Strategy Director (Contract)

SALT XC•Chicago, IL

11h•$140,000 - $150,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Strategy Director is a senior leadership role within The Kitchen, Kraft Heinz’s integrated creative function, reporting to the Group Strategy Director. The role serves as the day-to-day strategic lead across assigned brands, owning the full arc of brand and social strategy while taking increased responsibility for team management and strategic operations. The Strategy Director helps set standards for briefs, insight development, and cross-functional collaboration, and serves as a trusted strategic partner to creative and brand teams. The role leads brand and social strategy across multiple brands or a high-priority portfolio, translating audience, cultural, business, and performance insights into actionable briefs and recommendations. It manages and develops strategists, partners with Creative, Brand, Communications, Media, and Analytics, and leads processes that improve strategic quality and cross-functional integration. The position also monitors trends and consumer behavior, supports measurement planning, and uses campaign learnings to improve future work. The Kitchen is an integrated creative team of creatives, producers, data analysts, and social experts that develops ideas across formats, from social to television. It works at the speed of culture, responding to trends and events with ideas intended to earn media attention and engage the public. The team has received recognition from Cannes and One Show and was named Campaign’s Global ‘In-House Agency of The Year.’ The position is based in Chicago with a hybrid arrangement requiring two days onsite.

Requirements

7–10 years of experience in brand strategy, creative strategy, social strategy, or integrated marketing roles.
Demonstrated experience leading strategy across multiple brands or a complex brand, with a track record of driving brand relevance and business impact.
Proven ability to manage and develop junior strategists and cross-functional team members.
Experience using data-driven insights, cultural trends, and consumer behavior to build compelling, actionable strategies.
Ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced, matrixed environment and set direction proactively.
Strong communication and influence skills, including the ability to present strategic thinking clearly and convincingly to multiple stakeholder groups.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a Fortune 500 CPG company or top-tier creative or in-house agency.
Experience in social-led and integrated strategy across owned, earned, and paid media channels.

Responsibilities

Lead brand and social strategy across multiple brands or a high-priority portfolio, supporting long-term brand positioning and business goals.
Define strategic direction with the Group Strategy Director by connecting brand ambition, cultural insight, and creative opportunities to actionable plans.
Translate audience, cultural, business, and performance insights into clear briefs, strategic narratives, and recommendations.
Maintain strategic frameworks, playbooks, and brand voice guidance to improve the quality and consistency of work across the pod.
Manage, mentor, and develop the strategy team within assigned pods.
Provide structured feedback, coaching, and growth opportunities to junior team members.
Set clear goals and performance expectations for pod team members.
Contribute to onboarding new strategists and orienting them to The Kitchen’s ways of working, brand fundamentals, and strategic approach.
Serve as a senior strategic partner to Creative, Brand, and Communications leaders, aligning social strategy with marketing and business priorities.
Represent Strategy in senior-level brand and pod discussions, shaping direction through clear, insight-led storytelling.
Partner with Brand, Creative, Media, and Analytics to deliver integrated thinking across channels and workstreams.
Build trusted relationships across The Kitchen and brand teams, positioning Strategy as a high-value, action-driving function.
Set and uphold high standards for briefs, insights, and strategic deliverables.
Lead planning processes and workflows that improve clarity, consistency, efficiency, and cross-functional integration.
Capture and share campaign learnings, best practices, and toolkits to strengthen strategic capability.
Foster continuous learning, proactive thinking, and strategic ambition while surfacing opportunities ahead of business needs.
Monitor market trends, cultural shifts, and consumer behavior to inform brand and social strategy.
Partner with Insights and Analytics to ground recommendations in data, research, and performance learnings.
Identify opportunities for cultural relevance by connecting social trends, consumer behavior, and brand purpose.
Oversee measurement planning and ensure reporting informs actionable strategic and creative improvements.