Group Strategy Director, Commerce

Propelis; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 165,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental plan

Vision plan

401(k) plan

Flexible spending account

Job summary

Propelis seeks a Group Strategy Director, Commerce to lead the development and growth of the eCommerce Strategy discipline across our agency. The role guides omnichannel strategies for major retailers and marketplaces, partnering with Creative and Account leads, and mentoring a growing team of directors and junior strategists.

The position combines vision with hands-on leadership, building scalable frameworks, and contributing to business development.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in digital strategy with a focus on eCommerce.
• Leadership experience mentoring and managing strategy teams.
• Experience in CPG and Retail verticals.

Responsibilities

• Define and scale strategic frameworks and toolkits for eCommerce clients.
• Oversee strategy development across a portfolio of clients with governance standards.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Strategy Directors and junior strategists.
• Partner with HR and leadership on recruitment and team design as the practice scales.

Skills

Digital strategy

eCommerce leadership

Team leadership

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional collaboration

Retail/CPG knowledge

Tools

Helium 10

Walmart Connect

Amazon Ads/Vendor Central

Profitero

Stackline

Salsify

Vizit

Job description

We’re seeking a Group Strategy Director, Commerce to lead the development, growth, and strategic direction of the eCommerce Strategy discipline across the agency. This role is pivotal in scaling our eCommerce Practice, driving thought leadership, and ensuring strategic excellence across all clients and categories.

This leader will oversee a growing team of eCommerce Strategy Directors and junior strategists, ensuring consistency in approach, methodology, and outputs surrounding our eCommerce work. Partnering closely with Creative and Account leads this role will shape omnichannel strategies that push boundaries and deliver measurable impact across major retailers (Amazon, Walmart, Target) and marketplaces. This role is both visionary and hands‑on, building infrastructure and frameworks, mentoring talent, and contributing directly to business development and client innovation.

Strategic Leadership & Governance

• Define and scale strategic frameworks and toolkits that standardize excellence across all eCommerce clients, ensuring every engagement is underpinned by best-in-class thinking, repeatable processes, and insight‑driven methodologies
• Create and enforce governance standards that outline how strategy is developed, implemented, and optimized, including QA protocols, KPI frameworks, strategic intake processes and performance benchmarks that ensure accountability and operational rigor
• Oversee strategy development across a portfolio of clients, ensuring there’s a consistent elevation of strategic output
• Collaborate with Creative and Account leadership to drive holistic, high‑performing campaign strategies

Team & Practice Development

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Strategy Directors and junior strategists
• Develop onboarding, training, and development plans to scale team capabilities
• Champion a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and learning within the practice
• Partner with HR and leadership on recruitment and team design as the practice scales

Thought Leadership & Innovation

• Stay ahead of marketplace changes, retailer algorithms, and emerging technologies
• Serve as a thought leader in eCommerce, contributing to industry panels, case studies, and agency education
• Lead development of proprietary methodologies across SEO, AEO, GEO, and digital shelf optimization
• Represent the agency in key client strategy presentations, thought leadership initiatives, and new business pitches

Business Development & Client Growth

• Serve as a strategic lead on new business efforts - translating client challenges into strategic solutions
• Partner with Business Development to evaluate RFPs, develop pitches, and scope strategic solutions
• Consult across clients to identify new strategic opportunities and deepen client relationships
• Ensure all strategy engagements are measurable, actionable, and tied to client business outcomes

Qualifications

• 10+ years in digital strategy with at least 4-5 years leading eCommerce-focused initiatives
• Leadership experience mentoring and managing strategy teams
• Experience in CPG and Retail verticals
• Deep knowledge of major retailer platforms (Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc.), SEO, PDP strategy, and content syndication tools
• Experience with platforms like Helium 10, Walmart Connect, Amazon Ads / Vendor Central, Profitero, Stackline, Salsify, Vizit, or similar
• Strong strategic thinking with ability to zoom in/out from vision to execution
• Strong grounding in brand strategy, and the role eCommerce plays in the broader brand-building and brand experience ecosystem
• Understanding of the global landscape of eCommerce: diversity/exclusivity of channel, etc.
• Highly collaborative and proactive, with experience partnering across creative, copy, insights, and client service teams
• Strong understanding of major retail media platforms – Amazon and Walmart

Equal Opportunity Employment

There's one more thing— we are an equal opportunity employer. We search for amazing people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives. We take care of each other to create an inclusive work environment where we love coming to work every day. If you need reasonable accommodations to help you apply, just email us at [e-mail]. We hope you can join us.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $165,000 USD - $175,000 USD annually. Ultimately, in determining pay, we will consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job‑related factors.
Group benefits currently include a selection of health care plans with prescription drug coverage, dental plan, vision plan, basic and supplemental life insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care expenses or a health savings account based on plan selection, short/long term disability and 401(k) Savings Plan.