Senior Strategist

McGarrah Jessee•Austin, TX

9d•$90,000 - $110,000•Remote

About The Position

McJ is looking for a sharp, curious, insight-driven senior strategist who can turn information into powerful stories that inspire creative work and move brands forward. If you love digging into culture, decoding human behavior and shaping strategic direction, this role is for you. What you’ll do Own consumer research projects from start to finish, including vendor/partner selection, methodology creation, scheduling, budgeting, discussion guide development and reporting Lead and oversee research with a deep understanding of what human truths (behavioral or emotional) the brand needs to mine for and better leverage Lead qualitative research — including ethnographies, intercepts, focus groups, etc. — with deep empathy and inquisitiveness, digging beneath the surface to find surprising insights Develop inspiring discussion guides with unique questions and exercises that surface interesting creative nuggets Develop innovative ways to glean insights from primary and secondary resources — embracing the spirit of experimentation — and always be on the lookout for qualitative and quantitative research partners and methodologies Support/co-lead all research initiatives — consumer segmentation studies, brand trackers, consumer insights mining, creative concept testing, etc. Find innovative ways to deliver research findings to inspire teams and clients Lead/co-lead the research and development of brand foundations (Purpose, Positioning, etc.) Tell a strategic story out of competitive audit — mine for themes that affect brand Tell a strategic story out of communication mapping exercise (emerging + dominant) Crystallize the human insights from MRI/People Pattern/ethos Lead/co-lead brand personality development Partner with creatives in identity/brand book creation Become a trusted partner with Creative and Engagement teams to make the work strategically sound, culturally potent and consumer relevant Share interesting and relevant cultural happenings/shifts, industry trends, category happenings and brand communications with strategy team and agency on Slack — articles, trend reports, data, etc. Serve as the brand steward in all internal and external meetings Analyze client data, reframe client problems and offer new solutions to open up opportunities Work with Engagement/Comms to build, define and contextualize audiences through MRI-Simmons or comparable tools. Develop insights into audience rituals and behaviors throughout the funnel/user journey. Collaborate closely with creative teams day-to-day to sharpen insights and strategies, as well as optimize insights to inspire creative ideas Work across departments to organize, extend and connect creative ideas into campaign ecosystems that accomplish the intended business goals Support/co-lead initiative planning with Brand team

Requirements

3-6 years of experience in a creative agency
Ability to distill information into compelling takeaways
A proven analytical brain
Cultural curiosity (ideally has interesting side hustles, passions, obsessions)
Strong writing and storytelling skills
A deep understanding of the 4 C’s (Culture, Category/Competition, Consumer, Company Core Equities) to develop hypotheses, inform the creative process and inspire new ways for clients to think about their business

Responsibilities

Own consumer research projects from start to finish, including vendor/partner selection, methodology creation, scheduling, budgeting, discussion guide development and reporting
Lead and oversee research with a deep understanding of what human truths (behavioral or emotional) the brand needs to mine for and better leverage
Lead qualitative research — including ethnographies, intercepts, focus groups, etc. — with deep empathy and inquisitiveness, digging beneath the surface to find surprising insights
Develop inspiring discussion guides with unique questions and exercises that surface interesting creative nuggets
Develop innovative ways to glean insights from primary and secondary resources — embracing the spirit of experimentation — and always be on the lookout for qualitative and quantitative research partners and methodologies
Support/co-lead all research initiatives — consumer segmentation studies, brand trackers, consumer insights mining, creative concept testing, etc.
Find innovative ways to deliver research findings to inspire teams and clients
Lead/co-lead the research and development of brand foundations (Purpose, Positioning, etc.)
Tell a strategic story out of competitive audit — mine for themes that affect brand
Tell a strategic story out of communication mapping exercise (emerging + dominant)
Crystallize the human insights from MRI/People Pattern/ethos
Lead/co-lead brand personality development
Partner with creatives in identity/brand book creation
Become a trusted partner with Creative and Engagement teams to make the work strategically sound, culturally potent and consumer relevant
Share interesting and relevant cultural happenings/shifts, industry trends, category happenings and brand communications with strategy team and agency on Slack — articles, trend reports, data, etc.
Serve as the brand steward in all internal and external meetings
Analyze client data, reframe client problems and offer new solutions to open up opportunities
Work with Engagement/Comms to build, define and contextualize audiences through MRI-Simmons or comparable tools.
Develop insights into audience rituals and behaviors throughout the funnel/user journey.
Collaborate closely with creative teams day-to-day to sharpen insights and strategies, as well as optimize insights to inspire creative ideas
Work across departments to organize, extend and connect creative ideas into campaign ecosystems that accomplish the intended business goals
Support/co-lead initiative planning with Brand team