Freelance Researcher Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

Job Description: FOR THE RIGHT PERSON, THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A CAREER Stop. Before you read another word, ask yourself one question: Are you the kind of person who wants to build something with a company that has been in business for 25 years, has a stellar reputation, is ranked in the top 10 in the world at what they do, yet no one knows who they are? I am not sure you even knew who PlanITROI is before reading this. Gartner, Microsoft, the International Association of IT Asset Managers, and many more recognize PlanITROI as the world's leader in Lifecycle Services and IT Asset Disposition, focused on reuse as intended use. We are the world's leader in taking someone's nothing and turning it into someone's everything. We have created our own 501(c)(3) called the Digital Dreams Project, where we have impacted over 1 million people's lives who needed affordable technology. This story has never been told properly. We are looking for the right person who can tell the story. For the right person, this is the most important opportunity they will read this year. For everyone else, the next two minutes will make that clear. Either way, keep reading. Celebrating 25 years in business, PlanITROI is the world's greatest Lifecycle Services and ITAD company. PlanITROI is committed to the future of lifecycle services, often coined and built terminology used around the globe. The phrase "reuse as intended use," now used by analysts at Gartner, was started by PlanITROI. We are also the world's leader in delivering repaired, refurbished, and re-certified computing direct to the next user as the top key supplier to organizations like Best Buy, Walmart, Target, eBay, Amazon, etc. We are an asset to businesses that need this in their portfolio. Corporations like GSK, Procter & Gamble, Visa, and Paycom count on our lifecycle services to provide data destruction and other critical services that keep their technology lifecycles running. PlanITROI is ready to invest in the brand, inbound engine, website, thought leadership platform, and PR presence we have earned and deserve. You will build all of it. Everything you create will be yours. There is no version of this role where you are maintaining someone's work or defending someone's decisions. You are coming into a world-class, 25-year-old organization with a story that has never been told the way it deserves to be told. You are the architect. You own it, you solve it, and you get it done. The mission matters too. This is not another B2B software company selling platforms. PlanITROI exists to provide affordable technology to people who need it most. Over 1 million lives have been changed through our Digital Dreams program. That combination of enterprise credibility, 25 years of operational excellence, and genuine social purpose is almost impossible to find in a senior B2B marketing role. It exists here. You will market to the most prestigious ICP in the world. Fortune 500 companies, global financial institutions, major healthcare systems, and federal agencies. Every piece of content you create, every campaign you launch, every story you tell is aimed at the people who run technology at the largest organizations on earth. That is a career-defining stage. You will have a direct line to a visionary leadership team that thinks in decades, not quarters, and that will trust you to translate that vision into a brand the market cannot ignore. That level of access and trust does not last forever. This window is open now. When you deliver, the path to CMO is real, and it is fast. PlanITROI is scaling aggressively. The person who builds this marketing function owns everything that comes after it. ARE YOU THE RIGHT FIT? ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS The right person for this role will read this list and feel energized, not challenged. If you can answer yes to everything here, we want to hear from you. You are energized by the opportunity to build something from the ground up at a company with 25 years of reputation and credibility behind it. An existing team, an existing brand, and an existing strategy are not what you are looking for. You want the blank canvas and the ownership that comes with it You arrive with a trusted network of freelancers, content creators, video producers, and specialist resources who know how you work and can start immediately. Your bench is built and ready to deploy You have personally owned a full website rebuild from strategy through launch. You made the decisions, you directed the work, and you have a live site to point to as proof You think strategically, and you direct specialists to execute. You bring the vision and the plan. Your network delivers against it You form a clear, confident point of view fast. Thirty days of deep listening, and you are ready to walk into the room with a specific perspective and a concrete plan You research before you reach out. You already know who PlanITROI is, what we do, who our competitors are, and where we have room to grow before you send us a single word The Digital Dreams program and 1 million-plus lives impacted through affordable technology genuinely move you. The mission is a reason you show up, not a line on a slide WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO SOLVE PlanITROI has built a world-class operation, but our brand, digital presence, and marketing strategy have not kept pace with who we are or where we are going. We are invisible in the channels where our buyers, partners, and future talent are making decisions. We run activities but lack a cohesive strategy connecting them. Our story is not reaching the right people. The materials, website, and marketing expertise we have today no longer reflect the company we have become. This role exists to close that gap entirely, bringing the strategic leadership, modern expertise, and brand infrastructure that turn PlanITROI's mission and market position into the competitive advantage it has always deserved. WHAT YOU MUST BRING WITH YOU ON DAY ONE PlanITROI is ready to invest in everything this role will build. To build it at the speed we need, you must arrive already equipped. We are not constructing a large internal marketing department on day one. The expectation is that you come with a trusted bench of external resources you have worked with before, who know how you operate, and who can start immediately. If you cannot answer yes to all 6 questions on this list, please do not apply at this time. Do you have freelancers and content creators, including video production and design, that you can brief and activate within the first week?Do you have PR and media contacts in B2B technology or IT services who will take your call because they know you?Do you have web development and design partners you have personally directed through a full website rebuild in the past?Do you have SEO, GEO, and AEO capability either in your own practice or through a proven external partner you actively manage?Do you have experience directing specialist agencies to specific project deliverables without handing them a retainer or losing control of the output?Do you have a fully formed, opinionated point of view on what a modern B2B inbound marketing engine looks like and a track record of building one? WHAT THE PERFECT CANDIDATE LOOKS LIKE Your career was built at a growth-stage or mid-market B2B technology company where resources were lean, playbooks did not exist, and