VP, Strategy Director

Jack Morton Worldwide Inc.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Jack Morton Worldwide Inc. seeks a VP, Strategy Director to lead strategic thinking on automotive and sponsorship-centric accounts, delivering best-in-class work and driving business growth.

You will stay hands-on, build client relationships with senior executives, and bring a 360 view of experiential within the broader marketing mix. You are a seasoned strategist with a track record of solving problems, mentoring teams, and shaping culture through insightful, creative strategy.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience as a strategist in brand experience.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication, including presentations.
• Proven ability to mentor and lead teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic thinking on a portfolio of automotive and sponsorship-centric accounts.
• Direct the strategy team supporting the Automotive + Portfolio of clients.
• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to inform insights and measurement platforms.
• Engage senior clients and CMOs, delivering strategic thinking with a bias to action.
• Collaborate across portfolios to strengthen the agency's global strategy community.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Team leadership

Client relationships

Mentoring

Job description

Experience Without Limits

Come shape the future of brand experience.

At Jack Morton, we design and build head-turning, smile-inducing, impact-driving brand experiences that redefine what experiential marketing can achieve. We help our clients unlock the full value of experiences by turning bold ideas into meaningful connections.

That takes a team that’s bold, curious, and acts as one. We build on each other's ideas, challenge conventions, and show up for one another every day. Here, you'll do your best work, grow quickly, and partner across clients, disciplines, and global teams to bring new ideas to life.

This is a place where curiosity drives what's next, boldness raises the bar, and every win is shared. Where ownership is expected, egos are left at the door, and the work reflects the passion and talent of the people behind it.

Experience without limits—in your work, your growth, and your impact.

ability to work hybrid in a US office highly preferred

As the VP, Strategy Director , you are a leader in our strategic-thinking, problem-solving, idea-generating team. You will lead strategic thinking on a portfolio of automotive and sponsorship-centric accounts, helping deliver work that is best-in-class and drive our business forward with every project and opportunity.

You'll lead our automotive-led portfolio , which also spans beauty retail and financial services and is growing quickly. You'll build relationships with senior clients and CMOs, stay hands-on in the work, and bring automotive experience along with a 360 view of how experiential fits into the broader marketing mix.

How you're wired

You're equal parts business consultant, creative strategist and integrated planner. You're able to quickly provide deep insights and sparks of inspiration that are culture-popping, right for the brand and uniquely actionable. You sharpen our work, giving it an edge while being a trusted partner to your account, creative and production colleagues who help bring our concepts and campaigns to life.

Most importantly, you are a critical and valued partner to our clients – a leader, a problem-solver and a provocateur who can read the room. You're a confident communicator who knows when and how to push on ideas and perspectives, with the singular goal of developing remarkable solutions that deliver on our clients' business objectives.

You're inately curious, passionate, and conversant in culture and lifestyle interests that inform the many communities our clients want to engage,

What you'll be doing

• Roll-up your sleeves and be the lead strategist on projects, accounts, and new business
• Lead and elevate the strategy team supporting the Automotive + Portfolio of clients
• Unearth data to inform insights and direction; demonstrate comfort with qual & quant data and analysis, and with developing measurement platforms to track client successes
• Follow and actively participate in cultural and lifestyle platforms, leveraging first-hand awareness of emerging trends, partnerships, personalities and the opportunities they provide
• Know the experiential space and bring a concise POV on how to engage our clients' targets
• Understand the nuances of working with sponsorships that anchor many client programs
• Define how to identify our clients' problems in a strategic manner whether it be research, valuation and business case development, marketing design, or process optimization
• Partner with executive-level clients to deliver strategic thinking and a bias towards action
• Synthesize complexity, crystalize ideas and communicate it with character
• Ideate with others, show a mastery of "yes, and...," , and elevate the work of others around you
• Show comfort in engaging an intern and a CMO, with the ability to inspire confidence in both
• Collaborate with peers across the Tech, B2C and B2B Portfolios to strengthen the agency's global strategy community
• Mentor and lead - be a coach and a champion, helping strategists grow, and strategy thrive

If you can do all that, you have what it takes. It might also help if…

• 15+ YOE as a strategist, ideally in the brand experience space but not limited to
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including presentation expertise
• Proven track record of solving problems and delivering creatively strategic, insightful solutions for a variety of clients
• As brilliant at working alone (self-motivated) as you are as part of a team (the motivator)
• You demonstrate talent in mentoring, managing and leading individuals and teams
• You thrive in a collaborative agency culture, and take pride in making the work and others shine

Last but not least, we believe in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Jack Morton is an equal opportunity employer; we strongly value diversity at our companies. We do not discriminate on race, religion, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

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Requisition #: 2274

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