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Senior Brand Strategist - Chicago, Minneapolis or REMOTE
We’re currently hiring for a Senior Brand Strategist to lead strategy on key agency accounts and be the voice of the consumer.
The Company
ICF is a mission-driven company filled with people who care deeply about improving the lives of others and making the world a better place. Our core values include Embracing Difference; we seek candidates who are passionate about building a culture that encourages, embraces, and hires dimensions of difference.
@ ICF Next, we are fearless in finding new ways to solve problems, relentless in making sure it pays off for our clients and committed to making a positive change in the world. Join our community of mission-driven creatives, communicators, strategists, and technologists to challenge the status quo.
Candidates who can be based out of ICF’s office in Chicago, Los Angeles, or Minneapolis are strongly preferred, but we are also open to REMOTE candidates.
The Team
This team leads strategy for all our accounts and is particularly focused on supporting Brand PR accounts representing household names in the area of consumer packaged goods. We work closely with our creative team members and account leaders to provide ongoing and insightful strategic direction to help achieve our clients’ business objectives.
The Work
You’ll have the ability to make meaningful contributions to big name brands and Fortune 500 companies. Whether it’s deep diving into research and trends to identify unique human insights, guiding creative teams to produce breakthrough work that the world talks about, or developing brand platform or positioning for companies looking to realign themselves. You’ll work with people who are passionate about doing great work for our clients and invested in treating each other well.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead strategy on key agency accounts, partnering with your peers in Account Service, Creative and Media to build and maintain great client relationships, leading to growth for our clients and the agency
Be the voice of the consumer, using research, data and analysis to make sure the customer’s perspective is always part of strategic planning and campaign development
Write strategy briefs that inform and inspire creative teams through clear and compelling insights
Deliver insightful quarterly trends reports for priority accounts.
Work closely with creative team members, forming a joint partnership in the development of PR activation and campaign ideas
Define strategic territories and help craft stories that inspire clients and internal teams to solve marketing and business challenges
Help develop brand platforms and brand positioning for clients looking to reinvest in identifying their True North
Working with media and analytics, develop key personas and audience segmentation.
Serve as a strategist on various new business efforts, collaborating with agency and team leaders to respond to RFIs, RFPs and pitch assignments
Support development of a specific trends practice within the agency, ensuring the agency stays ahead of the curve on emerging cultural shifts and consumer behavior
Support development of research projects and consumer testing through development of discussion guides, participation in focus groups/interviews and contribute to their analysis
Contribute to an inspiring and energizing culture where creativity and smart thinking flourish
Required Qualifications:
8+ years of experience working in marketing, brand consulting or a creative agency roles with minimum 5+ years as a brand strategist, account planner or client-side equivalent
Demonstrated ability to identify industry and consumer trends as they develop and before they crest, and translate those happenings into meaningful brand strategy
Proven success leading or supporting brand strategy across multiple accounts in a variety of industries and categories. Experience in consumer-packaged goods preferred.
Experience working on PR and advertising accounts.
Energy and passion for pitching new business and quickly crafting strategic perspectives that differentiate us
Fluency with a range of quant and qual marketing research tools and methodologies
Experience designing and facilitating workshops, both client facing and internal
A proactive, collaborative, team-first work style—you’re willing to take on any level of task to meet deadlines, surpass expectations and ultimately, make the work better
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Working at ICF
Working at ICF means applying a passion for meaningful work with intellectual rigor to help solve the leading issues of our day. Smart, compassionate, innovative, committed, ICF employees tackle unprecedented challenges to benefit people, businesses, and governments around the globe. We believe in collaboration, mutual respect, open communication, and opportunity for growth.
We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building an inclusive workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to hiring regardless of any protected characteristic, such as race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability status, or military/veteran status. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO & AA policy.
COVID-19 Policy: New or prospective U.S. employees must provide proof of complete vaccination on the date of their commencement of employment. If selected for employment, you will provide proof of your full vaccination status, defined as vaccinated two weeks after receiving the requisite number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved or authorized for emergency use by the FDA.
Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation please email icfcareercenter@icf.com and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations. Read more about non-discrimination: EEO is the law and Pay Transparency Statement.
Chicago, IL (IL14)
Who is ICF?
