Senior Director, AI Advisory - Enterprise Transformation

Merkle Italia; Maryland; Hybrid; USD 136,000 - 191,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance

Life Insurance

Paid Time Off

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Merkle is seeking a Sr. Director, Lead Strategist to anchor program strategy and drive enterprise client outcomes within the AI Advisory, Enterprise Transformation practice.

This executive role blends organizational transformation with value-driven advisory, spanning two major dimensions: advisor on large accounts and oversight across delivery pods. Leader collaborates with Merkle leadership and client stakeholders to ensure measurable value realization, governance clarity, and successful change

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 15+ years of consulting experience in transformation/change leadership and integrated marketing strategy.
• 10+ years in top-tier consultancy or marketing agency with executive-level client management.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic engagements on enterprise transformation, governance, and change management.
• Design operating models and readiness strategies for large Adobe Experience Cloud transformations.
• Translate strategy into activation sequences with clear value realization.
• Provide strategic oversight across delivery pods and client programs.
• Develop trusted advisor relationships with client senior executives.

Skills

Executive-level client management

Strategic advisory

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Adobe Experience Cloud

Operating model design

Value realization

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Adobe Experience Cloud

Analytics

Job description

Job Description: We welcome remote candidates based in the continental United States Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The agency’s heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive people-based marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in performance media, customer experience, customer relationship management, loyalty, and enterprise marketing technology drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With 16,000+ employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with additional offices in the US, Europe, and Asia. In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu Aegis Network.

Job Description Merkle is seeking a strategic business leader with Adobe Experience Cloud expertise and martech ecosystem knowledge to join the AI Advisory, Enterprise Transformation practice as a Sr. Director, Lead Strategist. This individual will operate at the executive level, combining organizational transformation expertise, change management rigor, and value-driven advisory to anchor the program’s strategic direction and drive enterprise client outcomes. The Lead Strategist is a program-level leadership role operating across two distinct dimensions: as the primary strategic advisor on a large enterprise account and as a senior thought partner providing coverage and oversight across all delivery pods and resourcing groups within a broader client engagement. This individual bridges strategic vision with tactical execution, ensuring the program delivers measurable business value while building client-side organizational capability. The role combines the advisory mindset of organizational transformation consulting with hands-on accountability for client value realization. There are no immediate direct reports for this role, but the Lead Strategist operates with influence across program leadership, delivery teams, and client stakeholder groups, carrying full ownership of strategic planning and change enablement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead strategic consulting engagements that assess organizational readiness, operating model design, ways of working, governance, and change management within large-scale enterprise transformation initiatives and programs
• Lead organizational readiness, operating model design, and change management strategies for large-scale Adobe Experience Cloud transformations; assess current-state capability, identify operational gaps, and design future-state operating models that enable clients to sustain and scale their Adobe investments
• Drive operational transformation through workflow analysis, business process optimization, capability mapping, and implementation roadmaps that prioritize improvement initiatives against strategic goals, feasibility, value
• Partner with delivery teams to identify and accelerate value drivers; translate strategic priorities into clear activation sequences, ensuring each engagement builds client capability while moving toward larger program objectives
• Provide strategic coverage and guidance across all delivery pods within a critical client program with one of our leading partners; serve as a strategic sounding board for Pod Leads and the Merkle Leadership Team on value realization, client account health, and expansion opportunities
• Facilitate workshops, discovery sessions, and prioritization exercises that require managing competing client opinions, agendas, and ambiguous inputs
• Translate the impact of AI tools and agentic capabilities on marketing workflows, skillsets, operating model, and ways of working
• Understand how AI tools, automation, and human expertise work together in modern operating models across business functions
• Lead change management activities and plans related to agentic capability enablement or deployment
• Surface operational risks related to technology implementation, migration, or adoption initiatives
• Support stakeholder mapping, readiness surveys, skillset and training assessments, change communication and messaging, as well as KPIs to measure and track ongoing change adoption
• Design governance structures to clarify roles, decision rights, and accountability in transformation programs
• Serve as a bridge between strategic vision and tactical execution workstreams
• Develop trusted advisor relationships with client senior executives to influence strategic investments and business decisions
• Partner with Merkle pods / delivery teams in identifying business value drivers / frameworks that measure impact of agentic technology enablement initiatives
• Partner with Merkle Innovation Lab Product Owner and Multi-Solution Architect roles on delivery engagements
• Partner with Merkle business units, sales, growth and account management functions to support expansion and growth opportunities on strategic accounts

