Director, Thought Leadership and Newsroom

Why UKG:   
At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That’s what we do.  

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you’ll get flexibility that’s real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters—and so do you. 

About the Role:
UKG is seeking a Director of Thought Leadership & Newsroom to define the industry conversations UKG will lead and build the editorial engine that enables us to own them over time. This leader will shape distinctive, market-facing points of view on the forces transforming work, workforce operations, and business performance—creating sustained authority around the ideas where UKG has the expertise, data, customer proof, and ambition to lead. Operating at the intersection of thought leadership, market intelligence, editorial strategy, research, executive positioning, and customer storytelling, the Director will turn UKG's unique intelligence into compelling narratives for C-suite and enterprise audiences.

The ambition: move UKG from participating in important conversations to helping define them.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Define the Conversations UKG Will Own

• Lead UKG's enterprise thought leadership strategy, identifying the industry conversations where we can build sustained authority and differentiation.
• Develop distinctive points of view informed by customer needs, market dynamics, competitive whitespace, workforce trends, UKG intelligence, and emerging technology.
• Build narratives from the outside in—starting with the issues occupying senior business leaders.
• Create signature thought leadership platforms and intellectual property that strengthen UKG's position in Workforce Operations and other strategic areas.

Build a Modern B2B Newsroom

• Build and lead an always-on newsroom that connects planned thought leadership with emerging news, business trends, customer conversations, workforce dynamics, and technology developments.
• Establish the newsroom as a trusted industry resource and destination—helping leaders make sense of the forces shaping work and workforce operations, strengthening the broader community, and creating value beyond UKG's own news and perspectives.
• Tap the breadth of expertise across UKG, building strong partnerships with teams across the business to surface timely insights, proprietary data, research, customer perspectives, subject-matter expertise, and other resources that make the newsroom more useful and authoritative.
• Establish the intelligence, editorial agenda, operating rhythm, and governance needed to identify opportunities early and respond with speed and authority.
• Develop a portfolio spanning proprietary research, data-driven storytelling, executive perspectives, customer-led narratives, rapid-response commentary, and other high-impact formats.
• Serve as a visible editorial voice for the newsroom when appropriate—hosting or moderating podcasts, interviews, digital programming, and industry conversations that bring together UKG experts, customers, and external voices.
• Shift UKG from a launch-led to a conversation-led communications model, using product innovation and company moments as proof of broader narratives we are already building in the market.

Turn UKG Intelligence Into Influence

• Mine UKG's proprietary data, research, customer base, workforce expertise, and product intelligence for insights the market cannot get elsewhere.
• Translate complex workforce, AI, technology, economic, and business issues into clear, compelling narratives for senior enterprise audiences.
• Partner across the business to develop original research, data stories, customer proof, and evidence-backed perspectives that can generate market conversation.
• Create ideas designed to travel across earned media, executive platforms, owned and social channels, search and AI discovery, events, analysts, customers, and sales.

Elevate Executive and Customer Voices

• Serve as a strategic thought leadership advisor to senior UKG executives, helping build distinctive external platforms aligned to the conversations UKG seeks to own.
• Identify influential opportunities across media, executive forums, industry events, customer convenings, and digital channels.
• Partner across the business to identify customer executives who can credibly join UKG in shaping conversations around business transformation, AI, productivity, frontline work, and workforce operations.
• Move beyond traditional product stories to executive-level narratives supported by meaningful outcomes and proof.

Connect Reputation to Growth

• Partner across Communications, Marketing, Product, Sales, Customer Experience, Research, and other teams to connect UKG's thought leadership agenda to company strategy and the customer journey.
• Build intellectual territory that Communications can use to create authority, Marketing can activate, Product can substantiate, customers can validate, and Sales can use to advance strategic conversations.
• Ensure major product and company moments reinforce broader conversations UKG is already leading.
• Advance strategic priorities including Workforce Operations category leadership, customer-led growth, AI-powered innovation, and UKG's visibility across media, search, AI, and key influencers.

Build and Lead the Capability

• Build the team, operating model, editorial standards, governance, agency ecosystem, and measurement framework for a world-class B2B thought leadership and newsroom function.
• Develop high-performing talent and a broader network of executives, researchers, customer voices, subject-matter experts, writers, and creative partners.
• Apply AI and emerging technologies to strengthen intelligence, research, editorial development, discoverability, and measurement.
• Measure success through market impact—not content volume—including conversation ownership, executive reach, earned influence, search and AI visibility, and contribution to strategic business priorities.

Basic Qualifications:

• 12+ years of experience across thought leadership, editorial strategy, journalism, corporate communications, research, content strategy, or related disciplines, with significant experience in B2B technology, enterprise software, or SaaS. 
• Demonstrated success building or leading a thought leadership, editorial, newsroom, or insights-driven communications function. 
• Deep understanding of enterprise audiences and the B2B technology landscape, with a track record of creating narratives that resonate with C-suite decision-makers. 
• Exceptional editorial judgment and an instinct for identifying the trends, tensions, data, and ideas capable of becoming meaningful market conversations. 
• Proven ability to translate complex technology and business issues into clear, differentiated points of view. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience developing original research, proprietary data storytelling, or intellectual property that has influenced external conversations. 
• Strong business acumen and an understanding of how reputation, category leadership, brand, demand, product positioning, customer proof, and sales work together in B2B SaaS. 
• Strong executive presence and communication skills, with comfort serving as an on-camera or audio host, interviewer, moderator, or external representative of the newsroom. 
• Demonstrated ability to advise and influence senior executives and lead complex cross-functional initiatives. 
• Ability to operate at two speeds: building sustained market authority while exercising the judgment and agility of an always-on newsroom. 
• Intellectual curiosity and a deep interest in business, technology, AI, people, economics, and the changing nature of work. 

What Success Looks Like:

• UKG becomes consistently associated with important industry conversations because we bring distinctive perspectives, proprietary insight, executive voices, and credible customer proof to them over time.
• Our biggest moments—product innovation, research, customer outcomes, executive visibility, and company news—compound that authority rather than creating disconnected spikes of attention.
• UKG doesn't just participate in the conversations shaping work. We help define where they go next.

Company Overview: 
UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry — because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com. 

Equal Opportunity Employer:
UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories. 

View The EEO Know Your Rights poster       
UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here.   

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.  

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process:  
For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [email protected] 

The pay range for this position is $163,900 to $235,550. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG’s benefits and rewards at https://www.ukg.com/about-us/careers/benefits 

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