Senior Strategist

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Published

10/09/2024

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We are seeking a new Senior Strategist to join our team. The ideal candidate is someone who has previous strategy experience, strong understanding of evolving media landscape (especially earned and social media) and an inherent love and aptitude for culture. You’ll be expected to work within an integrated team, working with account, creative and analytics functions to create flawless campaigns that drive results for clients. 

 

Position Description 

  • Work both independently and collaboratively with cross-functional teams to develop strong, innovative earned-first strategies and campaigns
  • Stay up to date on latest cultural trends, creating reports and guiding the team on activating against those
  • Help turn research-based observations into inspiring insights and briefs for creative and media teams
  • Have a deep understanding of digital and social media platforms and how to create for each individually
  • Develop and deliver crisp, compelling and visually engaging presentations and pitches
  • Create measurement frameworks for business and brand impact and conduct data-driven analysis
  • Actively lead strategy sessions and creative brainstorms and contribute to  client presentations
  • Cultivate relationships with key decision-makers across the business, including creative and media (earned, paid and social) specialists, research/analytics experts, and account teams

 

Qualifications

  • 4-5 years of relevant work experience
  • Strongly entrenched in brands and culture
  • Strong understanding of the earned media (including earned social) landscape
  • Knowledge of evolving social platforms and community engagement on social
  • Strong knowledge of broad set of audience, insights and analytics tools such as YouGov, MRI, GWI, WARC, etc is a must.  Experience with AI research tools is desirable
  • Demonstrated expertise with media intelligence and social listening tools such as Talkwalker, Brandwatch, Cision, Meltwater, Agility PR, etc.  
  • Strong understanding and experience with primary research (surveys and studies)
  • Detail-oriented, multi-tasker with excellent time-management skills
  • Exceptional written, verbal communication and visual presentation skills
  • Demonstrated ability to construct a strategic argument supported by evidence
  • Ability to quickly understand and translate complex business or policy issues
  • Strong time management, project management and organizational skills
  • Meaningfully contribute to a civil, fast paced, inclusive and positive work environment
  • Enough poise to work with multiple creative and account management colleagues across diverse experience levels and disciplines
  • Proactive, self-starter who can work well both independently and as part of a team

The Weber Shandwick Collective recognizes that your health and wellbeing are a priority. This is why we offer a full suite of benefits including:

  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • RRSP (with employer match)
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Juice Money – $60 monthly reimbursement to be used towards purchases that nourish your health, mind, body, and soul
  • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – $50 monthly cell phone reimbursement
  • MyDays – Flexible time off
  • Short-Term Disability
  • Paid Parental Leave Policy

Weber Shandwick is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Weber Shandwick recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, protected veteran status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or citizenship status.

#LI-LC1 

We make our careers website accessible to any and all users. If you need an accommodation to participate in the application process, please contact us at JobAppAccommodation@ipgdxtra.com. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or vendors; rather it is strictly for applicants who require special assistance accessing our employment website. Due to volume, messages sent to this email address that are not related to an accommodation cannot be answered.

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Vice President, Social & Influencer Strategy

VICE PRESIDENT – SOCIAL & INFLUENCER STRATEGY 

 

At Weber Shandwick, we build brand stories designed to earn attention, coverage and conversation. We’re a passionate and diverse team that protects and promotes some of Canada’s (and the world’s) most iconic and beloved brands … and has fun while doing it!  
 
If you’re a dynamic digital and social leader with an integrated-marketing mindset, here’s an opportunity to play a leadership role at a forward-thinking, award-winning and globally leading agency. Over the last five years, Weber Shandwick has been recognized as PRovoke Media’s Canadian Agency of the Year, IABC Canadian Large Agency of the Year, a certified Great Place to Work (six years running) and boasts the most exciting client list of any agency in the country. 

 

POSITION PROFILE 

  

We are currently seeking a Vice President – Social & Influencer Strategy to join our Integrated Media team in Toronto. We’re looking for a self-starter who is ready to take the lead in shaping our digital offering and driving the agency’s social and influencer teams forward. As a key leadership position, this person will lead Social & Influencer Strategy for Canada. This role will lead breakthrough work across several major accounts, while driving growth and inspiring digital innovation across the agency. 

