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Strategy Director

Chicago, IL

VSA’s purpose is to design for a better human experience. As a strategy and design agency, we blend consumer insights and data with human-centered design to activate meaningful, motivating and measurable experiences in an increasingly noisy world. With offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, VSA offers a full range of fully integrated capabilities—branding, advertising, data science and technology—all under one roof. VSA is also a proud member of Meet The People, an international family of unified and independent agencies. For more than 40 years, we have delivered solutions for business and creative leaders at some of the world’s most respected brands and forward-thinking organizations, including Google, Nike and IBM. 

Skills needed to succeed in this role: 

  • A leader and a team player. You are a strong collaborator, an open learner, and a giving mentor.
  • A natural fit in a right-brain/left-brain work environment. You think analytically, critically and creatively to develop simple, elegant solutions to complex problems.
  • Data-driven, customer-centric mindset. You have strong experience using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to uncover consumer insights and drive a deeper understanding of human behavior.
  • An entrepreneurial spirit. You’re a natural builder, with a desire to dig in, define a path, and drive things forward. 
  • An affinity for tackling complex problems. You’re intrigued and energized by complexity, drawn to untangling tricky problems with multiple layers and the satisfaction of creating a clear path forward.
  • An inclination to embrace ambiguity and respond to change with agility. You thrive in environments where the structure may not be defined and you have the freedom to create it. 
  • Able to work fast and hypothesize quickly. You’re adept at efficiently gathering the inputs you need to develop sound hypotheses that move work forward quickly.
  • Flexible style and a desire to create better ways to work. You’re comfortable coming in with a point of view, but you’re also excited by the prospect of creating new ways of working and opportunities to push teams outside of their comfort zones.
  • Outstanding communication, writing and presentation skills. Success in this role is determined by how you think and how well you are able to translate that thinking into clear questions, hypotheses and recommendations for internal and external audiences.
  • High emotional intelligence. You feel the intangible. You understand others and seek to build strong relationships with people across disciplines and experience levels.

Qualifications - To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • MBA or Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years of experience in strategy or strategic consulting (business, brand and/or integrated marketing).
  • Experience in research, analytics, and/or client-side brand management or marketing.
  • Experience with B2B, B2C, finance, and technology brands/companies.
  • Strong experience in digital and CX strategy.
  • Strong brand strategy + business strategy + digital (experience) acumen
  • Experience managing multiple projects and juggling competing priorities.
  • Business strategy/transformation experience.

  • Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills.

 

Why VSA

You’ll join a high-performance Growth team building a scalable, data-driven system that connects marketing intelligence, outbound rigor, and brand storytelling into a unified engine for growth.
This is a rare opportunity to help shape how a leading creative, strategy, and design firm drives measurable business impact.

Interested candidates should submit a resume and a brief summary on how you’ve used technology, process, or systems thinking to accelerate growth or pipeline outcomes in previous roles.

 

Total Perks Package

  • The chance to be a part of a growing company and the next success story
  • Amazing opportunities for career development
  • Recognition programs
  • Employee referral bonus
  • Fun and collaborative work environment
  • Casual dress code
  • Insurance Coverage (medical, dental, vision, life, and disability)
  • 401(k) retirement plan, with employer 4% match
  • Work/life benefits, including mental health and wellbeing support
  • Flexible Time Off Policy
  • Paid holidays, including agency soft closing Christmas Eve-New Year's Day
  • Paid leave options, including sick leave, medical leave for self and family, and parental leave

Chicago Estimated Salary Range

$140,000 - $180,000 USD

VSA Partners is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable environment for all employees. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit and business need.

California Residents - Please review our Privacy Notice here. 

VSA PARTNERS, LLC
vsapartners.com

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