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required. Master’s degree preferred
• 15+ years of consulting experience in business transformation, organizational change leadership, and/or integrated marketing strategy, with demonstrated executive-level client management
• 10+ years working in a top tier consulting firm and/or marketing agency
• Deep knowledge of end-to-end consulting approaches to solve client problems, from strategy design through execution
• Strong experience assessing and recommending optimal team and operating structures to facilitate integrated program execution
• Familiarity with change management frameworks, shared services models, organizational design, product and portfolio governance
• Understanding of marketing technologies to orchestrate and activate customer experiences
• Experience in leading a team and navigating complex projects by providing innovative, actionable solutions
• Proven experience in developing solutions to support the sale of new services to clients
• Strong writing, presentation, and client facing communication skills
• Problem solving mindset, thrive in ambiguous and fast moving environments, and in informal, loosely structured and creative work environments
• Exceptional communication skills, with experience distilling complex, multi-threaded engagements into clear executive narratives
• Familiarity and working knowledge of Adobe platforms and agentic solutions (strongly preferred)
• Working fluency in financial or value modeling to partner with technical teams (nice to have)
• Up to 25% travel may be required (varies with client specific need)

The annual base salary range for this position is $136,000-$190,500. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law. Additionally, this position is eligible for discretionary incentive compensation.

Benefits

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance, Life insurance, Short-term and long-term disability insurance, 401k, Flexible paid time off, At least 15 paid holidays per year, Paid sick and safe leave, and Paid parental leave. Dentsu also complies with applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, in accordance with its plans and policies. For more information regarding dentsu benefits, please visit www.dentsubenefitsplus.com.

At dentsu, we believe great work happens when we’re connected. Our way of working combines flexibility with in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen our teams. Employees who live within a commutable distance of one of our hub offices, currently located in Chicago, metro Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York City, are required and expected to work from the office three days per week (two days per week for employees based in Los Angeles). Dentsu may designate other Hub offices at any time. Those who live outside a commutable range may be designated as remote, depending on the role and business needs. Regardless of your work location, we expect our employees to be flexible to meet the needs of our Company and clients, which may include attendance in an office.

#LI-Merkle #LI-REMOTE #LI-LE1 Location: USA - Remote - Maryland Brand: Merkle Time Type: Full time Contract Type: Permanent

Dentsu is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We do this without regard to race, color, national origin, sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religious practices and observances, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Dentsu is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to, among others, individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans. If you need an accommodation because of a disability to search and apply for a career opportunity with us, please send an e-mail to [e-mail] by clicking on the link to let us know the nature of your accommodation request and your contact information. We are here to support you.

About dentsu

For over 120 years, innovation has been a core tenet of our offering – exploring new ways to reach, engage and nurture relationships with audiences. Together we drive a multiplier effect for clients at a global scale, through the development of Integrated Growth Solutions that are underpinned by our promise to clients: innovating to impact. Be a force for good. Sustainability is a vital part of our business and an important area of focus for our clients. We’re leading the way – helping to build a more sustainable planet. Dream loud. In this moment of transformation, we need our people to be fearless, embracing change and ambiguity, driven by the love for their work and excitement for the future. Team without limits. We create opportunities for connection and collaboration between our colleagues and clients, building a sense of belonging and having some fun along the way. Find out more about us Who we are Our Social Impact Our work