 

The ideal candidate is an experienced leader who is passionate about social media and working with influencers and creators. The position requires expert-level understanding of social platforms and influencer marketing and the role they play in the larger interconnected and ever-evolving media ecosystem.  

 

They have deep experience in the social and influencer space with notable brands and are in tune with emerging trends, as well as the broader cultural and technological shifts taking place in the media landscape. This role calls for curiosity about what comes next in technology, marketing and media, paired with a passion for working with influencers.  

 

We’re looking for someone who knows how to motivate a team, tap into their passion and lead with a sense of integrity, honesty and humility – a leader who can set the big-picture strategy but isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and dive into the work. 

 

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who wants to put their strategic skills to work driving engagement for great brands, is highly collaborative and willing to grow and lead a team doing bold new things.  

 

Responsibilities 

 

  • Develop a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses and target audiences, and – working in close collaboration with our Creative, Insights and Client Experience teams – lead the creation and execution of innovative and integrated social and/or influencer campaigns that drive trackable and meaningful results 
  • Serve as the primary Canadian social and influencer lead for major global brands – 

leading the development of innovative social/digital initiatives from briefing to execution, including campaign strategies, content creation, paid integration and measuring effectiveness/ROI, as well as digital team structure and workflows 

  • Stay at the forefront of technology trends, new applications and emerging platforms to champion social and digital innovation and continuously further our offerings 
  • Provide expert counsel to clients and colleagues on social/digital/influencer trends, issues and best practices – act as a thought leader who shares knowledge, expertise and strong counsel internally and externally  
  • Continuously advance the agency’s influence offering; overseeing key relationships with talent agencies and content creators, and institutionalizing a set of best-in-class tools and processes for identification, contract negotiation, content planning, paid amplification, campaign optimization, measurement and ROI analysis 
  • Collaborate effectively with inter-agency teams to develop holistic plans and fully integrated strategies for our clients 
  • Work closely with our Insights team to advance our social listening and analytics offering 
  • Socialize and promote our social and influencer capabilities to drive organic and new business growth 
  • Lead a high-performing team of digital specialists; mentor and develop junior team members 

 

REQUIREMENTS 
 

  • 12+ years of experience, preferably within an agency environment 
  • A thorough command of the social media and digital world (from the evolving social web to mobile tools and trends), sophisticated client service and digital communications skills, high energy, and passion for this area of rapid change and innovation 
  • Expert-level proficiency in social media platforms and inherent curiosity about emerging communities – willing to experiment with cutting-edge platforms and techniques and sell in new ways of thinking to clients  
  • Deep expertise in building and managing influencer programs, establishing best practices and leading strong influencer marketing teams. 
  • Understand the paid media environment and how it applies to a holistic social media strategy   
  • Familiarity with a broad set of social, media and influencer analytics tools; and experience working with an analytics team to measure campaign ROI and generate insights that inform future strategy 
  • Established relationships with social platforms, partners, influencers and talent agencies  
  • Outstanding communication skills to successfully present program recommendations and establish trusted relationships with senior clients  
  • Proven new business expertise and success 
  • Proven experience building teams, managing and mentoring junior staff and working collaboratively in a cross-functional setting  

The Weber Shandwick Collective recognizes that your health and wellbeing are a priority. This is why we offer a full suite of benefits including:

  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • RRSP (with employer match)
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Juice Money – $60 monthly reimbursement to be used towards purchases that nourish your health, mind, body, and soul
  • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – $50 monthly cell phone reimbursement
  • MyDays – Flexible time off
  • Short-Term Disability
  • Paid Parental Leave Policy

Weber Shandwick is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Weber Shandwick recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or citizenship status.

#LI-SK1

We make our careers website accessible to any and all users. If you need an accommodation to participate in the application process, please contact us at JobAppAccommodation@ipgdxtra.com. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or vendors; rather it is strictly for applicants who require special assistance accessing our employment website. Due to volume, messages sent to this email address that are not related to an accommodation cannot be answered.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

General Application - Canada

We are always looking for great talent!  If you don’t see an open role listed that interests you at this time, please send us your resume and we’ll keep in touch about future openings. 

