VP, Brand Strategy (Healthcare Provider)

Merge•Chicago, IL

6h•$164,000 - $197,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Merge Storytelling and Technology We bring together the minds and passions of creative pioneers, tech innovators, and data explorers to help ambitious clients solve business challenges and rise to the top. MERGE has enduring client partnerships with American Express, T-Mobile, Subway, Kate Spade NY, Coach, The North Face, Meta, Adobe, BlueCross BlueShield, Abbott, Astellas, Supernus, CSL, GE Healthcare, Broward Health, Indiana University Health, and Morgan Stanley. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Montreal, New York City and Los Angeles. MERGE uses a talent-to-task process that enables clients to think higher and feel deeper about their customers. Promote Health, Wellness & Happiness We are committed to promoting health, wellness and happiness in the world by partnering with purpose-driven clients in purpose-driven industries in healthcare, life science, and consumer products. Our deep vertical expertise and category insights stem from decade-long partnerships with our top clients. Emerge to the Top of Your Career At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers. As our VP, Brand Strategy you will… Be a creative and intellectual leader who believes that Health brands can be as powerful, distinctive, and emotionally resonant as the best consumer brands. You'll serve as a strategic brand leader for our Provider and Health clients, partnering with the most senior leadership to guide them toward bold solutions and drive business growth. Internally, you will be a key leader, sparking new ways of looking at the world and helping drive strategies and solutions that solve the real client issue. Ultimately, you will independently lead the development of large-scale and complex brand strategy deliverables, ensuring excellence across all stages of the process. You are joining at an inflection point for MERGE. With a strategic focus in Health and Wellness and leadership’s commitment to growing Brand Strategy, you will have the runway to help shape the next chapter of our practice. About MERGE Brand Strategy Our clients come to MERGE because they need more than a traditional brand strategy; they need a strategy built for the complex reality of the modern consumer. Where other agencies have a strategic blind spot, lacking either the health or lifestyle lens, MERGE has a superpower: The Whole Human Insight Advantage. This is our proprietary strategic mindset that informs every recommendation we make. We believe that to drive true growth, you must deeply understand the individual across their entire life: as a consumer and as a patient. By intentionally triangulating insights across our Lifestyle and Health divisions, we gain a complete, empathetic view of their motivations and challenges, ensuring our strategy fuels a brand journey that is relevant, seamless, and ultimately advances the crucial work of our clients’ brands.

Requirements

12+ years of relevant professional experience, with at least 4+ years of Provider/Health Systems experience at an agency preferred.
Proven track record of delivering ambitious outcomes for a diverse range of companies, from agile start-ups to the Fortune 100.
Expert ability to apply strategic principles across complex health systems while navigating industry-specific nuances and regulatory landscapes.
Mastery of the modern strategist’s toolkit, including audience definition, segmentation, and the authoring of insightful Creative Briefs.
Demonstrated ability to consult with C-suite clients on how brands grow, providing clear measurement frameworks that justify and invite continued investment.
An outstanding storyteller with a proven ability to marry complex data with compelling narratives to inspire, persuade, and drive creative excellence and client conviction.
Strong ability to consult with senior clients and lead cross-functional teams
Strong ability to enlist cross-functional teams to develop culturally relevant ideas. You believe true partnership is the key to the best outcomes.
Motivated by an entrepreneurial spirit and a high degree of adaptability in a changing industry. You possess a deep comfort with AI tools, using them to enhance your strategic workflow rather than replace it.
Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

Responsibilities

Lead the development of large-scale, complex brand strategies and "Big M" marketing visions for both current clients and new business pitches.
Drive the creation of foundational outputs—including audience insights, positioning, launch strategies, and brand plans—while maintaining the agility to tailor strategic frameworks to the unique demands of the job at hand.
Lead effective collaboration with clients, creative leads, and extended partners in both informal and formal settings—such as brand workshops and creative ideation—to develop and sell inventive, strategic solutions.
Champion the use of inventive research methodologies to discover fresh customer insights that others miss, ensuring our work is grounded in deep human truth.
Leverage predictive and generative AI tools to validate brand hypotheses and scale hyper-personalized creative strategies.
Write the "master briefs" and partner closely with creative leaders to ensure our strategic vision translates into award-winning, culturally relevant creative work.
Uncover insights tied to client business objectives that unlock growth; actively leading strategy for new business pitches and identifying opportunities to expand services with existing clients.
Act as a strategic advisor to C-Suite clients, guiding them toward bold solutions and encouraging investment in progressive brand building.
Actively champion and embed AI-driven strategic tools and proprietary platforms into the Brand Strategy workflow, ensuring our team is a first-adopter and active contributor to our firm’s AI roadmap.
Build trusting partnerships across MERGE by educating stakeholders and demonstrating the value of the Brand Strategy offering.
Foster an environment of curiosity regarding culture and human behavior, while actively overseeing the professional development and strategic deployment of strategy staff.
Author and publish forward-thinking thought leadership pieces (white papers, articles) that challenge the status quo and elevate our agency’s reputation.
Simplify market complexity to provide a clear analysis of trends, translating them into opportunities that position our clients (and our agency) ahead of the curve.