Associate Strategy Director

Digital Agency Jobs; Hilversum; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Monks is seeking an Associate Director of Strategy with a strong foundation in brand and social strategy to lead cross‑client thinking and translate business challenges into clear brand direction.

You will integrate influencer and creator marketing, guide multi‑disciplinary teams, and champion AI‑driven insights to improve content and community performance while mentoring junior strategists.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in brand, communications or social strategy.
• Strong experience developing brand platforms and social strategies that address real business challenges.
• Working knowledge of influencer and creator marketing, with the ability to guide specialist and executional teams.
• Strong analytical skills and experience translating research and performance data into actionable strategic direction.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and mentoring junior strategists.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to make complex thinking clear and compelling.
• Strong client-facing skills and confidence presenting to senior stakeholders.
• Highly organized, with the ability to lead multiple workstreams and maintain a high standard of quality.
• Practical understanding of how AI can support research, synthesis and strategic development.
• Professional fluency in English.
• A degree in Marketing, Communications or a related field is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategies at the intersection of brand and social, connecting clients’ business and marketing objectives with culture, platform behavior and community dynamics.
• Turn research, cultural signals, audience behavior and platform insights into clear strategic opportunities.
• Lead social and creator strategies focused on growing relevant, engaged communities and improving content performance.
• Provide strategic direction to creative, account and cross-functional teams, from briefing through execution.
• Champion the use of AI and emerging technologies across the strategic process, from research and insight development to experimentation, measurement and optimization.
• Encourage the team to continuously test new tools and turn those learnings into stronger strategic and creative work.
• Guide and mentor junior strategists, helping them strengthen their thinking, prioritize opportunities and connect hands-on recommendations to the broader strategy.
• Establish measurement frameworks and turn performance data into insights, recommendations and clear next steps.
• Build strong client relationships and communicate strategic thinking with clarity and confidence.
• Stay current on changes in culture, social platforms, creator behavior and emerging technology, including AI, and assess their relevance for clients.

Job description

Monks is looking for an Associate Director of Strategy with a strong foundation in brand and social strategy. This person will lead strategic thinking across client work, translating business challenges, audience insights and cultural context into clear brand and social direction.

Alongside this strategic foundation, this person should bring experience in influencer and creator marketing and lead the team in developing strategies that strengthen creator profiles, grow engaged communities and improve content performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead strategies at the intersection of brand and social, connecting clients’ business and marketing objectives with culture, platform behavior and community dynamics.
• Turn research, cultural signals, audience behavior and platform insights into clear strategic opportunities.
• Lead social and creator strategies focused on growing relevant, engaged communities and improving content performance.
• Provide strategic direction to creative, account and cross-functional teams, from briefing through execution.
• Champion the use of AI and emerging technologies across the strategic process, from research and insight development to experimentation, measurement and optimization.
• Encourage the team to continuously test new tools and turn those learnings into stronger strategic and creative work.
• Guide and mentor junior strategists, helping them strengthen their thinking, prioritize opportunities and connect hands-on recommendations to the broader strategy.
• Establish measurement frameworks and turn performance data into insights, recommendations and clear next steps.
• Build strong client relationships and communicate strategic thinking with clarity and confidence.
• Stay current on changes in culture, social platforms, creator behavior and emerging technology, including AI, and assess their relevance for clients.

Background & Skills

• 8+ years of experience in brand, communications or social strategy.
• Strong experience developing brand platforms and social strategies that address real business challenges.
• Working knowledge of influencer and creator marketing, with the ability to guide specialist and executional teams.
• Strong analytical skills and experience translating research and performance data into actionable strategic direction.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and mentoring junior strategists.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to make complex thinking clear and compelling.
• Strong client-facing skills and confidence presenting to senior stakeholders.
• Highly organized, with the ability to lead multiple workstreams and maintain a high standard of quality.
• Practical understanding of how AI can support research, synthesis and strategic development.
• Professional fluency in English.
• A degree in Marketing, Communications or a related field is preferred.

About Monks

Monks is the global, digital-first, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global Marketing and Technology Services to redefine how brands interact with the world. Through Monks.Flow, its flagship AI ecosystem for marketing orchestration, Monks transforms marketing into a growth engine, collapsing timelines and connecting brands to culture in real time. By deploying bespoke intelligent agents across disciplines and delivering culturally relevant, high-impact creative and digital solutions, Monks solves key critical business challenges across the entire brand enterprise to help brands sustain long-term impact.

Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services, ranks among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-25) and remains the only partner featured in AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). Named Adweek’s first AI Agency of the Year (2023) and The One Show’s inaugural AI Pioneer Organization, Monks was also awarded Business Intelligence Group’s 2025 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Award in both the Organizational and AI Product categories. As a trusted partner to cutting-edge innovators in tech, Monks earned titles such as Optimizely Experimentation Partner of the Year (2025), runner-up for the Adobe Firefly Partner Award (2024), and Workato’s AI Visionary Customer Impact Award (2024). Additionally, Monks achieved a record-breaking number of FWAs and continues to hold the most of any partner.

We are an equal-opportunity employer committed to building a respectful and empowering work environment for all people to freely express themselves amongst colleagues who embrace diversity in all respects. Including fresh voices and unique points of view in all aspects of our business not only creates an environment where we can all grow and thrive but also increases our potential to produce work that better represents—and resonates with—the world around us.