Group Director of Strategy

Department: Social Media Strategy

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Reporting To: Vice President of Strategy

Compensation: $140,000 - $150,000 / year

Description

The strategy team at The Social Lights is a group of relentlessly curious, culture-obsessed storytellers who understand that the most compelling insights can be found in the hidden corners of the Internet. The Group Strategy Director at TSL is responsible for leading and overseeing the development of identifying audience, content, and conversation insights, building platform-specific and holistic social strategies, identifying social channel and behavioral trends, and ultimately creating the strategic foundation for innovative, social-first ideas. This role is a leader on our strategy team and works closely with cross-disciplinary leads to nurture a culture of collaboration and advance strategy team skill sets to position the agency for growth.

To be successful, this person must be a proven leader with a passion for developing others, be a self-starter, have a curious mind, be skilled in collaborating with creatively-minded individuals, and exhibit an understanding of building social strategies that both answer clients' business objectives and inspire inventive thinking. This key discipline leader is capable of multi-tiered team leadership, has a point-of-view on brand social strategy, is a master at social channels and the insights that power consumer culture online.

Key Responsibilities

Social Strategy Responsibilities

• Set the bar for strategic innovation and excellence in partnership with the VP of Strategy.
• Spearhead and oversee strategic initiatives, guiding them from conceptualization to realization, resulting in groundbreaking, impactful work.
• Master the art of storytelling, crafting compelling narratives that distill complex concepts into relatable, humanized stories that resonate with audiences. Coach our Strategy team members to develop and showcase their own storytelling mastery.
• Consistently deliver insights in new, fresh ways and present strategic concepts in an engaging, captivating, and persuasive manner.
• Demonstrate exceptional presentation acumen by delivering ideas with charisma and resonance, captivating audiences with compelling narratives and visionary insights.
• Provide strategic counsel and a strong POV on topics of social audiences, social strategy, channel strategy, activation, content, and engagement for clients and internal partners.
• Act as strategy lead on new business pitches identifying social insights and opportunities for the brand while crafting a persuasive strategic narrative. Partner with the entire cross-discipline pitch team to develop an engaging pitch presentation.

Collaboration and Presentation Responsibilities

• Seamlessly collaborate alongside cross-discipline TSL Group Directors and their teams to develop social-first ideas and bring strategic thinking into all work throughout the agency.
• Collaborate with cross-agency partners on behalf of client interests.
• Present strategic thinking and outputs to clients and internal partners.
• Demonstrate presentation prowess by presenting ideas in a compelling and inspiring manner, anticipating questions that may arise and being fully prepared with thoughts that go well beyond what is written on a slide; ultimately helping internal and external partners see the value The Social Lights offers and how our ideas directly solve the challenge at hand.

Thought Leadership Responsibilities

• Help instill an agency-wide culture of curiosity, productivity and proactivity particularly related to social insights, content/engagement trends and innovations.
• Promote and encourage a positive workplace culture dedicated to serving clients first and delivering a high standard of work on their behalf.
• Champion a workplace dedicated to client service excellence and the delivery of superlative work standards.
• Research, cultivate and share a strong point of view about social and social audiences via ongoing client deliverables and agency thought leadership.

People Management Responsibilities

• Develop and lead high-performing teams, advocates and direct reports, fostering a culture of excellence to drive collective growth and success.
• Work with direct reports to set measurable annual objectives, conduct bi-weekly check-ins and scheduled employee reviews, and provide continual and specific feedback to help each employee continue on their path to growth.
• Develop direct reports through ongoing coaching, strategic skills development and feedback to push and elevate their strategic work.
• Identify and champion growth opportunities for direct reports.
• Anticipate hiring needs, actively contribute to the hiring process, and assist in onboarding new team members.
• Oversee the onboarding process for new strategy team members with the structure of 30/60/90 day check-ins fostering a culture of excellence from the outset.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• 12+years experience in a social, marketing, brand strategy, or communications role
• Agency experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated Power Point and/or Keynote presentation building and storytelling skills
• Excellent presentation skills, ability to engage effectively in client Q&A, and respond real-time to client signals in key presentation moments
• Excellent communication skills - both verbal and written
• Exceptional planning, forecasting, analytical, and research skills
• Understanding of the relationship between social measurement and strategy, applying goals and KPIs to further clients' social objectives
• Demonstrated social listening experience and comfort working with social listening tools
• Expertise in leading a social strategy process from insight-finding to content production
• Previous new business pitch experience
• Experienced in collaborating with cross-agency partners and teams
• Well-organized, strong time management and prioritization skills
• Able to maintain confidentiality with business relations, personnel matters, and proprietary matters
• Proficient in the Adobe Suite, Google Suite, Microsoft Suite and Slack

Benefits

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• HSA + Company Contribution
• 401k + Company Match
• Generous PTO Policy
• New Macbook Pro
• Cell Phone Stipend
• Paid Employee Parking
• Summer Hours + Flexible Work Options
• Dog-Friendly Office