williamdhicks@gmail.com Bill Hicks M: 224.231.8895, H: 708-867-8627www.williamdhicks.wordpress.com Greater Chicagoland www.linkedin.com/in/wihicks

Results-oriented manager with experience in content, writing, management and sales. Remediates organizations’ small content challenges before they become large enterprise problems. Excel at customer problem-solving utilizing creative out-of-the box thinking. Easily switch between projects. Collaborate with key stakeholders on cross-functional teams. Oversee interfaces with large datasets and relational databases. Consistently achieves on-time project delivery goals. Management style fosters growth, teamwork and idea exchange.

Project Management Digital Marketing Content Taxonomy User EngagementConcept Development Social Media Enthusiast Content Hierarchy Content Portal DevelopmentCopywriting Content Strategy Digital Content Syndication Marketing CommunicationsPublic Speaking Deadline Oriented Written Communication Process Improvement

TECHNICALSAP MDM 5.5 WordPress Content Management Systems (CMS) Adobe InDesign OutlookEnable 5.93/7.0 SharePoint 10 Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Microsoft Office (MS Office)

SOCIAL MEDIATwitter: 30K Facebook: 5K Pinterest: 4.7K LinkedIn: 4KKlout: 62 Foursquare: 1.1K Google+: 110 HootSuite

PROFESSIONALGrainger, Wholesaler / Industrial Products, Lake Forest, IL 2016 – PresentContractor at InSync Staffing (2016)Apply taxonomies and category requirements to SKUs in order to provide a web-friendly user experience – normalize attributes and descriptions for SKUs, gap-fill missing information, move SKUs, analyze and correct wrong data. Created acronym list used by managers to train new hires.

Provided a method to gather content from suppliers that cut review time by 50%.Business and Career Services, Inc., Training Division of IDES, Arlington Heights, IL 2016-2016Volunteer Trainer, Facilitator and Writer (2016)Presenting Career Management Workshops (Goals, Job Search, Resume, and Interviewing) to participants in job transition. Communicated with Volunteer Coordinator by phone, email, and in-person meetings to discuss workshop content changes, policies, and procedures. Attend monthly meetings and participate in volunteer training classes.

Created content marketing materials that included Presenter Guidelines, Taglines, and PowerPoint slides. Marketed Power Employment and other services via social media.

Essendant, Wholesaler / Cataloger, Deerfield, IL 2003 – 2015Content Analysis Manager (2015)Content Analysis Provided leadership to four analysts who reviewed and tracked items for content completeness.

Gathered requirements for 38 green fields and added them to portal and database. This made it simpler for our suppliers to add data consistently, our content group to review less values and our channels team to sell more SKUs in this vertical.

People Management Hired, coached and mentored 10+ associates within department. Wrote a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all analysts that promoted best practices.

Process Management Identified opportunities for automation, process improvement, and resource optimization. Instrumental in formation of content grading tool used by reseller community that educated suppliers which products had

enough content to appear in both website and catalog.Marketing Communications Charged with creating marketing materials explaining content grading system.

Oversaw creation of PowerPoint presentation that explained grades for catalogs and websites. Wrote marketing content and directed graphics build. This educated suppliers which items should be used in which medium, based on item’s grade.

Content Acquisition Manager (2013-2015) Content Acquisition (Supplier Portal) Led 9 full-time employees and five contractors. Provided superior customer service while training internal/external stakeholders. Troubleshoot portal errors. Collaborated with IT and operational team to create enhancements. Wrote portal FAQs and training materials. Determined content strategy while meeting with team leads to create content calendar schedule.

Identified repetitive content portal complaints and created documentation that handled training issues. Created UNSCPC code cross-reference tool to help identify similar taxonomies.

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Developed innovative knowledge base that allowed associates to problem solve content portal issues quicker and lessened supplier downtime frustrations. Oversaw the creation of training PowerPoint, plus other documents that addressed repetitive problems (determined through caller metrics).

Created terms and definitions page in content portal that allowed suppliers to work offline.Supplier Services Managed content collection from web and direct supplier contact to ensure item completion. Managed three staff members in the gathering of this content. Held weekly best practices meetings with contractors.

Changed jobs in December 2015 and new process caused first project to be late. Revamped process so team gathered content off supplier websites instead of waiting for suppliers and created formula based off metrics + 25% for future project timelines. Methodology allowed all future projects to complete on time.

Created set of SOPs for content acquisition and supplier services teams serving as change agent with ability to build, train and mentor highly productive teams.

Content Corrections Oversaw review / correction / reporting of rich content errors in our content database. Changed review process and had associate review “conversations” instead of emails, reducing redundant error review 15%.

Content Analysis Managed team that handled analysis and tracking of items that needed content. Oversaw creation of analyst query that determined status of items, which reduced analysis time 10%.

Content Enrichment Services Manager (2008-2013) Managed six full time employees to determine content needs of resellers.

Directed creation of 24K attributes definitions across 500 taxonomies that made it easier for suppliers to provide correct content.

Created matrix formulas used to publish content on catalog page, changing this from manual to automated process. Rich Content Manager (2005-2008) Managed six full-time employees in establishing content needs of internal stakeholders. Oversaw content assessment, acquisition, creation and normalization for reseller items. Wrote and edited product content. Built taxonomies and hierarchies for better ecommerce searchability.

Reduced cost to source freelancers $175K+ by using craigslist instead of offsite agencies. Hired 40% (11 of 26) of freelancers as associates, creating additional savings.

Wrote series of information factoids (By the Way, Rx for Success, Furniture Facts) that generated user interest and helped move users through catalog pages.

Editorial Services Administrator (2003-2005) Proofread and edited pages to company style.

Played key role in creating styles manual that reduced freelancer errors.Sentury Publications, Community Newspaper, Chicago, ILReal Estate and Classified Advertising Manager Sold classified/display advertising space. Outperformed quotas 200% for real estate and Internet advertising. Equity Marketing/Hartz Construction/Joseph Freed, Realty, Chicago, IL Sales Manager Onsite real estate sales management.

EDUCATIONNational-Louis University, Evanston, IL M.S. Written Communication (high honors)Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL B.A. in English (honors)Coursework in Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, MySQL, HTML, VLookups, Pivot Tables, Google Analytics, Javascript, Joomla

VOLUNTEERISMHabitat for Humanity, Not-for-Profit (2012)Rewrote content/performed user acceptance testing (UAT). Oversaw videography/photography for Humanity Awareness Improvement Project.

AWARDSHigh Performance: Team Award/Smart Search Program, 2008; Special Recognition for the Content Team, 2007.Hewlett-Packard Catalog Support Program Team Excellence Award, 2005.