Associate Director, Creative Strategy

Overview

WHY DEPT®? We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh
* t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter. At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

We’re looking for an Associate Director of Performance Creative Strategy who leads with data, thinks in systems, and knows how to turn performance signals into better creative. You will play a critical role in shaping creative strategy through real-time performance insights. Operating close to in-market creative, you analyze and evolve work based on what is actually driving results, and translate those learnings into clear inputs for upstream strategy.

You ensure messaging is informed by real signals, not just instinct, while bringing a deep understanding of how paid media works across platforms and how creative drives performance.

You are fluent in creative analysis and testing methodologies, with a strong instinct for identifying patterns in data and translating them into clear, actionable next steps. You know how to build and scale testing roadmaps, connect disparate performance signals, and turn learnings into new creative directions that drive incremental impact.

You’re also a strong leader and partner, comfortable guiding a team of strategists, workshopping insights with senior clients, and collaborating closely with creative, media, and analytics teams to maintain a tight, always-on feedback loop.

This role reports directly to the Director of Creative Strategy and partners closely with another Associate Director focused on creative briefing and messaging strategy. Together, you connect what should be made with what is proven to work.

• Performance-Driven Creative Leadership – Own the development and evolution of creative testing roadmaps, grounded in clear hypotheses and business objectives.
• Performance-Driven Creative Leadership – Lead ongoing creative analysis, identifying patterns, performance drivers, and areas of opportunity across campaigns and platforms.
• Performance-Driven Creative Leadership – Translate raw data and performance outputs into sharp, actionable insights that inform new creative directions.
• Performance-Driven Creative Leadership – Define and implement testing methodologies (A/B testing, creative lift studies) that drive measurable learning and iteration.
• Performance-Driven Creative Leadership – Establish and maintain a continuous learning loop, ensuring insights are captured, synthesized, and fed back into creative development.

• Turn performance insights into scalable creative ideas and test concepts designed to unlock growth.
• Partner with creative and strategy teams to ensure concepts are rooted in proven signals, not just intuition.
• Identify opportunities to scale winning creative patterns across audiences, markets, and platforms.
• Contribute to evergreen and campaign-based creative strategies with a strong POV on what will drive performance.

• Manage and mentor a team of Creative Strategists and Senior Creative Strategists, with a focus on elevating analytical rigor and strategic thinking.
• Coach teams on how to go deeper in performance analysis, creative auditing, and insight generation.
• Lead internal workshops and knowledge shares to uplevel team capabilities in testing, measurement, and creative effectiveness.
• Set a high bar for how data is interpreted, communicated, and applied to creative work.

• Act as a senior strategic partner to clients, confidently presenting performance insights, learnings, and testing plans.
• Lead working sessions with…