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PapaHR · Mike Pritula Academy · Roles

Content Manager: Role Profile, KPIs and Interview Questions

This page covers the role profile, key performance indicators (KPIs), interview questions and onboarding plan for a content manager. Use it to hire someone who publishes clear content on time and keeps your website accurate.

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  1. Take the profile below or build your own with the builder.
  2. In PapaHR the profile turns into a job ad, an onboarding plan and probation goals.
  3. After 90 days, review the person against the same KPIs and competencies.

Job profile

Why the role exists

Help customers choose a product through clear, accurate and current content.

Result in a year

Content follows the agreed calendar, listings are complete, outdated information gets updated, and clicks from content are measured.

Place in the structure

  1. Reports toHead of Marketing, or the owner in a small business.
  2. Direct reportsNone.
  3. Works withMarketing specialist — audience, topics and publishing goals, Product specialist — specifications and fact checking, Designer — images and content layout, Developer — page templates and display issues, Sales and support — customer questions and inaccurate descriptions
Key result areas
  1. Agreed publishing volume delivered — Publishing plan attainment100% of planned publications approved.
  2. Content published by the required date — On-time publishing rate100% of publications released on time.
  3. Content approved without rework — First-pass approval rate100% of reviewed content approved without revisions.
  4. Listings provide all information needed to choose — Listing completeness100% of checked listings contain all required information.
  5. Product changes reflected on the website — Update plan attainment100% of planned updates approved on time.
  6. Readers take the next step — Content click target attainment100% of agreed target clicks to products.
Requirements

Experience: Website publishing experience; a portfolio explaining your personal contribution.

Formal: No specific degree required; strong writing and published work matter.

Should know

  • Article, product listing and service page structure.
  • Rules for headings, links and image descriptions.
  • Basics of search engine optimization.
  • Approval steps for facts, prices and terms.
  • Difference between a page view and a link click.

Should be able to

  • Publish and update pages through a content management system.
  • Shorten copy without losing meaning.
  • Find contradictions in product descriptions.
  • Resize images without distortion.
  • Use spreadsheets to upload listings.
  • Read traffic and click reports.
Competencies at three levels

Editorial judgment

Helps readers quickly understand the product and the next step.

  1. Removes repetition and revises copy following an editor’s feedback.basic
  2. Independently structures content around a customer question.solid
  3. Creates editorial guidelines that help writers explain things clearly.strong

Fact checking

Incorrect specifications and terms cause returns and unnecessary support requests.

  1. Checks prices and specifications against the supplied source.basic
  2. Finds contradictions and gets confirmation before publishing.solid
  3. Organizes source verification and prevents repeated errors.strong

Publishing quality

Accurate copy must display correctly and link to working pages.

  1. Publishes using templates and checks required fields.basic
  2. Independently checks mobile display, links and formatting.solid
  3. Improves templates and checks to reduce technical errors.strong

Content planning

Keeps publishing on schedule when source information arrives late.

  1. Maintains a personal content list and meets agreed deadlines.basic
  2. Plans dependencies and flags potential delays early.solid
  3. Reworks the calendar when priorities change while protecting critical deadlines.strong

Content analysis

Shows which content helps visitors move towards the product.

  1. Collects page views and clicks using a predefined report.basic
  2. Identifies weak pages and proposes changes that can be tested.solid
  3. Compares results while accounting for traffic sources and seasonality.strong

Expert coordination

Secures accurate information without endless approval rounds.

  1. Asks specific questions and records the specialist’s answers.basic
  2. Agrees review deadlines and clarifies conflicting feedback.solid
  3. Builds a short approval process involving several contributors.strong
Builder

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Tick what this person does at your company. On the right is the ready profile: copy it or open it in PapaHR.

Content Manager

Help customers choose a product through clear, accurate and current content.

Duties
  1. Maintain a publishing calendar with topics, deadlines and owners.
  2. Request facts, specifications and supporting evidence from specialists.
  3. Edit copy around customer questions and the company voice.
  4. Complete product and service listings using the approved field checklist.
  5. Publish text and images through the website content management system.
  6. Check links, forms, headings and page layout before publishing.
  7. Get approval from the person responsible for product information.
  8. Update prices, terms and descriptions after changes are confirmed.
  9. Check published pages on mobile and desktop.
  10. Measure clicks from content and suggest link improvements.
  11. Prepare marketing emails using an existing template.
  12. Migrate content during a website update.
  13. Coordinate translations of listings and articles.
  14. Brief freelance writers and review their submissions.
  15. Upload listings in bulk using a checked spreadsheet.
  16. Select images with confirmed permission for use.
  17. Prepare short versions of articles for social media.
Open the profile in PapaHR

Content Manager KPIs

  1. Publishing plan attainment — Approved publications / planned publications × 100%. Mistake: Counting drafts or splitting one piece merely to increase volume.weight 25% · month
  2. On-time publishing rate — On-time publications / publications scheduled this month × 100%. Mistake: Moving agreed deadlines retrospectively to hide delays.weight 20% · month
  3. First-pass approval rate — Content approved without revisions / reviewed content × 100%. Mistake: Counting content without review or hiding requests for revisions.weight 20% · month
  4. Listing completeness — Complete listings / checked listings × 100%. Mistake: Counting placeholder text or changing the set of listings being checked.weight 15% · month
  5. Update plan attainment — Updates approved on time / planned updates × 100%. Mistake: Treating the whole website as updated after changing one page.weight 10% · month
  6. Content click target attainment — Clicks from content to products / target clicks × 100%. Mistake: Counting staff or bot clicks as customer interest.weight 10% · month
Calculator

Work out the KPI bonus

Enter how much of each target was met, in percent, and the bonus at 100%. You can change the weights.

