Brand Planning Executive Director

Wray Ward•Charlotte, NC

About The Position

At Wray Ward, the Brand Planning Executive Director (BPED) is a senior, client-facing marketing and communications leader responsible for overseeing both the Creative Strategy and Brand Strategy teams. This role unifies audience insight, brand foundation, and creative expression to ensure a cohesive, insight-driven approach across all client work. The BPED assesses customer and market behavior to develop brand platforms, audience definitions, and messaging strategies that drive meaningful business outcomes. Serving as the voice of the customer, they guide work from foundational brand strategy through creative strategy, briefing, and communications planning—ensuring alignment between brand intent and creative execution. Partnering closely with Account Management, Creative leadership, and executive stakeholders, this role shapes both the strategic and creative direction of the agency’s work. They establish consistency and rigor across key deliverables, including Brand Platforms, Playbooks, Architecture, and creative briefs, while inspiring teams to translate insights into impactful ideas that move both our clients and their audiences forward. The BPED is an integral member of brand teams that helps establish and evolve messaging strategies. The BPED works closely with the Chief Creative Officer, Chief Client Officer and Creative Directors to help guide and inspire Creative deliverables . The BPED establishes definition and consistency for agency deliverables of creative strategy and briefs.

Requirements

15–20 years in brand management, marketing strategy, account planning, strategic planning and research
Insights, strategy, and account planning and marketing strategy experience with an agency preferred
Bachelor’s degree in marketing, strategy, business, communications, psychology or sociology

Responsibilities

Ultimately accountable for the outputs of the brand planning function at Wray Ward inclusive of Brand Strategy and Creative Strategy.
Collaborates with Chief Client Officer to ensure the profitability of work, assignments and in making recommendations for the growth or reduction of the Brand Planning Team based on performance, revenue and decisions that are in the best interest of Wray Ward
Work as a member of the Wray Ward brand teams with the Account Management team that focuses on agency brands with integrated and annual communications planning
Identifies opportunities for deeper connection between the brand and customer throughout every stage of the journey
Provide leadership and guidance for creative expression and annual communications planning, and represent the voice of the customer throughout the planning process from messaging development to creative and communications implementation.
Works with the brand team to recommend messaging strategies for solving communications challenges while demonstrating a passion for creative excellence and inspiring customer-centric solutions.
Leverages Brand Strategy work to inform Creative Strategy
Partners with Account Management and Creative Directors to lead ideation sessions associated with brand and creative strategy development
Actively seek out exemplary brands, informing and educating teams on brand best practices
Oversee roster of clients who participate in Creative Expression
Articulate Creative Strategy, writes the brief, conducts briefings and supports creative presentations with creative strategy set up/expression of the brief (concepts) to clients
Work closely with Account Management to ensure alignment with the client as well as with Creative Director as brand consultant during creative recommendation development
Evaluate creative recommendations based on strategic alignment with the creative strategy/brief and the audience definition insights, join creative presentations, and leads set up of work
Serve as a resource to all brand team members as the information intersection of the brand positioning and the audience definition
Collaborate with Communications Planning and provide recommended brand and creative strategies for propelling the brand forward in meeting its communication objectives
Help initiate the communications planning process with Creative and Brand Strategy development
Serve a consultative role in annual communications planning and assess recommendations for alignment with brand strategy and audience definition
Work with Business Development to co-author creative strategy, creative expression and connections planning solution RFPs.
Oversee, manage, mentor and train for growth other Creative and Brand Strategy department members
Demonstrate excellent written, verbal and listening skills
Communicate in a coherent, personable and professional manner
Be comfortable and adept in representing WW with clients’ senior management
Demonstrate outstanding presentation skills in formal and informal settings, and be an excellent leader
Demonstrate team leadership with self-assuredness as well as sensitivity
Maintain a candid professional relationship with other WW employees, working closely with Account Management
Uphold the Wray Ward brand, culture, values and work ethic
Passionately embody the agency brand, culture and values
Inspire a contagious passion for strategic, creative solutions
Show resourcefulness, agility and resilience in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment