Head of Social Strategy

Head Of Social Strategy

Minneapolis; Philadelphia

What We Believe

Carmichael Lynch is an integrated creative agency built on the belief that the strongest brands are brave enough to define their true purpose. Since 1962, we've helped clients uncover their singular brand truth and turn it into work that can't be ignored. It's the hard work of simple—ideas strengthened through integration, where disciplines converge and diverge seamlessly around one compelling truth to cut through clutter and drive real business impact.

Our Hiring Philosophy

Carmichael Lynch is committed to creating a diverse, safe and welcoming workplace with opportunity for all. We strive for inclusion, equity and diversity in both our words and actions. BIPOC, women, marginalized communities, LGBTQIA+, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

What's In It For You

• Professional Development (performance reviews 2x annually, training opportunities related to your field of development, one-on-ones with managers, etc.)
• We offer competitive, equitable salaries (reviewed annually to ensure equity and competitiveness)
• A strong, vibrant, continually-evolving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion belief (in thought and action), encompassing our agency and our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Recognizing the voices that need to be heard.
• Competitive, company and employee sponsored benefits, including: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k, PTO (vacation/sick time) allowance, maternity leave, parental leave, paid company holidays, Family Building Benefit (adoption, surrogacy benefit), and much more.

*Please note that these benefits only apply to full time roles

Position Overview

We are seeking a visionary and culturally fluent leader to oversee and grow our social media practice. This role is responsible for defining the agency's social vision, elevating social thinking across all clients, and building a best-in-class integrated offering that connects social, creative, media, communications planning, PR, influencer collaborations, and experiential.

At its core, this role requires a deep understanding of human behavior, culture, and communities. The ideal candidate is passionate about understanding how people think, behave, engage, and connect across social platforms—and can translate those insights into compelling social expressions of brand strategy that drive both cultural relevance and business results.

As head of social strategy, you will serve as both a senior client advisor and agency leader—driving strategic excellence, capability development, business growth, and talent leadership. You will ensure social is embedded from the earliest stages of planning and plays a meaningful role in shaping communications strategy, creative development, media planning, and customer engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Practice Leadership & Innovation

• Define and lead the agency's social vision, philosophy, methodologies, and best practices.
• Build and evolve a best-in-class social practice spanning strategy, content, community management, creator and influencer marketing, social commerce, paid social, social listening, and emerging platforms.
• Establish standards, processes, tools, and technologies that drive excellence, innovation, and operational efficiency.
• Identify emerging cultural trends, platform shifts, and technologies that create new opportunities for clients and the agency.

Strategic Planning & Client Leadership

• Ensure social is embedded in strategic and communications planning from the outset - informing audience, messaging, channel, and customer journey decisions.
• Translate audience, cultural, and community insights into actionable strategies that shape campaigns, content, and brand experiences.
• Lead social strategy and integrated communications planning for key client relationships.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior clients, providing proactive counsel on trends, opportunities, risks, and the evolving social landscape.
• Present strategic recommendations, thought leadership, and performance insights to executive stakeholders.

Integrated Collaboration & Communications

• Partner with brand strategy, creative, media, PR, influencer, analytics, and account teams to develop integrated marketing and communications solutions.
• Leverage social insights to inspire creative development and strengthen campaign effectiveness.
• Define the role of social across the customer journey and ensure alignment across earned, owned, paid, and shared channels.
• Partner with PR teams on reputation management, issues management, crisis communications, and community engagement strategies.

Measurement & Optimization

• Establish frameworks for social listening, measurement, reporting, and performance optimization.
• Ensure recommendations are grounded in audience intelligence, behavioral insights, and business outcomes.
• Foster a culture of testing, learning, and continuous optimization.

Agency Growth & Leadership

• Lead social strategy for new business opportunities, thought leadership initiatives, and agency marketing efforts.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing client relationships and agency capabilities.
• Partner with agency leadership on practice growth, investment priorities, and planning.

Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a high-performing social team.
• Build team capabilities through coaching, training, career development, and succession planning.
• Foster a culture of curiosity, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
• Educate internal teams and clients on social trends, platform developments, and best practices.

Experience

• 10-15+ years of experience in social strategy, digital marketing, communications planning, public relations, media, or integrated marketing.
• Significant agency experience leading social strategy for major brands.
• Proven success building, scaling, or leading a social practice, department, or capability within an integrated agency environment.
• Experience advising executive-level clients and contributing to new business growth and agency development.
• Bachelor's degree in advertising, marketing, communications, journalism, PR, or a related field or equivalent professional experience.

Expertise

• Deep understanding of social platforms, audience behavior, content ecosystems, creator marketing, community management, social commerce, and paid social.
• Strong knowledge of communications planning, customer journeys, channel strategy, and integrated marketing.
• Expertise in social listening, cultural intelligence, analytics, and performance measurement.
• Understanding of how social integrates with creative, media, PR, experiential, and broader communications efforts.
• Familiarity with social technologies, publishing platforms, listening tools, analytics solutions, and emerging AI-enabled marketing capabilities.

Leadership Competencies

• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong cultural curiosity and a passion for understanding human behavior and communities.
• Outstanding storytelling, presentation, and communication skills.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, lead cross-functional teams, and develop talent.
• Ability to balance strategic vision, operational excellence, and business growth.

The salary range for this position is listed below. Where an employee or prospective employee is paid within this range will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to budget, relevant experience, qualifications, and tenure in similar roles. Consideration may also be given to internal salary data for current or former employees in the same or similar positions.

Salary Range: $170,000 - 190,000 annually