CMF Senior Strategist

WGSN•Shanghai, NY

About The Position

We’re looking for a CMF Senior Strategist to join our Consumer Tech global content team and become an integral part of our content function. With a visionary attitude, this Senior Strategist-level role will have significant research, design and product development experience within CMF (colour, material, and finish) and application processes, with proven success in the design and development of products in consumer electronics, home appliances, or automotive industries. Experience working with automotive, fashion and/or interior CMF applications is a plus. Revelant technical knowledge of material technology and processes w ithin the product design, consumer electronics, home appliance and automotive industries is vital. You must have a keen ability to connect upfront macro trend research with technical production knowledge, and an innate curiosity to explore how new developments in innovative material technology and processes can be implemented to facilitate purposeful and responsible design. You will be highly articulate in written and visual communication. You will be highly skilled in interpreting CMF trends, exploration and application of innovative material technology to articulate future CMF trend forecasts. With a focus on personal content creation, you’ll also edit and manage content creation from junior members of the team. The CMF Senior Strategist is seen as a trusted CMF industry expert. A CMF Senior Strategist is client-facing and meets regularly with Enterprise-level clients. This role is based in Asia or in the US.

Requirements

Significant career experience within CMF trend research, product development or content creation, and demonstrates a deep understanding of the area of expertise.
Expert knowledge of the global market from macro to micro trends across a broad range of product areas - automotive, consumer, technology, fashion, interiors and lifestyle product areas, and the ability to pinpoint trends that will impact the area of expertise.
Expert technical experience with Industrial design software programs, such as KeyShot and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Expert level of research, analysis, writing and editing content.
Expert understanding of the role data and analytics play in commercial success.
Ability to analyse data and pinpoint trends that will impact the market.
Excellent written English.
Ability to take ownership of personal assignments, prioritise workload, manage and support other members of the team.
Excellent organisation, communication and management skills with the ability to work within an international team to ensure content or outputs are of a consistently high standard and submitted on time.
Ability to build strong working relationships with key stakeholders in the business, from Sales, Client Services and Marketing.
Excellent presentation skills with proven experience in presenting to internal stakeholders, external clients and events.
Must be a self-starter and able to work independently.
Technical skills: KeyShot, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, social media platforms, and AI tools such as Midjourney, ChatGPT, Gemini etc.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with automotive, fashion and/or interior CMF applications is a plus.
Experience working with fashion and interior CMF applications is a plus.

Responsibilities

Researching and creating solution-driven CMF forecasts that demonstrate a clear understanding of client needs across multiple Consumer Tech categories and tech relevance across industries such as automotive, fashion, interiors, and beauty.
Delivering content in either written, image, video or audio formats.
Advising on new CMF content needs based on client feedback to support the Consumer Tech content strategy as set by the Content Director and/or Head of CMF.
Forecasting and tracking the Consumer Tech industry with quantitative and qualitative data within all markets and demographics.
Active participation in the content for WGSN’s Strategic Forecasting internal events.
Deliver traffic growth by consistently evaluating internal data and client feedback to improve content standards and relevance.
Manage a team of international freelancers to commission and edit content.
Responsible for the main ‘peer review’ of CMF content created for their relevant segments, as directed by the Content Director and/or Head of CMF.
Collaborate with Consumer Tech team and wider content teams across multiple Industries.
Travel nationally and internationally to cover industry trade shows, conferences and other events as required.
Work with the Sales teams to support client relationships.
Speak to clients regularly to understand their needs.
Servicing Enterprise Clients by delivering analyst calls and presentations.
Participates in marketing content as required, such as live events, webinars and podcasts.
Partner with the Marketing department in the creation and delivery of promotional materials to drive growth and build awareness of Consumer Tech.
Provide quotes for press and broadcast media as required.
Behaves as a department Ambassador both internally and externally.