Director of Content

About This Role Entrepreneurs need high-quality and high-trust content now more than ever. This role leads Shopify's global content organization - the engine that helps millions of entrepreneurs understand commerce and choose our platform. This is a high-leverage leadership role that combines strategic vision, operational excellence, and cross-functional influence. You'll own content across all formats (video, audio, written), channels (owned, earned, operated), and markets. You'll set the content strategy, run the machine, prove the ROI, and unlock new growth vectors. You'll build and scale AI-powered content systems that drive measurable growth, manage a multi-million dollar P&L. You’ll serve as the connective tissue between marketing, communications, brand, and product pillars. This role requires both altitude and execution - you'll advise leadership on narrative strategy while ensuring pipelines ship on time and hit targets. What You’ll Do: 1. Global Content Strategy & Execution Set the vision for how content drives merchant acquisition, activation, retention, and commerce authority across all markets and journey stages Own the content engine across blog, newsletter, YouTube, podcast, SEO/GEO, and emerging channels Tie content themes to business priorities: product launches, category expansion, GTM campaigns, thought leadership, and international growth Build repeatable frameworks that translate merchant insights, product capabilities, and market opportunities into extensible narratives Drive editorial excellence across formats while maintaining velocity, accuracy, and brand consistency 2. Measurement, Analytics & Growth Define success metrics for each content program: awareness, engagement, attribution, operational, and ROI Lead complex analyses across organic channels; synthesize behavioral, performance, and audience data into actionable insights and package for executive reporting Build measurement infrastructure: dashboards, attribution models, testing frameworks, and reporting cadences Partner with Data, Finance, and Product to translate performance insights into strategic recommendations for leadership Establish testing and experimentation rigor: hypotheses, success criteria, kill/scale decisions, and post-mortems Identify and close gaps with cross-functional alignment: publishing frequency, channel mix, audience coverage, international markets, format opportunities 3. Operational Leadership & Scalability Run a high-velocity, always-on content operation that ships quality work at speed across channels and markets Own the P&L: budget planning, ROI accountability, resource allocation, and investment cases for new initiatives Build scalable systems: workflows, templates, approval processes, governance frameworks, and AI-powered tooling to increase throughput without sacrificing quality Manage vendor ecosystem: agencies, freelancers, production partners, influencers, and contributors Create reusable assets: narrative libraries, messaging frameworks, content blocks, brand guidelines, and claim governance processes Drive operational rigor: capacity planning, pipeline health, SLAs, quality checks, and process documentation 4. Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence Serve as the content authority across decentralized marketing organization. Seek opportunities for connectivity and narrative synergy Set content deliverables for Growth Product GTM and ongoing co-marketing, partnerships, and/or campaigns Leverage non-department organic channels as distribution levers for appropriate programs Influence international expansion strategy by surfacing content insights on market readiness, localization needs, and growth opportunities Represent Content in leadership forums: share performance updates, advocate for resources, align on priorities, and shape company-wide narrative strategy 5. Innovation & New Growth Vectors Identify and validate new content opportunities: formats, channels, AI applications, personalization, community, and distribution strategies Run pilots and experiments to test hypotheses, prove value, and build business cases for scaling Partner with Content Labs to drive AI adoption across ideation, production, localization, personalization, and measurement to unlock step-function improvements in velocity and impact Stay ahead of platform and channel evolution (YouTube, podcasts, social, search) and adjust strategy accordingly Build for international scale: localization playbooks, regional content strategies, and market-specific measurement What We Look For Strategic Vision : Connects content to business outcomes; sees around corners; balances short-term execution with long-term bets Analytical Rigor : Defines the right metrics; interprets data correctly; translates insights into strategy; makes evidence-based decisions Operational Excellence : Builds scalable systems; manages complexity; ships with velocity and quality; runs a disciplined P&L Editorial & Creative Craft: Writes and edits with clarity; maintains high standards; translates complex topics for diverse audiences Cross-Functional Leadership : Builds trust and alignment across teams; influences without authority; represents content at the executive level Innovation & Experimentation : Tests new ideas rigorously; learns fast; kills what doesn't work; scales what does Global & Cultural Intelligence: Understands international markets; navigates localization and regional nuances; builds for global scale Talent & Team Development : Attracts, develops, and retains top content talent; builds high-performing teams; creates clarity and context AI Fluency: Curiosity-seeking, self-developing AI-native leader who is comfortable with MCP usage and understands core concepts behind vibe coding / vibe SQLing What You Bring Must-Haves 12+ years in content marketing, with at least 5 years leading content organizations in B2B SaaS, commerce platforms, or high-growth tech companies Proven track record building and scaling global content operations that delivered measurable business outcomes (e.g., pipeline, revenue, acquisition, retention) Deep expertise across content formats and channels: SEO/GEO, video, audio, social, newsletters, webinars, in-product, community, influencer Bonus for award-winning portfolio Strong analytical and strategic thinking: you understand attribution, measurement frameworks, audience segmentation, and how to translate data into action. You know how to direct data and finance builds Budget and P&L ownership: experience managing multi-million dollar content budgets and proving ROI to executive leadership Cross-functional leadership: you've partnered with Product, GTM, Data, PR, Revenue, and Engineering to drive alignment and execute complex initiatives Operational excellence: you know how to build systems, workflows, and teams that ship fast without breaking International experience: you've led or scaled content for global audiences, navigated localization, and understood market-specific nuances Experience managing high volume programs with large contributor networks (freelancers, agencies) Editorial judgment and craft standards: you can write, edit, and coach; you hold a high bar for clarity, accuracy, and storytelling Background in visual storytelling, video production, or multimedia content AI fluency: you understand how to apply AI to content creation, personalization, and measurement to drive efficiency and impact Nice-to-Haves Experience in commerce, e-commerce platforms Startup or 0-to-1 experience building content functions from scratch Entrepreneurial experience–because we’re all builders here Why This Role Matters Entrepreneurs are navigating one of the most competitive, noisy, and AI-disrupted information environments in history. They need clarity, credibility, and a voice they trust. Content sits at the center of how merchants discover us, understand what we do, and decide to build their business with us. This role exists to turn sophisticated commerce capabilities into stories that earn attention, build trust, and move people from curiosity to conviction—at global scale. You'll shape how millions of entrepreneurs understand commerce. You'll build the machine that makes that possible. And you'll prove it works.