KPIWeight, %Achieved, %Share
Publishing plan attainment
On-time publishing rate
First-pass approval rate
Listing completeness
Update plan attainment
Content click target attainment
KPI total
Bonus
Sum of weights

The weights are an example. They should add up to 100%.

Interview questions

Scorecard

Run the interview and get the result

Score each answer from 1 to 5 and the total is worked out by competency. Keep this page open on your phone during the interview.

Editorial judgment

Describe turning a complex product description into clear copy. What did you change, and how did you check the result?

✓ Listen for: Reader’s question, original copy, specific edits and a clarity check.

⚑ Red flag: Discusses attractive wording only; cannot explain how edits helped.

Tell me about a piece you shortened substantially. What did you keep, remove and achieve?

✓ Listen for: Essential information, reasons for cuts and the approved result.

⚑ Red flag: Cut by length without checking whether important terms were lost.

Fact checking

Describe conflicting product specifications you found. How did you spot them, verify the facts and decide what to publish?

✓ Listen for: Specific discrepancy, reliable source and confirmation from the product information owner.

⚑ Red flag: Chose the more attractive specification without checking.

Tell me about an error in published content. How did you fix it and prevent a repeat?

✓ Listen for: Error scope, corrections across affected pages and an improved check.

⚑ Red flag: Fixed one page without telling anyone about the impact.

Publishing quality

Describe a difficult publication with layout problems. How did you find the cause and verify the fix?

✓ Listen for: Template checks, mobile display and a review after fixing.

⚑ Red flag: Considered the work finished as soon as the text was saved.

Tell me about uploading a batch of listings. How did you check fields, images and links, and what errors emerged?

✓ Listen for: Source spreadsheet review, a trial upload and checks of published listings.

⚑ Red flag: Uploaded everything at once and left checks to customers.

Content planning

Describe a missed deadline for source information. How did you adjust the plan, notify others and still publish on time?

✓ Listen for: Dependency, early warning, replacement content and actual deadlines.

⚑ Red flag: Waited silently for source information until publication day.

Tell me how an urgent change to product terms affected your calendar. What moved, and how was the decision agreed?

✓ Listen for: Customer risk, revised priorities and recorded new deadlines.

⚑ Red flag: Promised everything at once without assessing workload.

Content analysis

Describe an article with views but no product clicks. What did you check, change and achieve?

✓ Listen for: Working measurement, relevant offer, link changes and a comparison of results.

⚑ Red flag: Judged success by views alone.

Recall improved metrics after editing a page. How did you establish the contribution of your changes?

✓ Listen for: Comparison of periods, traffic sources and other website changes.

⚑ Red flag: Claimed all growth without checking traffic or advertising.

Expert coordination

Describe getting facts from a busy specialist. What did you ask, how did you agree a deadline, and what happened?

✓ Listen for: Short question list, an agreed deadline and confirmed information.

⚑ Red flag: Sent a vague request and waited without following up.

Tell me about conflicting edits from two reviewers. How did you resolve the disagreement and finish publishing?

✓ Listen for: Reasons for edits, a decision owner and an approved version.

⚑ Red flag: Rewrote endlessly or decided product terms without authorization.

Score at least one answer and the result shows up here. ·
Track candidates in PapaHR

Test task

Prepare a service listing and website update · 2 hours

Give the candidate a fictional service description, a listing template, customer questions and two source files with conflicting terms. Ask for a completed listing, a short article explaining the service benefits and a publishing calendar. They should flag unconfirmed information, prepare questions for the product specialist, show where the service link belongs and include a pre-publication checklist. The deliverables are a document and a spreadsheet; no live website access is needed. Provide all source material with the task and use the work only for assessment.

How to assess it

  • The listing answers customer questions and includes all required fields.
  • Conflicts are flagged; unconfirmed terms are not presented as facts.
  • Copy is concise, accurate and clear without explanation.
  • The calendar allows time for fact gathering and approval.
  • The checklist covers links, images and mobile display.
  • The link offers a relevant next step; click measurement is proposed.

Ready job ad

Content Manager at [company]

[company] is hiring a content manager for its [product] website. You will help customers understand our offering through accurate descriptions and useful content.

What you will do

  • Maintain the content calendar for [website].
  • Gather facts from product specialists.
  • Edit articles and complete product and service listings.
  • Publish content and check page layout.
  • Update descriptions when the product changes.
  • Analyze clicks from content to products or services.

What we need

  • Published work with a clear explanation of your contribution.
  • Strong writing skills and the ability to shorten copy.
  • Experience publishing through a website content management system.
  • Check facts, links and images before publication.
  • Plan publications and flag delays early.
  • Read basic traffic and click reports.

