Associate Director, Media Strategy

Canvas Worldwide•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Canvas Worldwide is an independent media agency recognized as one of Ad Age's "Best Places to Work" for three consecutive years. The agency is committed to providing creative solutions for brands like Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, MGM, Zillow, and McDonaldâ€™s, fostering an environment that encourages challenging the status quo and continuous career development through training and workshops. The company also emphasizes diversity and inclusion. This role is for an Associate Director of Brand Strategy, focusing on leading culturally grounded, insight-driven strategy for a major QSR brand, specifically targeting Hispanic audiences. The position involves shaping how strategy is executed across media, creative, and culture, acting as a key driver for work with clarity, rigor, and cultural fluency.

Requirements

Multicultural advertising experience required, with strong expertise in U.S. Hispanic audiences
5â€“8 years of experience across media strategy, planning, or brand strategy
5+ years of experience mentoring and developing team members
Strong understanding of the Hispanic vendor and partner landscape
Comfortable challenging the status quo, asking the right questions to ensure strategy translates into meaningful impact
Proven ability to lead projects from start to finish in a fast-paced environment
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Confident presenter with the ability to influence across teams and clients
Ability to prioritize and manage multiple workstreams with flexibility and clear communication
Strong organizational and analytical skills
Excellent time management and follow-through
High attention to detail and quality of work
Comfortable navigating media math and planning scenarios to guide, challenge and elevate team output
Proven ability to build and maintain strong internal, external, and client relationships

Responsibilities

Collaborate with client and agency leads to define and shape the overarching brand strategies
Translate business objectives into clear, insight-driven strategic frameworks that inform media, creative, and cross-channel execution
Continuously refine and improve strategic approaches and workflows to drive more effective, culture-led planning
Apply a strong understanding of media fundamentals (reach, frequency, phasing, investment levels) to develop and guide planning scenarios to make sure they deliver against KPIs and business objectives
Serve as a trusted expert in the multiculturalâ€”Hispanic landscape, proactively delivering relevant insights, trends, and opportunities to clients and internal teams
Foster and lead collaboration across multiple internal and external teams (clients, strategy, creative, cross-channel investment teams, etc.)
Act as the connector across disciplines, ensuring all work aligns to a cohesive and culturally relevant narrative
Evaluate scenarios and trade-offs, bringing a strategic lens to investment decisions and channel roles
Identify and proactively resolve gaps across teams to maintain consistency, quality, and alignment
Foster a team environment that supports growth, accountability, and continuous learning
Promote an open and collaborative culture where diverse perspectives and ideas are encouraged
Ensure the team is aligned and informed on broader client needs, priorities, and strategic direction
Willingness to step into the details with direct reports to guide, problem-solve, and support execution
Navigate high-pressure situations with composure while maintaining team morale and productivity