Senior Strategist (Coley Porter Bell) FTC

What we’re looking for

We're looking for a Senior Strategist to develop smart brand and design plans that truly make an impact. This role requires a deep understanding of the FMCG market, allowing you to turn big ideas into clear, inspiring directions for our creative teams. You should be a self-starter, able to manage projects from beginning to end, and enjoy working closely with different teams.

Who we are

We are a global brand agency based in London and New York using strategy, creativity, and design to build immersive brands. For almost 45 years, we have partnered with some of the world’s biggest companies, including Formula 1, LEGO, Huawei, American Express, Post Office, Merck, Nationwide, Tesco, and Boots.

We enjoy the best of both worlds: we’re the perfect balance of big and small. We attract our own clients as a nimble group of about 40 people, whilst also being a part of WPP, the largest branding and advertising network in the world. We are a friendly, down-to-earth team – backed by the creativity, resources, and influence of a global network.

What you’ll do

• Lead the strategic thinking for our key client accounts.
• Develop comprehensive brand plans, including how brands are positioned, how they relate to other products, and their core stories.
• Conduct thorough market research and analyse competitors, synthesizing market, consumer, and competitive data to inform strategic development.
• Design and run engaging client workshops, guiding participants through exercises to co-create strategy and product range approaches.
• Capture workshop outputs and translate them into actionable strategies and clear creative briefs.
• Write clear and compelling creative briefs that guide our design teams.
• Collaborate closely with designers on audits (e.g., competitor, category codes, RDE codes) and throughout the concepting phase.
• Work closely with clients and our design teams, presenting your strategic recommendations effectively.
• Stay informed about the latest trends in the FMCG industry.
• Contribute to various FMCG projects, always looking for ways to improve our strategic offerings.
• Help foster a positive team culture and lead workshops to generate new ideas.
• Build strong relationships with clients and help different groups reach agreement on strategic directions.
• Encourage others to understand and champion our agency's strategic approach.
• Support Strategy Partners on larger projects across the entire strategy cycle, including desk research, data interpretation, stakeholder interviews, assisting in developing POVs on categories and brands, and brief writing.

What you’ll need

• Experience working as a strategist in a brand or design agency.
• A proven track record of successfully developing and implementing brand strategies, especially within the FMCG sector and, ideally, retail.
• Solid understanding and practical experience with packaging design, including both its structure and visual elements.
• A strong understanding of range architecture and visual architecture.
• Ability to create consistent brand identity systems that work across all customer touchpoints.
• Strong capability to translate overall brand goals into actionable creative strategies.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Comfortable working independently and collaboratively, supported by strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to leverage AI tools to supplement research and exploration.
• Experience working in international markets (especially the US) is a bonus.

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

Coley Porter Bell, a WPP company, is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all applicants without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics, committed to a culture of respect where everyone belongs and can progress in their careers.

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