What we offer

  • Pay: [salary in US dollars]; salary reviews: [terms].
  • Hours: [schedule]; location: [city]; arrangement: [remote/office/hybrid].
  • Workload: [number of websites and monthly publications].
  • Support from [product information owner] and [designer].
  • Tools: [content management system] and [analytics platform].
  • Learning and feedback: [arrangements].

In PapaHR this text becomes a job opening with a careers page and a candidate pipeline.

90-day onboarding plan

Before day one

  1. Send start details and team contact information.HR
  2. Prepare website, analytics and image folder access.IT
  3. Choose a practice listing and gather specification sources.Manager

Day one

  1. Explain the audience, product and scope of content responsibilities.Manager
  2. Show templates, previews and approval steps.Mentor
  3. Check access and save a practice listing as a draft.New hire

First week

  1. Prepare the first listing and article with mentor review.New hire
  2. Review factual, formatting and link errors in the first pieces.Mentor
  3. Agree the calendar, acceptance criteria and urgent update process.Manager
  4. Agree performance targets and data sources for calculations.Manager

30 days

  1. Independently take content from source information to publication.New hire
  2. List outdated pages and prioritize updates.New hire
  3. Review publishing deadlines and reasons for rework.Manager

60 days

  1. Update the agreed page set and check related listings.New hire
  2. Prepare a click report and select a page to improve.New hire
  3. Check independent coordination and accuracy of published terms.Manager

90 days

  1. Present publishing, update and selected page improvement results.New hire
  2. Compare results with goals for the probation period.Manager
  3. Agree the next calendar and analytics learning goals.Manager

Probation period goals

  1. Independently deliver the agreed publishing calendar.By day 90, deliver 100% of the last month’s publishing plan, with content approved.
  2. Publish accurate terms and working links.All content from the last month passes the checklist; no unresolved price, terms or link errors.
  3. Update the agreed set of outdated pages.By day 60, complete 100% of planned updates; the manager checks the page list.
  4. Learn to assess clicks from content to products.By day 90, submit a report, improve one selected page and compare clicks before and after.

Career path

Junior Content Coordinator

Completes listings and publishes prepared content with a mentor’s review.

To move up: Publish independently, meet deadlines and avoid recurring errors.

Content Manager

Owns the calendar, gathers facts, edits and evaluates published content.

To move up: Improve content quality and coordinate publishing with several contributors.

Senior Content Manager

Improves templates, coaches colleagues and owns several website sections.

To move up: Learn to prioritize content, plan resources and develop a team.

Head of Content

Owns the content plan, production budget and writers’ work.

To move up: Develop budget management and assess content’s contribution to business goals.

Questions for a 1:1 meeting

  1. Which pieces are blocked by missing information, and whose help do you need?
  2. Where could outdated prices or terms still appear on the website?
  3. Which editing comments keep recurring, and how can we address the cause?
  4. Which part of publishing takes the most time?
  5. Which page gets views but sends nobody to the product?
  6. Which templates or permissions would help you publish independently?
  7. Which customer questions should become our next pieces of content?
  8. What will we reschedule if an urgent product update arrives?

Mistakes in hiring and managing

  1. Hiring from an attractive portfolio without checking the candidate’s contribution.
    Better: Review the source draft, edits and candidate’s role in one publication.
  2. Combining writing, design, advertising and development without assessing workload.
    Better: Define essential tasks and provide support for the remaining work.
  3. Judging performance only by page counts and views.
    Better: Include approval, deadlines, listing completeness and clicks to products.
  4. Expecting current descriptions without a source for product changes.
    Better: Assign an owner for facts and a channel for sharing changes.
  5. Adding new requests after every approval round.
    Better: Consolidate feedback and agree acceptance criteria before work starts.
HR in money

What a bad hire costs: Content Manager

The same calculation as in PapaHR «HR in money»: the cost of hiring plus the salary for the months the new hire worked at half capacity.

One leaver
A year

In the first months a new hire delivers about half the result, so the company pays the other half of the salary for learning. In PapaHR the calculation uses your real leavers.

Questions and answers

What does a content manager do?

A content manager organizes the preparation, publication and updating of website content. They check copy, listings, images and links so customers can understand the offering. Specify the expected amount of writing separately in the job ad.

How does a content manager differ from a copywriter?

A copywriter mainly writes to a brief. A content manager handles the full publishing process: gathering information, securing approval, publishing and updating content. In a small business, one person can cover both roles if the workload is clear.

Should a content manager manage social media?

That depends on business needs and available time. List social posts, community replies and promotion separately if these are required. Clarify which website tasks take priority.

What software should a content manager know?

The role needs a content management system, spreadsheets, an image editor and an analytics platform. Test whether candidates can publish a page and identify a problem rather than checking software names alone. Include access and tool training in onboarding.

How do you assess a content manager’s performance?

Agree publishing and update plans, deadlines and acceptance criteria. Then assess plan attainment, listing quality and clicks from content to products. Review changes in advertising and traffic with the marketing specialist.

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