Director, Creative Strategy

Company Description

Adjective & Co. is an award-winning branding and advertising agency headquartered in Jacksonville Beach, Florida with satellite offices in New York. We specialize in brand strategy, brand identity and design, advertising, digital, social media, and brand management. 

Notable un-sucky clients include Gatorade, Insomnia Cookies, Chipotle, Sweetwater, New York Islanders, THE PLAYERS, and many others. 

Us trapped in a bulleted nutshell

• The Un-agency

• Ad Age "Small Agency of the Year" Southeast Gold

• Award winning creative (Over 250 gold and silver ADDY awards)

• Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America

• Killer portfolio of brands and clients that don't suck

• Not on Facebook

• Think Winston Wolf, but in agency form

• Out to take over the world

 

Job Description

Adjective & Co. is looking for a Director, Creative Strategy who can see the big picture, set a clear direction, and bring teams together to make it happen. You understand that a brand is more than a campaign. It’s the full experience people have with it—from what it stands for and how it communicates to where it shows up and how it performs.

You know people don’t experience brands one channel at a time. A social post, website, email, event, platform, partnership, or sales experience can all shape what someone thinks, feels, and does next. You understand how those touchpoints work together and can help teams create an experience that feels connected and purposeful.

You can quickly get to the heart of a client’s business challenge, identify the most important problem to solve, and turn audience, cultural, and performance insights into a clear path forward. You know when an opportunity calls for a big idea—and when a smaller, smarter improvement could make a bigger difference.

And you don’t disappear once the strategy or brief is written. You stay close to the work, keep teams aligned, challenge assumptions, make decisions, and redirect when necessary to ensure the final execution delivers on the larger vision.

Most importantly, you know how to turn what we know into what we should do next—and lead the team in doing it.

ABOUT YOU

You’re a strategic thinker who can see the forest and the trees. You have a strong point of view, but you’re collaborative enough to know the best ideas rarely come from one person sitting alone in a room.

You can confidently challenge a client, inspire a creative team, simplify complex information for an executive, and create forward momentum when the path isn’t immediately clear.

You:

• Understand how business, brand, audience, creative, channel, and performance strategies work together

• Turn research, data, and cultural observations into meaningful insights and actionable direction

• Naturally look for the big idea and strategic opportunity behind every assignment, while recognizing that not every challenge requires a “big idea”—and that sometimes the smartest, smallest wins can make the greatest impact

• Can lead multidisciplinary teams without needing to control every detail

• Recognize when work is stalled, fragmented, or moving in the wrong direction—and know how and when to intervene

• Give clear, constructive feedback that improves both the thinking and the work

• Bring recommendations and solutions rather than simply identifying problems

• Have exceptional communication, facilitation, presentation, and storytelling skills

• Are self-directed, organized, decisive, and accountable

• Thrive in a fast-moving environment where priorities can change quickly

• Have the confidence to lead a room and the humility to listen to it

• Have what it takes to be part of the A-Team

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Own the Strategic Direction

• Lead strategic thinking across priority accounts and agency initiatives

• Examine clients’ businesses, industries, audiences, competitors, and marketing ecosystems to identify opportunities

• Define the most important problem to solve and translate business objectives into actionable brand and marketing strategies

• Develop positioning, messaging, strategic frameworks, campaign platforms, creative territories, and briefs

• Bring a strong strategic point of view to every assignment—and know when to challenge or reframe the brief

• Lead audience, market, cultural, competitive, and consumer research as needed

Lead Integrated Teams

• Provide strategic and cross-functional leadership across Account, Creative, Content, Digital, Media, Production, and Project Management, bringing a strong understanding of how digital platforms, channels, experiences, and audience behaviors influence the work

• Align teams around the business challenge, audience opportunity, strategic direction, and desired outcome

• Lead internal working sessions, strategic reviews, and cross-functional discussions

• Create clarity when priorities, assignments, or stakeholder expectations are ambiguous

• Drive decisions, define next steps, and maintain momentum across complex initiatives

• Recognize when work is stalled or moving in the wrong direction and intervene appropriately

• Resolve routine strategic questions independently and bring senior leadership clear recommendations

• Hold teams accountable for delivering work that supports the agreed-upon strategy

Strengthen the Creative Work

• Partner closely with Creative leadership from initial briefing through final execution

• Help teams understand not only what we are trying to communicate, but why it matters

• Evaluate concepts through the lens of the business challenge, audience insight, brand, and desired response

• Provide clear feedback that makes ideas more relevant, distinctive, and effective

• Challenge and redirect work that does not solve the right problem or fulfill the strategic opportunity

• Ensure the strategic intent remains intact throughout creative development and execution

Connect Strategy to Results

• Establish KPIs and success measures tied to business, brand, audience, and marketing objectives

• Use data and performance analytics to inform strategic and creative decisions

• Identify what is working, what isn’t, and why

• Translate performance findings into actionable recommendations

• Develop test-and-learn approaches that improve campaigns, content, CRM, digital, and social execution

• Balance short-term performance with long-term brand and audience building

Lead Clients and Elevate the Team

• Become a trusted strategic advisor to clients

• Lead strategic presentations, workshops, discovery sessions, and recommendations

• Translate complex information into clear, compelling business recommendations

• Confidently defend strategic recommendations while remaining open to collaboration

• Identify opportunities to add value beyond the immediate assignment

• Mentor strategists and strengthen strategic thinking across the broader agency

• Help establish practical tools, standards, and best practices for how strategy is developed and brought to life

• Foster a culture of curiosity, rigor, collaboration, accountability, and a willingness to do the damn thing

WHAT GREAT LOOKS LIKE

You aren’t simply the person who writes the strategy. You’re the person who makes the strategy matter.

You give teams clarity, improve the creative work, make clients smarter, and help move both the work and the people doing it forward.

You connect:

Business → Audience → Insight → Strategy → Big Idea → Execution → Results

 

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of progressive strategy experience, preferably within an integrated, digital, or creative agency environment

• At least 3 years of experience directly managing, mentoring, and developing strategists or other agency talent

• Experience independently leading complex brand, marketing, creative, digital, or integrated strategy engagements

• Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, create alignment, provide clear direction and feedback, and hold others accountable without requiring ongoing oversight

• Meaningful digital agency experience, including developing strategies for digital platforms, websites, social, content, CRM, paid media, and integrated campaigns

• Strong understanding of brand strategy, integrated marketing, creative development, digital experiences, customer journeys, engagement, conversion, and retention

• Expertise in audience research, competitive analysis, cultural trends, consumer behavior, and performance analytics

• Ability to translate research and performance data into compelling strategic frameworks, creative briefs, and actionable recommendations

• Strong understanding of the creative process and the ability to evaluate and strengthen work through a strategic lens

• Exceptional presentation, facilitation, communication, and storytelling skills, including experience advising senior clients and key stakeholders

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, navigate ambiguity, and drive work forward

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience

• Willingness to travel as necessary

• Local/on-site preferred, but open to remote candidates

Additional Information