Director, Strategic Planning

Current Global; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Current Global seeks a Director, Strategic Planning to guide insight-driven brand strategies across channels for world-class clients. You will translate data into actionable plans, mentor teams, and partner with Creative and Integrated Media to deliver cohesive, measurable campaigns.

This role combines strategic vision with hands-on leadership and new business collaboration, reflecting our culture of creativity, collaboration, and impact. NYC salary range: $100,000 - $125,000.

Qualifications

• 5-7+ years of experience in strategic planning, brand development, and/or communication strategy, preferably within a public relations agency or related industry.
• Knowledgeable about the PR industry, including earned media, social media, and influencer engagement.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex data and consumer insights into actionable strategies that unlock creative ideas designed to earn attention and connect with target audiences.
• Adept at challenging conventional thought and providing a neutral, objective point of view to drive effective decision-making.
• Persuasive presenter and speaker, able to tell a story based on data and hypothesis.
• Demonstrated leadership skills; experience managing and mentoring direct reports.
• Entrepreneurial and resourceful self-starter passionate about selling work and winning new business.
• Collaborative work style while juggling multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Detailed-oriented with a commitment to improving processes and outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Deliver effective and inspiring strategic output including briefs, strategic narratives and POVs.
• Help foster a culture of insight and innovation, ensuring the practice is embedded into our client delivery and that the broader agency is educated on brand and communication strategy fundamentals.
• Collaborate with Strategy and Client Experience leads to serve as a trusted client counselor and advisor, providing consistent thought leadership.
• Partner with our powerhouse Creative discipline to translate strategic briefs into compelling creative ideas.
• Collaborate with the Integrated Media community to ensure seamless integration of strategic plans across various communications channels, tactics, and content types.
• Support in new business development process by supporting the development of pitch strategies, delivering impactful presentations, and demonstrating the agency’s strategic capabilities.
• Support and pursue the methods by which teams uncover insights and measure results, consistently challenging the status quo and inspiring teams to explore new approaches to problem-solving.
• Serve as an opinion leader by sharing best practices, case studies and thought leadership.
• Potential to represent the agency at industry events.

Skills

Strategic planning

Brand development

Communication strategy

Leadership

Mentoring

Public relations

Storytelling

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decision making

Job description

Current Global is an award-winning global communications agency that believes in the power of real connections—between people, brands, and culture. We mix human insight, culture, and media to spark ideas that move people and create lasting impact.

Our diverse, inclusive team thrives on creativity, collaboration, and a shared drive to do meaningful work. At Current, diversity isn’t just a priority—it’s who we are and how we build better ideas.

POSITION PROFILE

Our agency thrives on creativity, data-driven insights, and a deep understanding of human behavior. Our pursuit of culture fuels our strategic approach, sparking inclusive and imaginative work that delivers business impact. The Director, Strategic Planning role is an exciting opportunity for an experienced strategic leader to guide and deliver actionable insights and strategic expertise across our diverse practice areas and world-class clients.

Our ideal candidate will see business problems from the eyes of real people, using data, observation, cultural perspective and experience to create strategies that will benefit a client’s brand and business by connecting with audiences and delivering measurable value. This person will be a culture maven, passionate about the way people experience the world and the trends that are shaping conversation and coverage. With an emphasis on developing compelling insights, this person will be an active counselor across client teams and a major contributor to new business opportunities. The ideal candidate will have experience building brand and creative strategies that deliver ideas across channels, tactics, and content, and possessing the ability to guide measurement that is aligned with strategy is a must.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Deliver effective and inspiring strategic output including briefs, strategic narratives and POVs.
• Help foster a culture of insight and innovation, ensuring the practice is embedded into our client delivery and that the broader agency is educated on brand and communication strategy fundamentals.
• Collaborate with Strategy and Client Experience leads to serve as a trusted client counselor and advisor, providing consistent thought leadership.
• Partner with our powerhouse Creative discipline to translate strategic briefs into compelling creative ideas.
• Collaborate with the Integrated Media community to ensure seamless integration of strategic plans across various communications channels, tactics, and content types.
• Support in new business development process by supporting the development of pitch strategies, delivering impactful presentations, and demonstrating the agency’s strategic capabilities.
• Support and pursue the methods by which teams uncover insights and measure results, consistently challenging the status quo and inspiring teams to explore new approaches to problem-solving.
• Serve as an opinion leader by sharing best practices, case studies and thought leadership.
• Potential to represent the agency at industry events.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-7+ years of experience in strategic planning, brand development, and/or communication strategy, preferably within a public relations agency or related industry.
• Knowledgeable about the PR industry, including earned media, social media, and influencer engagement.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex data and consumer insights into actionable strategies that unlock creative ideas designed to earn attention and connect with target audiences.
• Adept at challenging conventional thought and providing a neutral, objective point of view to drive effective decision-making.
• Persuasive presenter and speaker, able to tell a story based on data and hypothesis.
• Demonstrated leadership skills; experience managing and mentoring direct reports.
• Entrepreneurial and resourceful self-starter passionate about selling work and winning new business.
• Collaborative work style while juggling multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Detailed-oriented with a commitment to improving processes and outcomes.

About Current Global

Current Global is a human-centered creative communications agency. That is marketing mumbo jumbo for: we eat, play, and dream in culture, so we can help brands stay ahead of the trends to forge deeper and more authentic connections with their consumers.

Our portfolio of iconic brands is a creative person’s dream, offering endless opportunities to work across a wide range of assignments and sectors. The diversity of our client roster reflects our inclusive team structure and collaborative process. We believe the most powerful creative ideas are sparked by bringing together people with different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.

At Current Global, the best ideas come from a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds, and experiences—a fusion of creatives, strategists, media and marketing specialists, and client experience experts, all working together to deliver highly effective, award-winning work. This winning formula has earned us 41 Cannes Lions, along with numerous other accolades, including Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas in 2021 and 2024, and recognition in The Valuable 500 in 2023.

Current Global is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Current recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, protected veteran status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or citizenship status.

Current Global recognizes that your health and wellbeing are a priority. We offer a full suite of benefits including medical; dental; vision; 401k (with employer match); tuition reimbursement; $60 monthly reimbursement to be used towards nourishing your health; flexible time off policy; flexible holiday schedules; short-term disability; paid employee family leave; family building benefit.

NYC Salary range: $100,000 - $125,000.

Where an employee or prospective employee is paid within this range will depend on, among other factors, actual ranges for current/former employees in the subject position; market considerations; budgetary considerations; tenure and standing with the company (applicable to current employees); as well as the employee’s/applicant’s background, pertinent experience, and qualifications.