Brand Strategist

Zambezi is a proudly independent, women-owned agency and the 2026 winner of the Ad Age Small Agency of the Year award, giving you the room to do the best work of your career. We are looking for a Brand Strategist to join us. This position is designed for a highly motivated and ambitious thinker with a passion for strategic thinking and how that inspires great creative. This person will provide essential support across a variety of client projects and relied upon for audience and cultural insights and brief development. This role is ideal for someone eager to bring insights to the table and contribute to a fast-paced agency environment.

You’re the right person for this role if…

• You’re naturally curious. You are eager to dig into culture, categories, and audiences, turning interesting information into insights.
• You can think macro and micro. You can run an audience on MRI or design a survey with detail, but still think about the brand opportunity.
• You understand and are knowledgeable about how strategy and creative deploys in multiple channels including social – we are seeking a generalist not a specialist.
• You champion your ideas with confidence, articulating your perspective clearly regardless of the room's dynamics.
• You are a strong collaborator. Someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment. You enjoy working in an integrated environment with all departments including creative, media and account.
• You are ambitious and entrepreneurial. You’re willing to jump in and bring solutions at every step.
• You care deeply about creative work and want to be an active partner to creative teams to craft ideas and push for breakthrough thinking.

Research & Insights:

Hunt for what’s interesting and fresh, not just what’s right

Keep the team and agency up-to-speed on trends, social conversations, or sub-cultures

Build target audiences and personas by running and analyzing MRI data, and leveraging other data tools

Help maintain and organize audience research resources/tools

Gather interesting insights leveraging social media listening (i.e. Meltwater), and provide a perspective on how to best activate a brand and brief on respective social platforms

Leverage AI tools, like Gemini or Waldo, as a source of information, but not imagination

Brief Development:

Conduct research on cultural trends, competitive landscapes, and client backgrounds and then distill to what’s most important

Unlock the opportunity with every brief

Bring a point of view on what makes breakthrough creative work

Write narratives, not just briefs

Shaping the Work:

Partner with the account team to help digest client input briefs, ask the right questions, and provide a point-of-view

Partner with the creative team to help guide ideas and executions, ensuring we have the strategic grounding for breakthrough and effective work

Partner with the media team so that the strategy and creative ideas are presented in the strongest media context for a client’s target audience

New Business Support:

Assist in the foundational data and thinking around new business pitches

Become a go-to source for running the data and analysis for our proprietary AI diagnostic, The Brand Performance Gap

Approximately 3+ years of brand strategy or similar experience in marketing or advertising

Capacity to distill information to what’s most interesting

Excellent verbal, written and collaboration skills

Ability to present information clearly and concisely

Highly organized and have high attention to detail

Proficient with data tools like MRI and Waldo

Well-versed in social media, including experience across key platforms - TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook

Excited to create the best work of your career

Eagerness about strategic planning and brand development, with a desire to grow within the field