Director, Creative Strategy

Adjective & Co.•Jacksonville Beach, FL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Adjective & Co. is seeking a Director, Creative Strategy to lead strategic thinking, set clear direction, and unite teams to achieve objectives. This role emphasizes understanding brands as holistic experiences, encompassing their purpose, communication, presence, and performance. The ideal candidate recognizes that consumers interact with brands across multiple channels and can orchestrate these touchpoints for a connected and purposeful experience. They possess the ability to quickly grasp client business challenges, pinpoint critical problems, and translate insights from audience, cultural, and performance data into actionable strategies. This position requires not only developing strategy and briefs but also actively guiding and refining the execution to ensure it aligns with the overarching vision. The core of the role involves transforming knowledge into decisive action and leading teams effectively.

Requirements

8–10 years of progressive strategy experience, preferably within an integrated, digital, or creative agency environment.
At least 3 years of experience directly managing, mentoring, and developing strategists or other agency talent.
Experience independently leading complex brand, marketing, creative, digital, or integrated strategy engagements.
Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, create alignment, provide clear direction and feedback, and hold others accountable without requiring ongoing oversight.
Meaningful digital agency experience, including developing strategies for digital platforms, websites, social, content, CRM, paid media, and integrated campaigns.
Strong understanding of brand strategy, integrated marketing, creative development, digital experiences, customer journeys, engagement, conversion, and retention.
Expertise in audience research, competitive analysis, cultural trends, consumer behavior, and performance analytics.
Ability to translate research and performance data into compelling strategic frameworks, creative briefs, and actionable recommendations.
Strong understanding of the creative process and the ability to evaluate and strengthen work through a strategic lens.
Exceptional presentation, facilitation, communication, and storytelling skills, including experience advising senior clients and key stakeholders.
Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, navigate ambiguity, and drive work forward.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
Willingness to travel as necessary.

Nice To Haves

Understand how business, brand, audience, creative, channel, and performance strategies work together.
Turn research, data, and cultural observations into meaningful insights and actionable direction.
Naturally look for the big idea and strategic opportunity behind every assignment, while recognizing that not every challenge requires a “big idea”—and that sometimes the smartest, smallest wins can make the greatest impact.
Can lead multidisciplinary teams without needing to control every detail.
Recognize when work is stalled, fragmented, or moving in the wrong direction—and know how and when to intervene.
Give clear, constructive feedback that improves both the thinking and the work.
Bring recommendations and solutions rather than simply identifying problems.
Are self-directed, organized, decisive, and accountable.
Thrive in a fast-moving environment where priorities can change quickly.
Have the confidence to lead a room and the humility to listen to it.
Have what it takes to be part of the A-Team.

Responsibilities

Lead strategic thinking across priority accounts and agency initiatives.
Examine clients’ businesses, industries, audiences, competitors, and marketing ecosystems to identify opportunities.
Define the most important problem to solve and translate business objectives into actionable brand and marketing strategies.
Develop positioning, messaging, strategic frameworks, campaign platforms, creative territories, and briefs.
Bring a strong strategic point of view to every assignment—and know when to challenge or reframe the brief.
Lead audience, market, cultural, competitive, and consumer research as needed.
Provide strategic and cross-functional leadership across Account, Creative, Content, Digital, Media, Production, and Project Management, bringing a strong understanding of how digital platforms, channels, experiences, and audience behaviors influence the work.
Align teams around the business challenge, audience opportunity, strategic direction, and desired outcome.
Lead internal working sessions, strategic reviews, and cross-functional discussions.
Create clarity when priorities, assignments, or stakeholder expectations are ambiguous.
Drive decisions, define next steps, and maintain momentum across complex initiatives.
Recognize when work is stalled or moving in the wrong direction and intervene appropriately.
Resolve routine strategic questions independently and bring senior leadership clear recommendations.
Hold teams accountable for delivering work that supports the agreed-upon strategy.
Partner closely with Creative leadership from initial briefing through final execution.
Help teams understand not only what we are trying to communicate, but why it matters.
Evaluate concepts through the lens of the business challenge, audience insight, brand, and desired response.
Provide clear feedback that makes ideas more relevant, distinctive, and effective.
Challenge and redirect work that does not solve the right problem or fulfill the strategic opportunity.
Ensure the strategic intent remains intact throughout creative development and execution.
Establish KPIs and success measures tied to business, brand, audience, and marketing objectives.
Use data and performance analytics to inform strategic and creative decisions.
Identify what is working, what isn’t, and why.
Translate performance findings into actionable recommendations.
Develop test-and-learn approaches that improve campaigns, content, CRM, digital, and social execution.
Balance short-term performance with long-term brand and audience building.
Become a trusted strategic advisor to clients.
Lead strategic presentations, workshops, discovery sessions, and recommendations.
Translate complex information into clear, compelling business recommendations.
Confidently defend strategic recommendations while remaining open to collaboration.
Identify opportunities to add value beyond the immediate assignment.
Mentor strategists and strengthen strategic thinking across the broader agency.
Help establish practical tools, standards, and best practices for how strategy is developed and brought to life.
Foster a culture of curiosity, rigor, collaboration, accountability, and a willingness to do the damn thing.