every result was entirely yours to create. You know what it means to build something real from nothing, and you know how to do it fast. You operate with pace and urgency as a default, not as a response to pressure. You move quickly, execute relentlessly, and hold yourself and everyone around you to a standard of attention to detail that shows in every deliverable. You have done this before, and you are energized by the chance to do it again at a company whose story is worth telling and whose mission is worth building for. The companies you marketed to have been the largest in the world. Fortune 500 procurement teams, global CIOs, and IT Directors. You understand their buying cycles, their approval processes, their language, and what moves them. You built programs designed to reach and influence exactly those buyers from inside a company that had to fight for every dollar of recognition it earned. And you have the results to prove it worked. Your background is in B2B computer hardware, IT services, managed services, device lifecycle, SaaS, or a closely adjacent technology space. You already speak this industry's language, understand the competitive dynamics, and know the associations, publications, and analysts that matter here. You are a storyteller and an executor in equal measure. You can write a paragraph that makes a CIO stop scrolling and build the campaign architecture to put that paragraph in front of 10,000 CIOs. You do not let perfect be the enemy of done, but you do not let fast be an excuse for sloppy. That balance is rare. It is exactly what this role is built for. Please note this role is in EST only. 10+ years of B2B marketing experience with at least 3 to 5 years in a senior brand, demand generation, or marketing leadership role with direct ownership of measurable outcomes Growth-stage or startup background, built marketing from the ground up at a resource-constrained company, not managed an existing program at a large enterprise Enterprise B2B ICP fluency: Buyers have been Fortune 500 companies, large healthcare systems, global financial institutions, and federal agencies, with a proven track record of reaching and influencing them B2B computer hardware, IT services, managed services, SaaS, or technology lifecycle background understands this space natively, not academically Proven brand builder, taken a brand from zero to recognized, not maintained one that others built Storyteller and executor writes compelling narratives AND builds the systems that deliver them at scale; if you can only do one of these well, this is not the right role PR and thought leadership experience with documented results: placed bylines, secured speaking slots, built executive profiles, and developed analyst relationships that moved the needle Full ownership of a website rebuild: Has personally led a website rebuild from strategy through launch with a live site to point to as proof Modern Tools & Technology: Expertise in leveraging modern marketing technologies, AI-powered tools, automation platforms, and data analytics to drive innovation, operational excellence, and measurable business growth.Modern marketing fluency: SEO, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) are active parts of current practice, not future learning goals Ready-to-deploy network: freelancers, video producers, content creators, PR contacts, and specialist agencies who have delivered before and will again Hard-nosed vendor manager builds lean teams, deploys external resources strategically, holds every person and agency accountable to specific outcomes and hard deadlines Agile under pressure adapts when the landscape shifts, strategy changes, or priorities stack up without losing output quality or team confidence Thinks in years, executes in weeks: planning 12 and 36 months out while delivering this week's results Zero hand-holding required: Sets own priorities, hits own deadlines, holds self to high standards, and communicates proactively Mission-driven at a level that shows in the work: PlanITROI's Digital Dreams program has impacted over 1 million lives with affordable technology; if that does not genuinely move you, this is not the right role. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Website Strategy & Rebuild Lead the end-to-end strategic rebuild of the PlanITROI website from positioning and architecture through copy direction, navigation flow, and launch Conduct a comprehensive audit of the current site, including messaging, SEO, GEO, and AEO structure, and conversion performance Craft a site experience that tells the complete PlanITROI story: ITAD leader, social enterprise, and Modern Lifecycle strategic partner Own the project road-map and timeline; manage every internal and external resource through to execution and launch with no exceptions on deadline Thought Leadership & PR Develop and execute a thought leadership strategy that elevates PlanITROI and its executive leaders as the authoritative voices in Modern Lifecycle Asset Management Build and activate relationships with key industry associations, analysts, and publications, including Gartner, IAITAM, and others that reach our buyers Design and execute a PR program that earns consistent media coverage, byline placements, and speaking opportunities regularly Ensure PlanITROI is not just present at major industry events: it is featured, speaking, and shaping the agenda Inbound Marketing & Digital Visibility Architect PlanITROI's inbound marketing engine: content strategy, SEO, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), lead magnets, landing pages, and nurture programs Ensure PlanITROI is discovered not just on Google but in AI-powered tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, where enterprise buyers are increasingly starting their vendor research and making shortlist decisions before a single sales call is made Align inbound strategy with outbound motions already running across Apollo, Salesforce, Callers AI, and ABM campaigns so every engine amplifies the others Build out a content library that the sales team uses in active deals: white papers, case studies, executive presentations, one-pagers, and infographics Establish editorial cadences and publishing standards that build a consistent, credible, and authoritative content presence every single week Brand Strategy & Messaging Operationalize PlanITROI's brand voice, messaging hierarchy, and positioning across every channel and every audience without exception Ensure that when any buyer, partner, candidate, or media contact encounters PlanITROI anywhere, the experience is unmistakably the same company Translate the PlanITROI story with precision for every audience: enterprise buyers, channel partners, prospective talent, and media, each with messaging calibrated to what moves them Memorialize and operationalize the company's institutional knowledge, vision, and mission, so it lives in the brand and can be felt by anyone who encounters us externally Activate and fully leverage the social impact narrative, including the Digital Dreams program and 1 million plus lives impacted: this story is an underdeveloped competitive differentiator that needs to be deployed at scale Executive Presence & Physical Events Develop a quarterly executive roundtable strategy that brings together IT and ITAM decision-makers at the VP and C-suite level in a high-value format that PlanITROI owns and leads Build the speaking, publishing, and media profile of PlanITROI's executive leaders so they are sought out and invited, no