Vice President, Brand Strategy

Edelman•Washington, DC

2d•$105,000 - $175,000

About The Position

We are in relentless pursuit of an equitable and inspiring workplace that is respectful of all, reflects and represents the world in which we live, and fosters trust, collaboration and belonging. Consistent with this approach, we hire the best qualified candidates for all positions. Edelman is seeking a VP, Strategy Director to lead culturally grounded, insight-driven work that earns attention and drives business impact for a leading retail client. At Edelman, strategy drives creative effectiveness in a deeply fragmented, hyper-personal media landscape. We identify the cultural and human insights that shape behavior, translate them into sharp strategic platforms, and partner with creative teams to produce ideas that travel across media, culture and commerce. This role requires a strategist with strong cultural instincts, retail category fluency, and the ability to turn ambiguity into clear, actionable direction.

Requirements

8+ years in strategy, planning or insights roles within agency or consulting environments
Proven experience leading strategy for retail, CPG or consumer-facing brands
Strong portfolio demonstrating insight-led work that drove cultural relevance and business results
Ability to uncover and articulate human/cultural truths that unlock creative opportunity
Strong storytelling skills – able to turn complex inputs into clear, persuasive narratives
Experience working across the full ecosystem: brand, social, influencer, commerce, and earned media
Comfort operating with speed, ambiguity and incomplete information
Confident client partner with experience presenting to senior stakeholders
Effective cross-functional collaborator across creative, data and account teams

Nice To Haves

Deep understanding of how retail brands win today – across physical, digital and cultural touchpoints
Strong point of view on culture, media and consumer behavior
Experience connecting strategy to measurable outcomes (brand lift, engagement, conversion, sales)
Curiosity to test new approaches, tools and ways of working
Curious – you look beyond what people say to understand what drives them
Decisive – you bring clarity to complexity and move work forward
Collaborative – you build strong partnerships across teams and disciplines
Adaptable – you shift seamlessly between projects, categories and problem sets
Accountable – you own the quality and impact of the work

Responsibilities

Drive integrated strategy across brand, product, seasonal and purpose-driven initiatives for a major retail client, in partnership with a Group Strategy Director and/or Head of Strategy
Define human and cultural insights that unlock earned-first ideas and connect to commercial outcomes
Develop clear, compelling briefs that inspire creative teams and align cross-functional partners
Translate business challenges into communications strategy, connecting brand, experience, and performance
Guide work from insight to execution, ensuring outputs stay on strategy across channels (earned, social, influencer, experiential, retail environments)
Partner with Data & Intelligence teams to integrate research, audience insights and performance learnings into planning and optimization
Shape annual and campaign planning, including strategic frameworks, narratives and measurement approaches
Collaborate across disciplines (creative, social, account, production, digital, PR/earned, influencer, analytics) to deliver integrated work
Manage multiple workstreams in a fast-moving environment with evolving priorities