Senior Content Strategist - Contract at Codal in Chicago, IL

An Introduction to Codal Codal is an award-winning web design and development consultancy that helps enterprise organizations solve complex problems and accelerate growth through elegant, data-driven digital solutions. Our areas of expertise include application modernization, eCommerce, UX/UI design, product strategy, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. At Codal, you will collaborate with some of the most innovative organizations in the world and work on cutting-edge technologies that push the boundaries of design and software development. We promote long-term success, not just for our clients but for our team, helping you develop a professional roadmap that takes your career to new heights. About the role We are leveling up our content strategy capability, bringing content thinking earlier into the process so it shapes architecture, design, and delivery from day one rather than catching up to them. We are looking for a hands-on Senior Content Strategist to lead the content dimension of client engagements from discovery onwards. You will embed with project teams during the critical early phases, develop a deep understanding of how content works across our clients' organizations, and translate that into models, taxonomies, and governance that set the rest of the build up for success. This is a practitioner role. You will run workshops, interview stakeholders, audit content estates, and ship concrete deliverables that project teams rely on. What you will do: Interview stakeholders to map workflows, ownership, authoring experience, and governance Facilitate discovery workshops to align on requirements and bring structure to complex content landscapes Audit content estates for structure, reuse potential, and quality Design channel-agnostic content models (types, fields, relationships, taxonomies) and translate them into CMS implementation requirements Map migration paths from legacy systems to new platforms Document risks, dependencies, and key decisions Recommend governance models for sustainable content operations Stay engaged through build as the content-accountable reviewer: answering questions, QAing against the model, and adapting when reality pushes back Contribute to content design: UX writing, component patterns, and editorial guidance What you'll deliver: Stakeholder interview synthesis and content operations assessments Content audit reports Content model specifications (ERDs, type definitions, field-level documentation) Taxonomy and tagging frameworks Migration mapping documents Governance and editorial workflow recommendations Handover documentation for engineering and design teams Engagement model: You will typically go deep on one project at a time during its discovery and definition phase, then remain available at lower assignment through build for content-related QA and decisions. Occasionally you may run across two or three projects in parallel when they're at different phases. About you: You think in structure: content types, relationships, taxonomies, reuse patterns, and you can translate that thinking into artefacts others can use and implement You are comfortable in front of clients: running workshops, interviewing senior stakeholders, navigating political dynamics, and making people feel heard You are pragmatic. You know when to go deep and when "good enough and shipped" is the right call You are comfortable working autonomously within a distributed team, and you know when to escalate You are energised by operating at the seam between strategy, design, and engineering Requirements / Must Haves 5+ years hands-on content strategy experience, with at least 3 in client-facing agency or consultancy engagements Demonstrable track record shipping content models (types, fields, relationships, taxonomies) into production CMS implementations Production experience with at least one headless or composable CMS (Sanity, Contentful, Contentstack, or equivalent) Experience running discovery workshops and stakeholder interviews with senior client stakeholders (Director level and above) Ability to translate business requirements into technical content specifications that engineering teams can implement against Excellent written and verbal communication in English Comfort operating autonomously in a distributed team across multiple time zones Portfolio or case studies evidencing content audits, content models, or governance frameworks Need another reason to hit the “apply” button? Codal is a global agency with over 200 employees, and offices in the US, Canada, the UK, and India We regularly host happy hours, dinners, excursions, and other company events to unwind after a hard day at work Office snacks and drinks + a fancy Bevi water machine with flavored water We offer Medical, Life, Dental/Vision, and many more insurance types Employer 401k match - 4% A recreational group that regularly competes in city leagues for softball and volleyball An office in the heart of downtown Chicago with a gym, food court, Walgreens, rooftop bar, outdoor sports court, and other amenities Working hybrid for in-person collaboration and sprint-planning days ***Please note the rate below is hourly. We continually review ranges to address skills, experience and markets. Base salaries are determined during our interview process, by assessing a number of factors that include but aren’t limited to, a candidate’s experience and skills relative to the scope and responsibilities of the position Pay range $65—$80 USD Note: Codal only communicates with candidates through official @codal.com email addresses. We never request payment during the hiring process. Please be vigilant regarding recruitment scams. At Codal, we are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.