Manager, Cultural Intelligence

Publicis Groupe Holdings B.V; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 107,000 - 163,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental insurance

Vision care

Disability insurance

401K

Job summary

Saatchi & Saatchi is seeking a Manager, Cultural Intelligence focused on culture and connections. You will lead culture-based opportunities, identify creators and communities, and develop recommendations to make ideas more relevant and participatory.

You’ll work with strategy, creative, media, social and PR teams from development through execution. You’ll stay close to youth culture across music, fashion, entertainment, sports, gaming and digital spaces, transforming cultural insight into first

Qualifications

• 5+ years in cultural strategy, creator strategy, social strategy, partnerships or related field.
• Strong understanding of creators, communities, platforms, entertainment and culture.
• Able to translate observations into first ideas and practical recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Generate and shape ideas through culture from the start.
• Connect ideas to people, creators and platforms.
• Find the right creators and collaborators based on relevance and credibility.
• Keep a close read on culture and emerging movements.
• Design for participation and momentum across channels.
• Collaborate from development through execution with cross-functional teams.

Skills

Experience connecting brands & culture

Cultural fluency & curiosity

Culture-forward communities

Creative instincts & idea development

Creator & partnership judgment

Platforms & participation

Collaborative communication

Cultural sensitivity & authenticity

Job description

Company description

At Saatchi we believe in creating ideas that can live anywhere. And we believe that when we work as a team, nothing is impossible. We strive to bring out the best in each other and in ourselves and expect applicants to understand the value of close collaboration. We also believe that creating transformational work requires initiative, an entrepreneurial spirit and a bold commitment to achieving measurable results and business success for the Clients we service.

Overview

Saatchi & Saatchi is looking for a Manager to join its Cultural Intelligence group, with a focus on culture and connections. This role identifies the insights, creators, communities, partnerships, platforms and experiences that can help an idea connect with people, gain momentum and earn a meaningful place in culture.

You’ll work alongside brand strategists, creatives and media from the start, generating and shaping first ideas with culture, participation and audience behavior in mind. You’ll bring an understanding of how culture moves, who helps shape it and what makes people engage—and use that understanding to help agency teams develop stronger ideas and more compelling ways to bring them to life.

At the Manager level, you’ll independently lead assigned culture and connections projects: finding opportunities, developing clear recommendations, coordinating input across fields and supporting teams as they develop and implement the work. You’ll be responsible for the quality, relevance and timely delivery of your recommendations, bringing a clear point of view and sound judgment to the process.

An idea’s impact depends on more than the idea itself. It also depends on where it appears, who helps shape it and what it invites people to do. The Manager, Cultural Intelligence will help Saatchi & Saatchi connect early idea generation with the creators, communities, partnerships and platforms that can make the work more relevant and participatory. By bringing those connections into the creative process from the start, this role will help teams create work that earns attention, inspires involvement and has room to grow.

Responsibilities

At Saatchi & Saatchi, we believe brands don’t earn attention by shouting louder—they earn it by showing up where people already are: in conversations, communities, creator ecosystems and cultural moments that matter.

The Manager, Cultural Intelligence helps connect ideas to the people and places that can make them meaningful. This person understands what’s happening in culture and why it matters, then identifies where a brand can credibly participate, who could strengthen an idea and what might help it grow. You’ll contribute first ideas as well as recommendations for the collaborators, platforms and experiences that can bring them to life.

You’ll stay close to youth culture and culture-forward communities—the people creating, shaping and sharing what’s next across music, fashion, entertainment, sports, gaming and digital spaces. You’ll understand what matters to them, how they connect and participate, and where a brand can make a meaningful contribution. You’ll turn that understanding into first ideas and recommendations for creators, partnerships, platforms and experiences that agency teams can develop and implement.

In short: you’ll help ideas find their place in culture—and the connections that allow them to develop, spread and endure.

• Generate and shape ideas through culture: Bring cultural observations, audience behaviors and emerging conversations into the creative process from the beginning. Generate initial ideas and help strengthen ideas already in development, identifying what could make them more relevant, distinctive and worth participating in. Give agency teams clear starting points, supported by useful references and an understanding of why people would care.
• Connect ideas to people and places: Identify the creators, communities, partners, platforms and experiences that can help an idea come to life. Build clear recommendations that explain the role each connection could play, why it fits and how it could make the work stronger. Think beyond where an idea appears to consider who helps shape it and how people encounter and engage with it.
• Find the right creators and collaborators: Develop creator and partnership recommendations based on cultural relevance, credibility and creative potential—not just reach. Understand what collaborators bring to an idea, the communities they connect with and how their involvement could make the work more meaningful. Work with the relevant agency teams to carry those recommendations into development.
• Keep a close read on culture: Stay engaged with emerging communities, entertainment, creators, platform shifts and cultural movements. Look beyond individual trends to understand the behaviors and motivations underneath. Bring actionable observations, references and opportunities back to the team, with a clear point of view on their relevance to the work.
• Design for participation and momentum: Help identify what people could do with an idea— not just what they might see. Explore opportunities for participation, conversation, collaboration and community involvement. Think beyond launch, recommending ways an idea could grow, evolve and remain relevant once it’s in the world.
• Collaborate from development through execution: Work closely with strategy, creative, media, social, PR, production and relevant partners to help teams develop and implement culturally informed ideas. Contribute context, references and recommendations throughout the process, helping preserve the cultural relevance of the work as it takes shape.

Qualifications

• Experience connecting brands and culture: At least 5 years of experience in cultural strategy, creator strategy, social strategy, audience planning, partnerships, creative, or community building or a related field. Able to demonstrate how your understanding of people and culture has contributed to an idea, collaboration or experience.
• Cultural fluency and curiosity: A strong understanding of creators, communities, platforms, entertainment and the broader cultural landscape. Demonstrates curiosity about what people care about, how interests develop and where new forms of expression and participation are emerging.
• Connection to culture-forward communities: You’re genuinely engaged with the communities, creators and cultural spaces shaping what people care about next. You look beyond what’s trending to understand the interests, behaviors and motivations behind it—and use that understanding to help ideas feel relevant, credible and worth participating in.
• Creative instincts and idea development: Able to turn cultural observations into first ideas and possibilities that others can build on. Comfortable bringing early thinking into a collaborative process, making unexpected connections and using references to make an opportunity tangible.
• Creator and partnership judgment: Able to recognize when a creator, community or partner has a meaningful connection to an idea. You consider credibility, shared interests, creative contribution and audience relevance alongside reach and visibility.
• Understanding of platforms and participation: Familiar with how ideas and conversations move across social platforms, entertainment, communities and real-world experiences. You understand that each space has its own behaviors and expectations, and can identify ways for people to engage that feel natural to the setting.
• Collaborative and clear communication: Able to explain your thinking clearly and work productively with colleagues across teams. You welcome different perspectives, build on other people’s ideas and help translate cultural possibilities into practical recommendations.
• Cultural sensitivity and authenticity: Brings an inclusive perspective, respects the origins and context of cultural ideas, and understands the importance of representation, attribution and meaningful participation. Able to recognize when a brand’s involvement could feel welcome— and when it could feel forced.

Additional information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [e-mail].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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Compensation Range: USD $106,780.00 - USD $163,344.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 11/2/2026.