Director - Innovation & Brand Strategy

At a glance

Who:
Strategic consultant leading brand strategy, innovation, and business development efforts.

What:
Lead client engagements end-to-end, bringing your own thinking and vision-setting, and be expected to grow accounts over time.

When:
Hiring immediately to support business expansion.

Where:
Preferably based in the Chicagoland area; with option to be Remote / travel-open.

Salary: $140,000–$160,000 (est. base depending on experience) plus discretionary bonus potential.

If you are a business-minded strategic leader, who thinks outside of the box, doesn’t shy away from ambiguous client challenges, and has a proven track record of growing project opportunities into lasting partnerships… we want to hear from you!

A strategic mind and change agent who knows how to build.

We are looking for a strategic thought leader who is innately curious about people and craves an entrepreneurial opportunity to help grow the Innovation & Brand Strategy vertical within a fast-growing, global strategic brand consultancy.

Someone who won’t just answer the brief—they’ll challenge it.

We need a critical thinker to uncover the "problem behind the problem" and have a strong point of view to reframe a problem before solving it. They must be comfortable with ambiguity and open-ended briefs and excel in vision-setting and driving actionable solutions with clarity.

Someone with a network of trusted relationships - a true seller/doer.

With the support of an established client network, inbound pipeline, and a team behind you, our Directors have an annual minimum revenue target, so we are looking for a proactive relationship builder who is comfortable with revenue accountability and highly effective in building, managing, and growing a client portfolio.

Someone who mentors and leads with compassion and confidence.

We’re looking for a leader with a growth mindset to mentor team members on and off projects – help build confidence, expand skillsets, and support their overall growth and professional development. Our Directors invest in people to not only drive better project outcomes but also strengthen the overall success and resilience of the business.

• Fully own a set revenue target by identifying new opportunities/categories and growing a book of business through proactive account expansion to positively contribute to the company's annual goals.
• Build trust and maintain a senior-level presence across the entire lifecycle of a partnership, from initial discovery and "winning" the business to ongoing relationship management.
• Evaluate all proposals through a cost-benefit lens to ensure strategic solutions are both precise for the client’s marketplace needs and profitable for the agency.

• Oversee the synthesis of research, data, and trends into story-driven insights that provide effective strategic recommendations from integrated cultural, consumer, category, and commercial perspectives.
• Guide junior team members in primary and secondary research (e.g., ethnography, desk research, trend scanning) and complex problem-solving, ensuring the creation and delivery of high-quality outputs (e.g., decks, multimedia).
• Lead high-impact workshops, internal brainstorms, and collaborative client sessions to foster understanding, adoption, drive consensus, and meet company standards under tight deadlines.

• Utilize design thinking, whitespace analysis, and market trends to develop actionable roadmaps and bespoke frameworks for growth.
• Transform complex data and ambiguous client objectives into structured, story-driven narratives and high-value work streams.
• Advance agency offerings by integrating AI-informed tools and evolving methodologies beyond traditional research boundaries.

• At least 7 years of previous related experience (e.g., strategy, innovation, consulting, planning, design-thinking), with preference 3+ years of hands‑on experience at an insight‑led strategy consultancy, innovation firm, ad agency, or brand experience agency.
• Experience designing and delivering insight‑led…