Associate Director, Strategy

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.

Saatchi & Saatchi currently maintains a hybrid work policy to work in-office three days per week and remotely the other two days each week.

Job Description

THE ROLE OF STRATEGY AT SAATCHI

The role of strategy at Saatchi is to point imaginations & resources at the problems that matter most. Then, provide the intel & insights to help solve them. To accomplish that, we use our fascination with people & culture and our understanding of technology & data to drive creativity; insight led, data driven, technology enabled.

THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

An inspirational thinker and fearless collaborator comfortable sharing POVs and leading strategic conversations with internal teams and clients. We’re looking for someone who is comfortable taking the lead on projects and being a proactive problem solver, while elevating the strategic thinking and creative work.

Responsibilities

• Smart & innovative ways to understand communities deeply
  • A deep understanding of research.
  • Help teams turn consumer research and culture into powerful insights.
  • Identify new tools and ways to use AI to uncover insights & cultural trends.
  • Be continuously tapped into brands’ communities – tracking culture, trends, and identifying opportunities for strategy and creative teams to activate.
• Build and maintain trust with creatives and clients
• Be a trusted partner and source of inspiration for creative teams through relationships more than presentations.
• Be able to turn the complex into a story and present it to clients, paving the way for better work to be sold.
• Love strategy. Love briefs. Love briefings.
• Love writing and telling stories.
• Seek ways to tell the simplest, most meaningful and relevant stories possible.
• Develop people and make those around you better
• Challenge and elevate strategic thinking and approaches.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with media, data, and comms planning teams.
• Proactively identify opportunities and ways to bring thought leadership to agency teams and clients with regards to brand, messaging, and consumer and cultural trends.
• Be a problem solver
• Sometimes the most creative thing you will do on a given day is remove a barrier or figure out how to go around it. And that’s ok. Creativity comes in many forms.
• Strategic management of all creative projects, from brief to execution
• Need to be able to spin a lot of plates at the same time.
• Should be comfortable leading projects with minimal supervision

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience working in advertising, marketing, brand building, or other transferable experience with relevant skill sets (i.e., journalism, sociology, etc.).
• Hybrid role with three days in office (Tuesday-Thursday)
• Role is based in Los Angeles, CA
• Proven thought-leadership and ability to contribute strategic thinking
• A love or passion for the outdoors and outdoor adventures is recommended
• A love or passion for offroad / adventure vehicles is also recommended
• Experience with qual/quantresearch methods (tracking studies, focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic research – any type of interviewing skills) with the ability to identify true insights
• Strong verbal and non-verbal communication skills
• Presentation skills (written and verbal) should be best in class
• Innate curiosity to want to understand people, culture and the world, overall, and, most importantly, a burning desire to dig into what makes them tick
• Must possess open-mindedness to new ideas and ways of looking at things
• Ability to collaborate effectively in cross-team settings

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.

Compensation Range: $105,165.00 - $130,290.00 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. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility 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 1/30/25.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.