Weber Shandwick is a leading global marketing and communications network that delivers next-generation solutions to brands, businesses and organizations in major markets around the world.

We push beyond category convention, pairing data-driven insights with creative prowess to deliver game-changing ideas that earn attention and drive business impact. We have a deep bench of talent across sectors and specialty areas, including brand and B2B marketing, healthcare marketing, change management, employee engagement, corporate reputation, crisis management, data and analytics, technology, public affairs, social impact and financial communications.

Led by world-class strategic and creative thinkers and activators, we have won some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. Weber Shandwick was named to Ad Age’s A-List in 2020 and Best Places to Work in 2019. The firm earned 25 Lions at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Weber Shandwick is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Weber Shandwick recruits qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or citizenship status.

We make our careers website accessible to any and all users. If you need an accommodation to participate in the application process, please contact us at JobAppAccommodation@ipgdxtra.com. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or vendors; rather it is strictly for applicants who require special assistance accessing our employment website. Due to volume, messages sent to this email address that are not related to an accommodation cannot be answered.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Group Creative Director

Group Creative Director 

Are you a conceptual problem solver? Passionate about ideas that breakthrough in culture? Do you get energized by building solid client relationships?  If so, we have an opportunity for you.

 

Weber Shandwick is looking for a Group Creative Director with an earned-first lens and a diverse agency background to manage several large-scale accounts.

 

You’ll have the chance to create award-winning work for national and global brands through earned, social, and traditional media for clients across industries, including travel, food and beverage, healthcare, technology and beyond.

 

You’ll be someone who excels in mentoring and managing a team of senior and junior creatives, leading by example, with a keen eye for organization and detail. You’ll keep our teams motivated and focused on the task at hand – but you’ll still love getting your hands dirty and creating the work alongside them.  

You’ll work closely with our strategy and integrated media teams, and client leaders to help propel the work forward and grow our business. 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES 

  • Develop and deliver creative solutions that strengthen clients’ market distinction and leadership position  
  • Generate innovative ideas across existing and emerging digital platforms and inspire colleagues to create world-class, pioneering ideas  
  • Articulate and justify conceptual and design choices  
  • Build a culture hungry for smart creative by guiding, teaching and mentoring and underscoring the need for continual creative improvement
  • Promote and actively contribute to a culture of innovation, excellence and accountability  
  • Mentor and lead staff to maintain consistent creative quality and award-winning work  
  • Lead concept, creative development, and presentation of new business development efforts  
  • Continually develop practices and processes to inspire, innovate, and harness new ways of thinking 

 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS 

  • A strong portfolio of work 
  • 10 years of experience in a creative leadership role  
  • Demonstrated experience managing the creative development process in a client-services environment  
  • Advanced knowledge of user-centered experience design, brand development, digital marketing and the creative process    
  • Strong ability to provide clear creative direction and provide timely, helpful feedback to improve creative processes and to keep work on budget and schedule  
  • Excellent presentation skills and communication abilities, both internal and client-facing  
  • Ability to prioritize work and resources across engagements based on short and long-term needs 
  • Proven mentoring and team-building skills 
  • A real understanding of what makes for compelling work  
  • The ability to concept across a broad range of media, in a variety of tones and voices 
  • Resilient mindset, a cheerful and positive attitude, and respect for others 
  • A willingness to push creative boundaries 
  • And most importantly a kind leader who loves what they do and can have fun while doing it!

The Weber Shandwick Collective recognizes that your health and wellbeing are a priority. This is why we offer a full suite of benefits including:

  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • RRSP (with employer match)
  • Tuition Reimbursement
  • Juice Money – $60 monthly reimbursement to be used towards purchases that nourish your health, mind, body, and soul
  • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – $50 monthly cell phone reimbursement
  • MyDays – Flexible time off
  • Short-Term Disability
  • Paid Parental Leave Policy

#LI-KG1

We make our careers website accessible to any and all users. If you need an accommodation to participate in the application process, please contact us at JobAppAccommodation@ipgdxtra.com. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or vendors; rather it is strictly for applicants who require special assistance accessing our employment website. Due to volume, messages sent to this email address that are not related to an accommodation cannot be answered.