Content Marketing Manager

Kennedys is looking for a motivated and commercially minded Content Marketing Manager to join our Business Development & Marketing team. This is a mid-level role that sits within our Communications and Content Marketing function, working at the intersection of marketing, business development and legal expertise. The successful candidate will lead a small team, taking structured briefs from global BD leads and practice partners, delivering focused content projects end‑to‑end, and connecting those projects to the firm’s wider reputation agenda.

Team Kennedys’ Business Development & Marketing (BD&M) is over 80‑strong and focuses on promoting Kennedys' services and supports the Firm’s global growth ambition and our key clients and markets. There are four distinct functions: Pursuits, Clients and Markets, Marketing & Communications and Marketing Technology & Data. These functions support the BD&M community across five regions – APAC, EMEA, LATAM, UK and US. Our global team members are located across the UK, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore, Sydney and the US.

Key Responsibilities

• Project and workflow management: Lead the strategy and implementation of the firm’s annual flagship global thought leadership campaign, Kennedys Foresight, working alongside teams from across the global BD network. Manage the team’s end‑to‑end project workflow — from brief intake and triage through planning, production, delivery and post‑project review. Triage incoming briefs from BD leads and practice partners, assessing scope, capacity, commercial purpose and fit before accepting, reshaping or redirecting. Assign projects to content executives and assistants based on subject knowledge, workload and development need; set clear timelines and milestones and hold the team to them. Maintain the team’s project tracker, ensuring all live and completed projects are accurately recorded and that delivery data is available for reporting. Identify and resolve blockers during production; escalate to the Senior Manager: Communications & Content Marketing where strategic decisions are required.
• Content production and editorial oversight: Produce and commission high‑quality written content across a range of formats including thought leadership articles, client alerts, sector and practice profiles, award submissions and marketing content for directory rankings. Oversee the quality of all content produced by the team, working in close partnership with the content editors to ensure editorial standards, house style and accuracy are consistently maintained. Engage directly with lawyers, partners and subject matter experts to develop content that reflects genuine expertise and serves a clear commercial purpose. Ensure a maximum of two review rounds per project; identify when repeated revision signals a brief problem rather than a draft problem and address accordingly.
• BD‑partnered commercial content: Work with practice groups and BD leads across the firm to develop and deliver mini‑marketing projects – sector pushes, profile‑raising campaigns, directory and awards submissions, and market‑entry content. Contribute to the firm’s Legal 500, Chambers and other directory submission marketing programmes. Work with the Client Account Management and BD teams to identify and implement integrated channel and audience content opportunities that support specific client relationships and new business objectives.
• Reputation and profile‑building: Contribute proactively to the firm’s reputation agenda by identifying where practice group expertise can be made visible through content (with integrated channel and audience opportunities) and bringing those opportunities forward as structured briefs. Work in close coordination with the Internal and External Communications and Digital teams to ensure content produced by the team can be amplified through earned media, social and external channels where appropriate. Support the firm’s thought leadership programme across established practice areas as well as lighter‑touch profile management for more mature practices. Coordinate with Internal Communications on content that requires an internal cascade alongside external publication.
• Team leadership and development: Line manage a team currently comprising of an advisor (to be appointed), an executive and an assistant, and work in close partnership with content editors (to be appointed), providing day‑to‑day direction, feedback and support. Contribute to the development of the team’s operating model, including the brief template, triage SLA and project tracking approach. Support the professional development of the executives and assistant in the team, identifying stretch opportunities and providing constructive feedback on their work. Produce regular reporting on team output, project pipeline and content performance for the Senior Manager: Communications & Content Marketing and Director of Marketing.

Required Experience

• Demonstrable experience in a marketing, content and business development role within a law firm or professional services environment – this is a core requirement.
• A strong track record of producing high‑quality written content across multiple formats, with a portfolio that evidences the ability to write clearly and accurately for different audiences and channels.
• Experience managing and coordinating projects end‑to‑end, with the ability to handle a varied workload, prioritise effectively and deliver to deadlines without close supervision.
• A sense of strong responsiveness with the ability to work with pace and precision is critical.
• Experience working directly with partners, fee earners or senior stakeholders to develop content – comfortable managing those relationships professionally and pushing back constructively where needed.
• Exposure to legal directories and awards processes (Legal 500, Chambers or equivalent) – highly desirable.
• Experience of line management or coordinating the work of others.
• Strong project management and planning skills, with an ability to oversee multiple concurrent projects and keep the team on track.
• Excellent business writing skills and an instinct for quality – you hold yourself and your team to a clear editorial bar.
• Commercially aware – you understand why content exists, not just what it says, and can connect a piece of writing to a business objective.
• An ability to identify commercial content opportunities for positive reputational positioning is highly desirable and a very strong asset for the successful candidate to offer.
• Effective communicator and relationship builder, with the confidence to engage credibly with senior lawyers and partners.
• While this is an existing role, the successful candidate will be strongly encouraged to think differently, to do things differently and to demonstrate a high level of proactiveness and agility as the team’s approach evolves with the changing landscape of Marketing Communications.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint; familiarity with CRM tools or project tracking platforms desirable.

Where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time we would usually expect a candidate to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience.