Director of Brand Strategy

We're looking for a Director of Brand Strategy to lead strategy on some of our most important clients. At Fact & Fiction, strategy is the "Fact" in our name, and it always starts with people. You'll find the truths that make brands matter. You'll bring clarity to messy, ambiguous problems, and you'll turn insight into stories that our clients and creative teams can't wait to act on. We want strategy with conviction, simplicity and a little cleverness: thinking that makes ideas undeniable and makes our friends in the industry jealous.

You'll report to our Head of Strategy and be in the work, in the briefs and in the room with clients. You'll lead strategy on key accounts, mentor other strategists, help win new business, and make the whole agency think a little sharper. You'll fight for the right ideas, earn real trust, and help us out-think and out-heart the big holding companies.

Fact & Fiction is an independent creative agency that helps brands earn a real place in culture. Senior people are in the work on every account, our teams are tight and know each other well, and our ideas go from insight to launch without getting watered down along the way. We think the best brand work doesn't interrupt culture. It adds something to it.

What you'll do

Lead client strategy

• Own strategy for one or more key clients from brief to results, working directly with them to put smarter strategy into market.
• Find the root problem, whether it's a consumer challenge, a business performance issue or a lagging category, and bring structure to ambiguous requests.
• Link brand opportunities to business action, with a roadmap and measurable impact to back it up.

Find the truth

• Start with humans. Build empathy by experiencing and observing, not just reading and reacting.
• Plan and lead primary, secondary and data-driven research across the category, competitive and cultural landscape.
• Uncover human truths and turn them into non-obvious, sticky points of view and opportunity areas.

Make it undeniable

• Develop brand positioning, platforms and creative briefs that inspire breakthrough work.
• Build simple, compelling stories that clients and teams want to act on.
• Design and lead workshops that open up thinking and get everyone aligned on what's next.

Grow clients and new business

• Build relationships at every level, from the C-suite to the day-to-day team, and find ways to deepen them.
• Lead small to medium new business pitches, especially in categories close to your client portfolio.

Make the team sharper

• Mentor strategists in uncovering human truths and telling more compelling stories.
• Help build our strategy tools and frameworks, and contribute to thought leadership, from proprietary IP to speaking and publishing.
• Connect across departments so the right capabilities come in at the right time.

What you bring

• 9+ years of experience in brand strategy, ideally at a creative, brand or integrated agency.
• A track record of leading strategy on key accounts and working directly with senior client stakeholders.
• A portfolio of brand work you can walk us through, including the insight behind it and the results it drove.
• Proven ability to build brand positioning, platforms and creative briefs that inspire great creative.
• Strong command of primary, secondary and data-driven research methods.
• Experience leading or playing a central role in new business pitches.
• Confidence designing and facilitating workshops.
• Business acumen: you can link brand strategy to growth and measurable impact.
• Excellent written and spoken communication with every level, from the C-suite to junior team members.
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Nice to have

• Experience with CPG, food and beverage, insurance or healthcare brands.
• Experience bringing cultural and social insight into brand strategy.
• Curiosity about how AI is changing research, synthesis and planning.
• A record of thought leadership, such as proprietary frameworks, articles or speaking.
• Exposure to innovation, customer experience or business design work.

If you don't check every box but this sounds like you, we'd still love to hear from you.

Who you are

• Curious about people. You get close to people, and you notice the truths others walk past.
• Calm in the gray. You're at your best when the problem is unclear, and you help everyone else find their footing.
• Loved by creatives. You inspire breakthrough work, and creative teams want you in the room.
• Someone clients count on. Clients at every level trust your point of view and your follow-through.
• A connector. You believe we're better together, and you make the people around you better.

What we give

• Salary: $125,000–$140,000, based on experience and location.
• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance, 100% company-funded.
• Medical and dependent flex spending accounts, plus voluntary life coverage.
• A 401(k) with a company match up to 4%, fully vested from day one.
• Unlimited PTO through our Flex Time Off policy.
• A hybrid schedule, in the office 2–3 days a week in Kansas City or Boulder.
• An annual training budget.
• A hungry team that cares about the work, fights for the right ideas and genuinely likes working together.

Equal opportunity

Fact & Fiction is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic.