Creative Consultant

Caterpillar Inc.•Chicago, IL

About The Position

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it. Cat Digital is the digital and technology arm of Caterpillar Inc., leveraging the latest technologies to build industry leading digital solutions for our customers and dealers. With over 1.5 million connected assets worldwide, our teams use data, technology, advanced analytics, telematics, and AI capabilities to help our customers build a better, more sustainable world. Job Summary: Ironworks is Caterpillar’s in-house marketing agency. Built to Inspire. Driven by Strategy. Relentless by Design. Our core values include Authenticity, Passion, Strategy, Collaboration, and Accountability. We are the creative engine behind the world’s toughest brand. The Sr Strategist/Creative Consultant at Ironworks will be responsible for leading the strategic vision for brand campaigns across a wide variety of business units, creating and activating compelling brand stories that drive business impact for Caterpillar. This role operates at the front end of the agency, ensuring work begins with clear strategic direction before creative execution starts. You’re a strategic thinker with a curiosity for asking why. You strive to understand digital behavior, emerging technologies and are ready to translate insights into actionable brand frameworks and campaign strategies. As part of Ironworks, you will be part of a fast-growing team with enterprise impact. Your work matters every day to the clients we serve and to the dealers and customers who are impacted by our campaigns. You will be a part of an organization that has steadfast values of integrity, excellence, teamwork, commitment, and sustainability, lives by a culture of safety, and helps our customers build a better world. Come join us. Let’s do the work.

Requirements

Customer Focus: Knowledge of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and ability to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.
Collaborating: Knowledge of collaborative techniques; ability to work with a variety of individuals and groups in a constructive and collaborative manner.
Creativity: Knowledge of the approaches, tools, and techniques for promoting creative, original thinking and ability to apply it to a variety of business situations.
Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.
Relationship Management: Knowledge of relationship management techniques; ability to establish and maintain healthy working relationships with clients, vendors, and peers.
Promotion and Marketing Communications: Knowledge of different promotional and marketing communication techniques; ability to use different marketing channels and tools in combination to focus on how a business communicates a message to the market.

Nice To Haves

Experience in strategy within an agency or brand environment
Demonstrated expertise in brand positioning, consumer insight development, and integrated communications strategy
Strong analytical skills, with experience leveraging research, data, and cultural intelligence to drive strategy
Proficiency in mapping consumer journeys and identifying key touchpoints for engagement
Confident storyteller with excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to simplify the complex and inspire action
Experience collaborating cross-functionally with creative, media, digital, and client teams
Deep familiarity with digital and social platforms, as well as an understanding of how technology and culture shape brand expression
Familiarity with prompt-based interaction and commonly used generative AI tools (e.g., CoPilot, Firefly, Envato, Midjourney) is a plus, especially for tasks like ideation, research, and brief development
Knowledge of secondary research data sources; ability to navigate and extract baseline insights
Experience with measurement and performance tracking is a plus
Curiosity, adaptability, and a proactive mindset required; experience mentoring or managing junior strategists a bonus

Responsibilities

Owns front-end strategic clarity by defining the problem, audience priority, message hierarchy, and success criteria before creative execution begins.
Develop and articulate brand strategies that connect business objectives with audience insights, trends, and digital behaviors
Translate complex brand challenges into clear positioning, messaging hierarchies, and brand narratives
Map consumer journeys and buying behaviors to identify high-impact opportunities for connection and engagement
Design and orchestrate integrated communications strategies across paid, owned, and earned touchpoints, partnering closely with creative, media, and digital teams
Conduct and synthesize market, audience, and competitive research to inform recommendations
Collaborate with cross-functional agency teams to inspire creative concepts, campaign activations, and content systems that drive measurable brand growth
Present strategic recommendations and insights to clients and internal stakeholders in a compelling, story-driven manner
Stay attuned to emerging trends in culture, digital platforms, and technology to inform brand and campaign strategies
Support the development of brand measurement frameworks and KPIs to track effectiveness and optimize performance
Conceptualizes, sells, designs, leads, analyzes, and presents qualitative and quantitative research studies