Director, Creative Strategy

This role serves as a senior creative strategy leader responsible for ensuring the quality, clarity, and performance relevance of social-first creative output across priority client work. They own the end-to-end integrity of creative strategy, ensuring strong strategic thinking informs every concept, campaign idea, and recommendation.

Acting as the final strategic pass on key deliverables, they guide teams toward platform-native ideas grounded in cultural insights, performance data, and client objectives. In close partnership with Strategy, Business Intelligence, and cross-functional teams, they translate insights and trends into clear creative opportunities that drive impact. As an anchor leader within the division, they strengthen collaboration across teams, elevate creative standards, and help shape strategic narratives for client engagements, new business, and the continued evolution of Viral Nations creative approach.

What You'll Do Here:

• Own the end-to-end quality of creative strategy output, ensuring strategic thinking is the through-line behind every creative idea that gets delivered.
• Be the accountable final pass for creative strategy deliverables across priority work, with a bias toward clarity, platform-native thinking, and performance relevance.
• Drive the development of social-first creative concepts, campaign ideas, and strategic recommendations aligned with client objectives.
• Partner with Strategy and Business Intelligence to translate cultural, platform, and performance signals into clear creative opportunity areas.
• Operate as an anchor leader within the division, sitting across multiple opportunities/clients and guiding the pods strategic-to-creative output.
• Use performance data and post-campaign insights to refine creative strategy frameworks, ensuring learnings translate into stronger future concepts and platform approaches
• Provide direct leadership, including improving output quality, sharpening strategic rigor, and raising the standard of social-first thinking.
• Serve as the primary point of alignment for senior creative partners for cohesion, quality control, and strategic consistency.
• Shape and strengthen strategic narratives, pitches, and creative storytelling for new business and client engagements.
• Support and, when required, lead client presentations, translating strategy into clear creative direction and actionable next steps.
• Advise on creative direction during content development/production, ensuring alignment with platform trends and performance insights.
• Develop and evolve repeatable creative strategy frameworks (platform playbooks, concepting structures, signal-to-idea methodologies) that elevate consistency and quality across teams.
• Translate cultural trends, platform updates, and performance insights into actionable creative guidance for clients and internal teams.
• Contribute hands-on to ideation and concept development when needed to unblock teams or elevate creative thinking.
• Partner with cross-functional teams (Business Development, Client Services, Media, Measurement) to ensure strategy and creative recommendations convert into cohesive, effective execution.
• Align stakeholders early, clarify inputs/owners, and drive decision-making to keep work moving and standards high.
• Contribute forward-looking ideas and thought leadership to support innovation and strengthen Viral Nations creative approach.
• Act as the connective layer between Strategy, Creative, Creator Relations, and Community Management to ensure creative ideas translate seamlessly into execution across the social ecosystem.

What You'll Need To Have:

• 10+ years of experience in creative strategy, social media, integrated marketing, or content strategy, preferably within a fast-paced agency or digital-first environment.
• Proven experience developing social-first creative strategies and campaign concepts that align with brand objectives and drive measurable performance.
• Strong understanding of social platforms, creator ecosystems, and platform native storytelling, with the ability to translate trends and cultural signals into creative opportunity areas.
• Demonstrated ability to use performance data, platform insights, and post-campaign learnings to inform strategy and strengthen future creative approaches.
• Experience partnering with analytics or business intelligence teams to translate data into actionable insights, strategic recommendations, and client-ready narratives.
• Proven leadership experience guiding strategists or cross-functional teams, with the ability to elevate output quality, strengthen strategic rigor, and mentor team members.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with experience shaping strategic narratives, leading client discussions, and translating strategy into clear creative direction.
• Strong collaboration skills with experience working across creative, strategy, media, client services, and production teams to deliver cohesive campaign execution.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, align stakeholders, and maintain high standards across complex client engagements.
• University degree or college diploma in marketing, communications, business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.