Part-Time Strategy Director: Clarity & Impact

Celtic Chicago, Inc; Park Ridge (IL); On-site; USD 83,000 - 152,000; Part time

Job summary

Celtic Chicago, Inc. is seeking a Director of Strategy (Part-time, hourly) to turn complex client situations into clear, actionable direction.

This senior practitioner brings structure to ambiguity, builds trust with clients and internal teams, and leads significant strategy workstreams with increasing independence. You will connect thinking to creative and design outcomes, translate research into strategic implications, and shape briefs, narratives, and recommendations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher, with 6–10 years of experience in brand strategy, marketing strategy, communications strategy, customer/audience strategy, consulting, research, or a related discipline.
• Experience developing insights, strategic recommendations, positioning, messaging, creative briefs, experience principles, or other client-ready strategy deliverables.
• Working command of foundational strategy tools and methods, including strategic frameworks, stakeholder interviews, workshop facilitation, qualitative and quantitative research, competitive and category analysis, audience insight development, and synthesis.
• Strong writing, presentation, facilitation, and communication skills.
• Comfort working across different clients, categories, assignment types, and levels of ambiguity.
• Demonstrated ability to lead significant workstreams, collaborate across disciplines, and contribute to healthy engagement delivery.
• Willingness to manage up, ask for guidance when needed, and actively build strategic range and rigor over time.

Responsibilities

• Develop a strong understanding of the client's business, audience, category, culture, and competitive context.
• Translate research, data, stakeholder input, and team discussion into clear strategic implications, choices, and recommendations.
• Own significant strategy workstreams or smaller engagements, keeping work organized, focused, and moving.
• Anticipate risks, gaps, and open questions early and manage up when guidance, alignment, or a decision is needed.
• Use foundational strategy tools including research inputs, stakeholder interviews, audits, workshops, and synthesis frameworks to structure the work and develop stronger recommendations.
• Know when to apply a familiar method, when to adapt the approach, and when to seek guidance from senior strategy leadership.
• Develop trusted working relationships with clients through preparation, responsiveness, judgment, and clear communication.
• Lead client conversations and presentations in a way that invites useful dialogue, manages expectations, and moves the work forward.
• Turn complex inputs into concise, well-structured deliverables (briefs, narratives, and recommendations) that are easy to act on.
• Connect strategic thinking to creative and design outcomes, including brand identity, messaging, campaigns, experiences, and content.
• Partner with Leadership, Engagement Leads, and cross-functional collaborators to keep work focused, well-organized, and on track against scope, timing, and quality expectations.
• Bring forward ideas, tools, examples, and points of view that strengthen the work, while continuing to build strategic range, rigor, and confidence over time.

Skills

Strong writing

Presentation skills

Facilitation

Communication

Strategy tools

Stakeholder interviews

Workshop facilitation

Qualitative research

Quantitative research

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Job description

Celtic Chicago, Inc. is seeking a Director of Strategy (Part-time, hourly) to turn complex client situations into clear, actionable direction.

This senior practitioner brings structure to ambiguity, builds trust with clients and internal teams, and leads significant strategy workstreams with increasing independence. You will connect thinking to creative and design outcomes, translate research into strategic implications, and shape briefs, narratives, and recommendations.