Director, Strategic Planning

Director Of Strategic Planning

Weber Shandwick is more than a leading global PR agency – we're an engagement agency working at the cutting edge of the new media landscape. We're storytellers and content creators who engage people IN the story. Our success is built on a deep commitment to client service, creativity, collaboration, and our people. We engage stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputations that last.

About the Role Weber Shandwick is seeking a Director of Strategic Planning to join our team. In this role, you will act as the strategic engine for a diverse range of CPG, food & beverage, brand, and consumer accounts, fueling their brand positioning and creative strategies. You will drive day-to-day creative strategy for key clients—including a major CPG brand—across both social and earned media. This position is tied to our Chicago office, and Chicago area residency is highly preferred.

About You You are an amazing creative thinker with a deep passion for culture, trends and business impact. Endlessly curious about consumer mindsets and the drivers of behavior change, you are a natural storyteller who relishes finding just the right words to make a point, are able to frame complex problems, can uncover succinct "ah-ha" insights, and can explain what it all means in a simple, compelling narrative. Open-minded, inclusive, and empathetic, you can seamlessly work across diverse media platforms and quickly pivot to adapt to the unpredictability of today's fast-changing cultural and media environments.

What You'll Do

• Creative & Brand Strategy: Drive the day-to-day creative strategy for key accounts, crafting brand narratives, creative briefs, and messaging frameworks that serve as a true "north star" for client communications.
• Insight Generation & Research: Assist in the crafting and evaluation of primary quantitative and qualitative research to segment audiences, identify influencers, communities, and uncover actionable insights.
• Cultural Intelligence: Read continuously to maintain a deep understanding of fast-moving cultural issues, leveraging emerging events and insights to proactively reshape client assignments.
• Campaign Strategy & Storytelling: Translate performance data, emerging cultural trends, and real-time insights into actionable strategy, proactively re-shaping and optimizing client assignments. You will build and deliver clear, high-impact client reports and presentations that drive decision-making.
• Data & AI Integration: Seamlessly integrate Weber Shandwick's proprietary AI tools into your daily workflow and leverage industry-standard subscription data tools (e.g., Acxiom, Talkwalker, Mintel) to inform and validate your strategies.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Actively contribute to client meetings, creative brainstorms, and strategy sessions while cultivating fruitful relationships with creative and digital strategists, research/analytics experts, account teams, and junior strategists.

What You'll Bring

• Basic Qualifications: Proven professional experience in strategic planning, creative strategy, or account planning, ideally within an agency setting. Demonstrated experience developing creative briefs, persuasive pitch decks, and cross-platform creative strategies (specifically across social and earned media). Familiarity leveraging consumer data platforms and social listening tools (such as Acxiom, Talkwalker, Mintel).
• Competencies: Analytical Storytelling: The ability to frame a problem, develop succinct "ah-ha" insights, and translate complex data into a simple, compelling story. Cultural Savvy: A deep passion for and understanding of the nuances of culture and trends Curiosity & Empathy: An open-minded, inclusive, and empathetic approach, driven by an endless curiosity about consumer behavior and mindsets. Agility: The ability to pivot quickly and seamlessly navigate the unpredictability of fast-changing cultural environments. Future-Forward Mindset: A proactive willingness to adopt and integrate emerging AI technology into your daily workflow.

$100,000-$125,000