategic marketing plans, including corporate positioning, market and competitive analysis, customer segment selection and supporting marketing tactics designed to increase penetration in key customer segments and markets

Maintains current knowledge and exhibits judgment to apply emerging trends in marketing such as social media to reach target audiences and achieves relevant and current communication options

As well as understanding customer segments and markets, also has a deep comprehension of the customer value proposition with an ability to assess, evaluate and modify to meet customer demands and needs

Ability to network and partner with key external organizations to engage critical capabilities for successful implementation of marketing programs

Designs and delivers strategic marketing plans with consideration of direct sales channel for implementation as well as emerging customer needs/preferences such as on line options

Works collaboratively with the VP, Sales to ensure alignment between marketing strategy and distribution strategy to deliver sales growth

Establishes a metrics driven approach to measuring effectiveness of marketing strategy and spend, and adjust strategy as necessary to ensure overall objective of sales growth within key segments and markets is achieved

Strategic oversight and management of overall marketing activities

Leads in developing and implementing continuous improvements to CST’s marketing structure and process

Is fact based in planning and evaluation.....prepares, analyzes and presents marketing reports and statistics to assist in formulating policy and action plans to support segmented marketing strategies and drive sales results

Monitors adherence to all policies and procedures related to marketing, including compliance with regulatory requirements

Works collaboratively with the distribution network, ensuring maximum effectiveness of marketing strategies through alignment with the distribution channel

Build and maintain a learning environment

Ensures collaboration between the Marketing department and other departments, including Sales, Compliance, Information Technology and Operations

Advises Branch Managers and Sales Representatives of marketing programs and skill development opportunities to accelerate sales growth

Team leadership and departmental management

Determines the structure, skills and competencies required and then builds and leads a high-performing marketing team aligned to business goals and organization culture

Leads departmental planning, aligning goals and objectives to strategic priorities with a focus on moving from strategy to implementation

Provides advice, guidance, and direction to direct reports and contributes to their ongoing professional development

Manages all outsourced vendor relationships

The Ideal Candidate

From the perspective of professional skills, abilities and experience, our successful candidate will have/be:

15+ years of marketing experience culminating in strategic marketing leadership roles where they’ve developed and implemented best-practice marketing strategies, programs, systems, and methodologies to enable the organization to achieve success

Conversant with emerging social media and marketing applications and want to work with the Vice President of IT to ensure the technological infrastructure exists to maximize impact/results. Ideally brings knowledge of information technology and emerging trends to communicate with and engage customers

Ideally has operated within a regulated environment and appreciates the need to drive results while meeting/exceeding compliance requirements;  experience in a financial services setting with a focus on savings vehicles would be an asset

Ability to leverage metrics to measure and demonstrate ROI on marketing investments, and develop sound business cases to support new investments in marketing approaches

Experience in working in small organizations with aptitude for building core skills and supplementing with key partnerships

Demonstrated ability to manage outsourced marketing activities through effective vendor management

Worked in partnership with direct, independent sales forces and brings a proven track record of leading ‘above market’ sales growth

A change agent and/or turnaround expert who inspires a sense of excitement around a future state and is effective at garnering support and commitment among key stakeholders to ultimately engage an organization

A recognized builder;  has developed and executed a comprehensive multi-year strategic marketing plan that has vaulted an organization, or product/service category into a market share leadership position

Strategic and tactical with the ability to understand the overall direction of the company while managing the hands-on aspects of getting the job done

A Bachelor’s degree, preferably in business, and an adept user of technology and analytical tools

From a personal perspective, the candidate will have/be:

Adaptable and flexible; open to new ideas and adapts well to change; takes on new responsibilities and handles pressure well; adjusts plans to meet changing needs

A sound decision-maker who exhibits good judgment; recognizes problems and makes timely decisions; sorts through complex issues and addresses root causes; seeks input from others and uses consensus when possible

Maintains and articulates a focus on results as a key driver for activity and is consistently alert to opportunities to achieve efficiencies

Demonstrates high clarity by establishing priorities, setting expectations, defining accountabilities and delineating time frames

Applies systematic thinking by consistently organizing issues into components, logically connected and explainable parts

A strong coach and developer; genuinely fosters the long-term development and growth of others; provides feedback and coaching, rewards hard work and risk taking; challenges employees and provides visibility and opportunity; accepts mistakes

Self aware and exhibits personal leadership with accountability; seeks to continuously enhance skills, abilities, and knowledge; models the right behaviours; challenges self and team towards continuous growth and improvement

The ability to apply strategic thinking; maintains an awareness of internal and external trends (political, industry customer, technology and stakeholders) and applies this knowledge to support the long-term vision and success of the organization

A passion for business that extends beyond meeting operational results; can visualize themselves in an active role as a change agent and is energized by the challenge of helping to drive a growth mandate

A strong work ethic and is a self-starter with solid initiative and drive; brings healthy curiosity and is comfortable with complexity

Proactive and assertive in their desire to have an impact on the business; brings a continuous improvement mindset

A collaborative nature with a strong team orientation

Superior communication and presentation skills (verbal & written);  has operated effectively at the executive level and with board members

Well developed interpersonal and relationship management skills

Exceptional negotiation skills

Excellent organizational skills

A high level of integrity; low ego, solutions-focused, apolitical and transparent

Bilingual (French/English) is preferred

If you are someone who is looking for an outstanding challenge, working with a great team for one of the most important financial sector organizations in Canada, then what are you waiting for?  Apply now!