Senior Director, Brand Strategy

Company Introduction

World Strides is the global leader in educational travel and experiential learning. The company was founded in 1967 to provide middle school travel programs to Washington, D.C. and has grown to provide a wide range of programs for more than half a million students annually to over 100 countries around the world. World Strides offers experiential learning programs in educational travel, performing arts, language immersion, career exploration, service-learning, study abroad, and sports.

Each of these experiences helps students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world - and themselves - in new ways.

World Strides is the global leader in educational travel and experiential learning. The company was founded in 1967 to provide middle school travel programs to Washington, D.C. and has grown to provide a wide range of programs for more than half a million students annually to over 100 countries around the world. World Strides offers experiential learning programs in educational travel, performing arts, language immersion, career exploration, service-learning, study abroad, and sports.

Each of these experiences helps students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world - and themselves - in new ways.

This is a defining hire for World Strides. As Senior Director of Brand Strategy, you will lead the repositioning of the World Strides master brand - consolidating a portfolio of sub-brands, building the storytelling architecture that drives emotional connection with educators and students, and establishing organic content as a top-of-funnel engine. You will be the brand's chief architect and its loudest champion internally and externally.

• Lead the end-to-end repositioning of World Strides as the definitive educational travel brand across K-12, International, and Performing Arts
• Define and execute a sub-brand consolidation strategy - creating a coherent brand architecture across all World Strides products and programs
• Develop brand guidelines, tone of voice, and messaging frameworks that ensure consistency across every customer touchpoint
• Partner with Product and Sales leadership to ensure brand narrative aligns with commercial strategy and segment needs

• Build and own the organic content strategy - editorial, social, video - as a long-term brand-building and SEO asset
• Commission and champion student and educator stories that bring World Strides' mission to life authentically
• Oversee development of campaign narratives, brand films, and impact content that differentiate World Strides in a competitive landscape

• Serve as the internal brand guardian across Marketing, Sales, Product, and Partner channels
• Lead and develop the Manager, Social & Influencer and work cross-functionally with Creative, Digital, and Channel teams
• Build agency and freelance partnerships for brand strategy, PR, and film production

• Unified brand architecture adopted across all sub-brands within 12 months
• Measurable increase in unaided brand awareness among target educator and student segments
• Organic content contributing measurably to top-of-funnel MQL pipeline
• World Strides featured in top-tier education and travel media

• 8-12 years of brand strategy and marketing experience in education, travel, or consumer brands
• Proven track record leading brand repositioning or relaunch at a company or product portfolio level
• Experience managing brand architecture across a multi-product or multi-brand organization
• Strong storytelling instincts - you write a sharp brief, give decisive creative direction, and recognize a great idea instantly
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence without direct authority
• Experience managing external agencies (brand, PR, production)

• Experience in K-12 education, study abroad, or experiential travel
• Track record building organic content as a measurable growth channel
• Familiarity with brand tracking tools and qualitative research methodologies

• Comprehensive health benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, accident, critical illness, disability insurance, FSA/HSA options with employer HSA contributions, and a generous 401(k) match.
• Generous paid time off including 11 paid company holidays, 25 PTO days the first year (prorated), 1 paid volunteer day, 4 mental health days, and bereavement
• Professional development support, including up to $5,250 annually for tuition reimbursement and up to $1,000 for certifications annually
• Opportunities for paid and discounted travel
• Flexible work schedule providing on-site, remote, and hybrid office opportunities
• Encouraged participation in a wide variety of Employee Resource Groups
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and wellness resources, including fitness centers at select locations
• Paid parental, caregiver, and disability leave
• Team Member Discount Program
• Engaging, collaborative, and fun work…