Job Information
Publicis Groupe Director, Strategy in Chicago, Illinois
Company description
Arc is the leading creative engine within Publicis’s group of commerce agencies. In an era of unprecedented change, where shopping happens anywhere and everywhere, we believe that brands not present at the moment of desire will be resisted. Which is why everything we do is in service of creating Irresistible Commerce — breakthrough creative solutions fueled by data-driven insights. It’s a proven approach that’s earned us recognition as WARC’s #1 Specialty Retail Agency, along with accolades from Adweek, ANA Reggie Awards, and Effies. And we do it all in an irresistible culture that’s put Arc on the AdAge Best Places to Work list.
Overview
As a Strategy Director your main jobs are to lead, manage and inspire. This mid-senior level position is all about fueling and elevating the strategic product, selling the work and being a core contributor to delivering incremental growth. This is an amazing opportunity to truly make a significant impact on the work, those who work for you and the agency’s overall reputation and bottom line. The possibilities to shine in this role are endless – it’s all about what you want to put into it to make it a success.
Responsibilities
This role will lead multiple brands and categories across one of our leading CPG clients. You’ll be working in a Publicis Power of One model alongside counterparts responsible for national media, commerce media, and data strategy. We’re looking for an enthusiastic collaborator, powerful storyteller, and proud voice of the shopper who can represent in a room with senior clients and agency folks. You’re wildly proficient with data, but more importantly, know how to transform it into meaningful narratives. You’re a key partner to creatives, with a proven record of rich storytelling that inspires them to make their best work. This role is based in Chicago for face time with clients and agency partners. You’ll lead, manage, and grow the strategists supporting this client.
Skills to Master:
Presentation Proficiency: You should be an expert presenting ideas in a compelling and inspiring manner; you should be able to anticipate questions that may arise and be fully prepared with thoughts that go well beyond what is written on a slide; and you should be able to masterfully sell the strategy you have developed in a way that helps internal and external partners see the value the strategy offers and the manner in which it directly solves the business issues at hand.
Storytelling Wiz: You will need to be highly adept at developing powerful narratives that deliver insights and strategy, presenting complex concepts in an engaging and persuasive manner done so in a way that is visually and verbally captivating.
Owning the Room:This is your show to run! People will be looking to you to facilitate, guide and direct conversations. You will need to be both the ringleader and a key contributor to discussions. Your presence should be felt and you should be making an impact on the outcome of any meeting you have a prominent role in – both internally and externally.
Impacting the Bottom Line:You will have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to new business pitches, which is always a great way to get exposure to more senior level folks, while at the same time learn a ton!
Leading the Pack: This will most likely be your first time managing people. First step is to figure out what your management style is. Take classes through the ‘Lion Leadership Program’ to help you understand yourself as a manager better and get the tools and training you need to be an effective manager. People will be looking to you to help them grow and flourish in their roles. You will need to be able to delegate effectively, set clear expectations and identify realistic deadlines so everyone on your team knows what they’re working toward. You will also be responsible for motivating and coaching those who work for you to produce stellar work.
Creative Brief/Briefing Mastery: At this point, you should be highly proficient at writing briefs that are insightful, inspirational and identify interesting and irresistible problems for creative teams to solve. But even though you’ve mastered these skills, it’s important to continue to hone them. You’ll not only still need to be writing briefs, but you’ll also now have the opportunity to infuse your brilliance into the briefs your team is writing to ensure that what is delivered is not only intelligent and strategic but also feels breakthrough and energizing.
Key Connector: You should have a deep comprehension of all the tools, data, IP, etc., available across our organization. Your job is to continually keep a pulse on what’s available, what’s new and any kind of updates that have been made. Additionally, you should be the central source that connects the rest of the strategy team, your internal partners and your clients to these amazing resources and identify when/how they could best be leveraged.
Thought Leadership: At this point in your career, you most definitely have a lot to say and the agency wants to hear it! Therefore, you will be asked to be a key contributor of white papers, agency POVs and thought pieces, including developing articles for the website and social channels. What you create, and how you create it, is totally up to you, so get those creative juices flowing and start making something!
How to Thrive:
Act as a Business Leader: Just because you aren’t technically part of the ‘business leadership’ discipline, it is still your job as a Strategy Director to manage your client’s business in a way that constantly adds value to them as well as foreseeing and identifying any issues that may arise and addressing them before they even come to fruition.
Be Solution-Oriented: There will be a lot of curveballs and fire drills that come your way. Don’t dwell on the problem; instead, always be on the lookout for ways to fix things and push forward and come with solutions in hand.
Mentor the Next Generation: As a senior strategy member, you have a seasoned perspective on what it takes to make the next leap in your career. Seek out the more junior folks on the strategy team and be their sounding board.
Be a Catalyst for Change:While we have a well-established OS and positioning in the marketplace, we’re always looking for people who are able to inspire new ways of doing things, thinking and working. Be provocative, act bravely, think differently and push things to unexplored territories.
Make Your Mark: This is your show to run and your chance to shine. Push yourself to do big things. As Leo Burnett famously said, “When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get them, but you won't come up with a handful of mud, either.”
Qualifications
9+ years experience in strategic planning
Experience in commerce/shopper marketing, specifically CPG
Experience managing, mentoring, growing strategy talent
Experience working in an integrated team model preferred (partnering closely across media, brand, and other agencies)
Confident presenter who brings gravitas to client engagements and inspiration to creative teams
Additional information
As part of the Publicis Groupe, we believe in the Power of One. And that starts with our people! To do powerful things, we offer powerful resources. Our best-in-class wellness and benefits offerings include:
Paid Family Care for parents and caregivers for 12 weeks or more
Monetary assistance and support for Adoption, Surrogacy and Fertility
Monetary assistance and support for pet adoption
Employee Assistance Programs and Health/Wellness/Comfort reimbursements to help you invest in your future and work/life balance
Tuition Assistance
Paid time off that includes Flexible Time off Vacation, Annual Sick Days, Volunteer Days, Holiday and Identity days, and more
Matching Gifts programs
Flexible working arrangements
‘Work Your World’ Program encouraging employees to work from anywhere Publicis Groupe has an office for up to 6 weeks a year (based upon eligibility)
Business Resource Groups that support multiple affinities and alliances
The benefits offerings listed are available to eligible U.S. Based employees, are reviewed on an annual basis, and are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents
Arc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our employment decisions are made without regard to actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, medical condition as defined by applicable state law, genetic information, marital status, military service and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.
Compensation Range: $142,015 - $162,225 Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 4/30/2025.