Strategy Director

I’m looking for an experienced and impressive brand strategist, who has an excellent track record in the fundamentals, and is now keen to take on some truly high-profile projects in one of the world’s most dynamic and ambitious regions.

Profile & experience:

• 10+ years in senior strategic roles within brand agencies (not advertising/marketing and ‘planning’).
• 5+ years of team-leadership, including mentoring and developing junior/middleweight strategists.
• Proven track record of delivering insightful and impactful brand strategy: positionings, architecture, benchmarking, customer journeys, key messaging, naming/nomenclature…
• Highly capable at taking on and leading projects by yourself.
• Strong team player. Comfortable playing a leading role; well-versed in connecting strategy and creative; and capable of both managing multiple projects and initiatives while also rising to challenging timelines and expectations.
• Strong presentation skills. Able to present in an articulate and impressive manner. comfortable with different nationalities, cultures and dynamics; and not fazed by large groups, senior figures.
• Excellent copywriting skills. (English essential, Arabic a bonus).
• Ideally, specific experience in brand strategy for destinations and developments, hospitality, placemaking and real estate.
• Experience of working in the Middle East strongly valued, plus an appetite to work on projects in multiple regions simultaneously (especially Middle East, Asia and Europe).
• Credible profile within the region/industry, and among clients/ peers/influencers etc.
• A passion for creativity, culture and current trends in society (such as sustainability, AI, wellbeing etc).

Additional responsibilities:

• Closely collaborate with the Creative Director and team to ensure a seamless transition from strategy to creativity to brand solution.
• Conduct and manage client interviews/relationships, including at senior management and CEO/Board levels.
• Apply robust creative processes to every brief, and purposefully seek out strong, resonant ideas that can transform brand/business opportunities.
• Develop and deploy both proven and counter-intuitive thinking and tools – able to solve problems and find fresh approaches, and never be welded to formulaic or merely ‘safe’ solutions.
• Contribute to building a knowledge bank of future brand trends, best-in-class executions, sector spotlights and opportunities, and prevailing strategic challenges.
• Work closely with the Head of Strategy to actively build an award-winning portfolio for creativity, and the business’s reputation for brand innovation, with thought leadership pieces, relevant conferences and public speaking events.

Salt is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.