Back to jobs
New

Director, Digital Strategy

Arlington, Virginia, United States; Atlanta, Georgia, United States; Chicago, Illinois, United States; Dallas, Texas, United States; Los Angeles, California, United States; New York, New York, United States; Raleigh, North Carolina, United States; San Francisco, California, United States

About Ketchum

As a global communications consultancy with 100 years of experience, Ketchum is a trusted partner who is equal parts creative and analytical. Ketchum is a place where all perspectives and points of view are welcome and encouraged. We are a collection of communications specialists, content creators, creatives, researchers, data analysts, media pros, digital strategists, issues and crisis counselors, and tech nerds. And we love when those worlds collide to create the very best teams and solutions for our clients. We work with the world’s leading brands, emerging start-ups, and everything in between. We are beyond proud to have created some of the most celebrated and award-winning campaigns in our industry. We’re just crazy enough to think we can impact the world – and how it responds to ideas – through communication.

We encourage our employees to be curious, brave, inspiring, and a force for good. Let’s talk. Come belong at Ketchum!

 

 

Overview:

As Director, Digital + Social Strategy, you will be a senior strategic leader guiding brands in how to authentically show up and thrive in social and digital spaces. You will pair deep knowledge of consumer and cultural trends with an expert understanding of social media behavior, emerging platforms, and community-building strategies. You will lead insight-driven, social-first planning that translates data into compelling briefs, inspires creative teams, and drives measurable brand and business results.

This role is built for a strategic thinker who understands the pulse of culture and how audiences behave, connect, and create in social channels—and who can activate that knowledge to fuel impactful campaigns for consumer, lifestyle, and CPG brands.

About the Job:

Strategic Leadership & Consulting

  • Lead the development of integrated, social-first strategies that align with brand objectives, audience behaviors, and cultural opportunities.
  • Act as a senior advisor on digital and social strategy for priority consumer, lifestyle, and CPG clients—connecting cultural intelligence with actionable marketing approaches.
  • Monitor and interpret cultural trends, social media behaviors, platform updates, and community dynamics to identify opportunities for brand engagement.
  • Build strategies that not only spark attention but also foster lasting brand communities across social channels.

Data, Insights & Creative Inspiration

  • Leverage social listening tools, trend-tracking platforms, AI-driven insight tools, and first/third-party data to surface actionable audience and content insights.
  • Translate complex data into clear narratives and strategic recommendations that inspire bold creative ideas.
  • Write and present compelling content and campaign briefs that galvanize creative teams toward social-first, earned-led solutions.

Client & Business Development

  • Serve as a primary strategic lead for key accounts, ensuring strategies deliver measurable engagement, community growth, and brand impact.
  • Play a lead role in high-value new business efforts, developing social-first strategy narratives and participating in pitches.
  • Identify and proactively recommend opportunities for brands to activate around emerging cultural and digital moments.

Thought Leadership & Innovation

  • Produce thought leadership content, trend reports, and best practice guides to position Ketchum as a leader in digital and social strategy.
  • Represent the agency in industry conversations—conferences, panels, media commentary—on culture, social media, and community-building trends.
  • Partner with analytics, creative, and channel experts to evolve proprietary methodologies for social listening, trend activation, and community growth.

Team Leadership & Development

  • Manage and mentor junior strategists, building their skills in cultural insight gathering, social strategy, and creative briefing.
  • Champion collaboration across analytics, creative, influencer, paid media, and account teams to ensure integrated, insight-led campaign development.
  • Contribute to talent planning, resourcing, and skills development for the broader Digital + Social team.

Qualifications:

  • 10+ years of experience in digital and social strategy, with proven expertise in consumer, lifestyle, and CPG brand marketing.
  • Deep understanding of social media platforms, content formats, algorithms, and audience behaviors, with a track record of activating and engaging communities.
  • Proficiency in social listening tools (e.g., Sprinklr, Brandwatch, Talkwalker), cultural trend-tracking platforms, and AI-powered insight generation tools.
  • Strong ability to synthesize cultural and behavioral data into compelling strategies and creative briefs.
  • Demonstrated success in inspiring and collaborating with creative teams to deliver breakthrough social-first ideas.
  • Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence senior clients and cross-functional teams.
  • Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams and managing client relationships at a senior level.

The salary range for this position is $120,000 to $140,000. This position may be bonus eligible depending on individual employee performance and Ketchum business performance. The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, education, years of experience, past training, skills and abilities of applicant, internal equity and local geographic market data. A range of medical, dental, vision, 401(k) matching, paid time off, and/or other benefits also are available. #LI-Hybrid

What We Offer

  • Hybrid Workplace: Three days a week in the office
  • Robust benefits program, effective within 30 days of hire
  • Paid maternity/paternity leave
  • Family Forming Benefits
  • Employee Recognition Program
  • Generous paid time off includes vacation, wellness, and extended holiday schedule
  • Various development opportunities to enhance personal and professional life
  • Tuition reimbursement
  • Monthly Cell Phone & Wi-Fi reimbursement

Interested? We’ve got an opportunity for you.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Ketchum U.S. ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.