Director - Innovation & Brand Strategy

The Sound • Chicago, IL

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role is for a strategic consultant leading brand strategy, innovation, and business development efforts. The Director will lead client engagements end-to-end, bringing their own thinking and vision-setting, and is expected to grow accounts over time. The position is hiring immediately to support business expansion. The ideal candidate is a business-minded strategic leader who thinks outside of the box, doesn’t shy away from ambiguous client challenges, and has a proven track record of growing project opportunities into lasting partnerships. The company is looking for a strategic thought leader who is innately curious about people and craves an entrepreneurial opportunity to help grow the Innovation & Brand Strategy vertical within a fast-growing, global strategic brand consultancy. This individual will challenge the brief, uncover the "problem behind the problem," and have a strong point of view to reframe a problem before solving it. They must be comfortable with ambiguity and open-ended briefs and excel in vision-setting and driving actionable solutions with clarity. The role also requires a proactive relationship builder who is comfortable with revenue accountability and highly effective in building, managing, and growing a client portfolio, as Directors have an annual minimum revenue target. Additionally, the Director will mentor team members with compassion and confidence, helping to build confidence, expand skillsets, and support their overall growth and professional development.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of previous related experience (e.g. strategy, innovation, consulting, planning, design-thinking), with preference 3+ years of hands-on experience at an insight-led strategy consultancy, innovation firm, ad agency, or brand experience agency.
• Experience designing and delivering insight-led strategic approaches, such as Brand Architecture, Brand Positioning, Innovation Sprints, Market Entry, and Jobs To Be Done.
• Familiarity with interpreting cultural trends, consumer journey mapping, and facilitating ideation workshops.
• Ability to drive organic account growth through 'insight-led' business development.
• Ability to break down a client's business problem to its fundamental truths.
• Existing long-term partnerships with clients that you can leverage.
• Ability to lead large accounts under challenging situations; flexible to the constraints and considerations of timelines, internal dynamics and client pressure.
• Ability to work with and leverage Qualitative and Quantitative data and insights to inform the development of innovation and strategy projects.
• Expert skill set in creating tools and frameworks and strength in coaching others to do the same.
• Strong writing skills are an absolute must – as compelling and impactful storytelling is at the heart of our philosophy.
• A commercial and advisory mindset; someone who excels at giving decisive advice, not just presenting options.
• Facilitation and consensus-building, ability to guide large groups through ambiguous conversations.
• High emotional intelligence and capacity for self accountability.
• Highly collaborative and works well in groups – lone wolves need not apply.
• Courage to voice concerns and leverage radical candor and influence to gain alignment.
• Culturally-savvy and curious; eager to experiment with new methodologies, inputs and tools.

Nice To Haves

• Preferably based in the Chicagoland area

Responsibilities

• Fully own a set revenue target by identifying new opportunities/categories and growing a book of business through proactive account expansion to positively contribute to the company's annual goals.
• Build trust and maintain a senior-level presence across the entire lifecycle of a partnership, from initial discovery and "winning" the business to ongoing relationship management.
• Evaluate all proposals through a cost-benefit lens to ensure strategic solutions are both precise for the client’s marketplace needs and profitable for the agency.
• Oversee the synthesis of research, data, and trends into story-driven insights that provide effective strategic recommendations from integrated cultural, consumer, category, and commercial perspectives.
• Guide junior team members in primary and secondary research (e.g., ethnography, desk research, trend scanning) and complex problem-solving, ensuring the creation and delivery of high-quality outputs (e.g., decks, multimedia).
• Lead high-impact workshops, internal brainstorms, and collaborative client sessions to foster understanding, adoption, drive consensus, and meet company standards under tight deadlines.
• Utilize design thinking, whitespace analysis, and market trends to develop actionable roadmaps and bespoke frameworks for growth.
• Transform complex data and ambiguous client objectives into structured, story-driven narratives and high-value workstreams.
• Advance agency offerings by integrating AI-informed tools and evolving methodologies beyond traditional research boundaries.

Benefits

• Discretionary bonus potential
• Flexible leave benefits tailored to your needs
• Generous health and ancillary benefits to support your family needs
• Retirement match program
• Tuition and/or Continuing Education program
• Constant acknowledgment of your performance with shout-outs, bonus incentives, and recognition along the way!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed