Director, Strategy Planning

SimpsonScarborough•Alexandria, VA

1d•Remote

About The Position

SimpsonScarborough is seeking a Director, Strategy Planning to lead the development of integrated brand, marketing, content, and media strategies for colleges and universities. This role requires a blend of strategic thinking, analytical rigor, and strong facilitation skills to connect research, insight, storytelling, and institutional priorities into clear, actionable strategies. The Director will partner with clients and internal teams to define problems, uncover opportunities, and shape the strategic direction of initiatives, ensuring recommendations are grounded in data and real-world application.

Requirements

6–8 years of experience in marketing, advertising, branding, digital, media, or strategy-related roles.
Experience working within a marketing, branding, or creative agency environment.
Proven experience developing integrated marketing, content, and brand strategies across digital, social, web, print, and paid channels.
Strong understanding of audience research, messaging strategy, marketing planning, and campaign development.
Ability to articulate media strategy concepts and connect paid, owned, and earned channels into cohesive strategic approaches.
Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and persuasively.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate data into insight and direction.
Exceptional organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Proficiency with research tools, project management platforms, collaboration software, social media management tools, and Microsoft Office Suite.
Comfortable collaborating with remote, cross-functional teams nationwide.
Bachelor’s degree and/or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Responsibilities

Lead integrated brand, marketing, content, and paid media strategy development for large-scale and high-impact client engagements.
Collaborate with internal and client teams at project launch to establish goals, priorities, timelines, milestones, and opportunities for cross-functional integration and long-term growth.
Collect, analyze, and synthesize primary and secondary research to uncover actionable insights that inform positioning, messaging, campaign strategy, and audience engagement.
Develop and present strategy deliverables that are clear, compelling, and actionable—helping clients align around priorities, opportunities, and paths forward.
Partner closely with Creative, Media, Digital, Analytics, Accounts, and PMO teams to ensure strategies are integrated, insight-driven, and effectively executed across channels.
Identify opportunities to improve workflows, deliverable integration, and strategic continuity across projects and teams.
Build and maintain project documentation, strategic frameworks, and planning materials that keep stakeholders informed and aligned throughout engagements.