Career guide
Content Strategist Job Description: Template, Duties and Skills
A content strategist job description should say which audience and business goal the content serves, which channels the role plans for, who writes and publishes the work, and how success is measured. Below is a template to adapt, the main duties, how SEO, marketing and UX content strategist postings differ, and how candidates can use a posting when applying.
Key takeaways
- A content strategist job description should name the audience, the business goal the content serves, the channels in scope and how success will be measured.
- Content strategists plan what gets made and why; most postings expect them to write some of it, but the core of the job is research, planning, governance and measurement.
- SEO, marketing and UX content strategist postings share a title but differ in what they measure: search demand and traffic, pipeline and engagement, or task completion in a product.
- A strong posting says who does the writing and publishing, because a strategist with a team of writers and one who writes everything are doing different jobs.
- Candidates should match one content program they planned and measured to the posting's main goal, and put it near the top of the resume.
What goes in a content strategist job description?
A content strategist job description should make four things clear: who the content is for, what business goal it serves, which channels the role plans across and who actually makes the content. Those four answers tell a candidate whether the job is planning and measurement, mostly writing with a strategy title, or something in between.
If you’re a candidate, read every posting for the same four things. Our guide to how to become a content strategist covers what the role is and the usual routes into it.
Content strategist job description template
Copy this and replace the [brackets]. The line worth the most care is the first-six-months goal, because it tells candidates what you really need.
Job title: Content Strategist, [Focus: e.g. SEO, Brand, Product, Lifecycle, B2B] About [Company] [Two sentences: what the company sells, to whom, and what content does for the business today.] About the role We're hiring a Content Strategist to plan and measure content for [audience] across [channels: e.g. our blog, website, email, social, help center, in-product]. You'll report to [title] and work with [writers / designers / SEO / product marketing / product and UX]. [You'll lead a team of [number] writers / you'll work with freelance writers / you'll write a good share of the content yourself.] In your first six months you'll [one concrete goal, e.g. audit our existing content, set the editorial plan for our three priority topics and grow organic sign-ups from the blog]. What you'll do - Research the audience: their questions, search demand and what they need to decide or do. - Audit existing content: what to keep, update, merge or retire. - Set the content plan and editorial calendar for [channels], tied to [business goals]. - Write briefs that give writers the audience, angle, sources, structure and the action the piece should drive. - Set and maintain voice and tone, style guidelines and templates. - [Write and edit [share] of the content yourself.] - Work with [SEO / design / product / sales] so content is found, used and connected to the rest of the journey. - Measure what content does and report what's working, what isn't and what changes next. What you'll bring - [X]+ years in content strategy, content marketing, editorial or a related role. - Examples of content programs you planned and measured, not only pieces you wrote. - Strong writing and editing, and the judgment to give useful feedback to other writers. - Comfort with research: audience interviews, search data, analytics, customer feedback. - Working knowledge of SEO and how people find content. - Experience with [tools: e.g. a CMS, an analytics platform, a keyword tool, a project tracker]. Nice to have - Experience in [industry or audience]. - [A specific skill: e.g. content design for products, lifecycle email, video, content operations at scale.] How we'll measure success - [Metric 1: e.g. organic traffic and sign-ups from priority topics] - [Metric 2: e.g. content-sourced pipeline or assisted conversions] - [Metric 3: e.g. engagement or task completion for help or product content] - [Metric 4: e.g. share of the calendar shipped on time] Pay and benefits [Salary range], [benefits], [location / hybrid / remote].
Notes for hiring managers using it:
- Say who writes. “You’ll lead four writers” and “you’ll write most of it yourself” attract different people, and both are fine if you’re clear.
- Name the goal. Content for search, for sales, for customers and for a product interface are measured in different ways.
- Ask for programs, not clips. A strategist’s best evidence is a plan they set and what it changed.
- Include the pay range. A growing number of US states require one in postings; Cooley’s summary of state pay transparency laws is a good place to check.
What are the main content strategist duties?
The duties fall into five areas. Most postings list all five; the order tells you which one matters most to this team.
| Area | What the strategist does |
|---|---|
| Research | Audience needs, search demand, competitor content, customer feedback |
| Planning | Topics, formats, channels and the editorial calendar, tied to business goals |
| Briefing and editing | Briefs for writers, feedback, quality bar, voice and tone |
| Governance | Style guides, templates, audits, updating and retiring old content |
| Measurement | Tracking what content does, reporting, deciding what changes |
How do SEO, marketing and UX content strategist roles differ?
They share a title but measure different things, so read the “how we’ll measure success” section first.
| SEO content strategist | Marketing content strategist | UX or product content strategist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main goal | Be found for the questions the audience searches | Move people toward buying or staying | Help people complete tasks in a product or site |
| Typical work | Topic research, briefs, updates, internal links | Campaign and lifecycle content, thought leadership, sales content | Interface text, help content, content models, terminology |
| Works most with | SEO, writers, web team | Product marketing, demand gen, sales | Designers, product managers, researchers |
| Measured by | Organic traffic, rankings, sign-ups from search | Pipeline, engagement, conversions | Task success, support contacts, research findings |
UX content strategy overlaps with content design and UX writing; our UX writer guide explains those roles.
How is a content strategist different from a content marketing manager?
A content strategist plans what content to make and why, and sets the standards for it. A content marketing manager usually owns the content program’s marketing results, the budget and often the team. At small companies one person does both, and the titles get used interchangeably, so read the duties rather than the title.
How do you use a content strategist job description when applying?
Read the posting for its goal, its channels and who does the writing, then show a matching program you planned and measured.
- Find the goal. Search traffic, pipeline, customer retention or product usability? It’s usually in the first paragraph or the success metrics.
- Match one program to it. Pick a content plan you set, what you shipped and what changed, and put it near the top of your content strategist resume.
- Show the planning, not only the writing. An audit you ran, a calendar you built or a piece you retired because the data said so tells the reader you think like a strategist.
- Prepare for the exercise. Many content strategist interviews include an audit or plan for the company’s own content; see our content strategist interview questions.
When you describe that program in your application or interview, say it the way you’d explain it to a friend: what you noticed, what you decided and what happened. The hiring manager is hiring your judgment, so let your own reasoning and voice come through rather than echoing the posting back.
Recon can help with step 2: paste the posting and your resume, and it suggests line-by-line rewrites that use only facts already on your resume.
FAQ
What qualifications does a content strategist need?
There’s no required qualification. Postings often ask for a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, English or marketing, plus several years in content. Examples of programs you planned and measured usually matter more than the degree.
Do content strategists write?
Most do some writing, and many postings expect it. The difference from a writer’s role is that the strategist also decides what gets written, for whom and why, and checks whether it worked.
What tools should a content strategist job description list?
The ones the team uses: usually a content management system, an analytics platform, a keyword or SEO tool and a project tracker. Naming categories rather than brands avoids screening out people who’ve used a similar tool.
What’s the difference between a content strategist and a content writer?
A content writer produces articles, pages and other pieces from a brief. A content strategist writes the brief, plans the calendar and measures the results.
How much does a content strategist make?
Pay varies by level, industry and location. Our content strategist salary page has the BLS figures for the occupation the role falls under, by state.