Lead Creative Strategist - Donut Studios

WHY DONUT STUDIOS? At New Engen, we help brands grow, not just bigger, but smarter. We’re a digital marketing agency that drives meaningful impact across the entire customer journey by integrating media, creative, analytics, influencer, and retail strategies into performance-driven campaigns. Donut Studios is our in-house creative studio, purpose-built to craft high-performing, platform-native, and digital content for the world’s most ambitious brands. As a key part of New Engen’s suite of specialized solutions, alongside offerings like the Acorn Creator Suite - Donut Studios helps unlock breakthrough creative that drives results, fast. We’re a collaborative group of strategists, content creators, copywriters, editors, designers, account strategists, and more who are all in on helping brands, and each other, thrive. We work hard, stay humble, and build with purpose. WHAT YOU'LL DO Develop Performance-Driven Creative Strategy Build creative and messaging strategies that help brands grow across digital channels, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and display. Develop clear frameworks that guide concept development, ensuring creative work is grounded in performance insights and designed to resonate with target audiences. Serve as the Creative Strategy Lead for Clients Participate in client meetings as Donut Studios’ in-house creative strategist for assigned accounts. Provide thoughtful guidance on creative direction, campaign opportunities, and platform-specific best practices while helping clients understand the strategic thinking behind recommendations. Turn Audience Insights into Creative Direction Analyze consumer mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors to inform compelling creative concepts. Translate these insights into actionable direction for internal teams, ensuring creative work connects with audiences and supports campaign objectives across the customer journey. Partner with Media to Drive Creative Performance Work closely with media counterparts to review campaign performance and identify opportunities to improve results. Use performance data, KPIs, and client feedback to refine creative strategies, optimize messaging, and guide future concept development. Manage Creative Launch Pipelines Coordinate closely with media partners to manage launch pipelines for assigned clients, ensuring deliverables are completed, reviewed, and shared on schedule. Maintain visibility into timelines and dependencies to keep campaigns moving forward efficiently. Lead Creative Briefing and Project Management Develop clear creative briefs and manage assignments for internal teams using tools like Asana and Slack. Ensure projects are well-scoped, expectations are clear, and teams have the context they need to produce high-quality creative work. Ensure Quality and Brand Alignment Review scripts, concepts, and final deliverables to ensure creative output meets client expectations, brand guidelines, and campaign goals. Maintain strong quality control across all deliverables before launch. Strengthen Cross-Functional Collaboration Build processes and workflows that support collaboration between creative, media, and client teams. Help ensure ideas, feedback, and performance insights move smoothly across teams so campaigns are executed efficiently and effectively. WHAT YOU BRING 5+ years of proven experience ideating and developing high-performing direct response and social media creative strategies, ideally at a creative and performance marketing agency. Management experience of direct reports and junior team members. A background in creating UGC to enhance engagement and reach is a plus. Digitally savvy, creative, and knowledgeable about who and what is trending in the digital space on platforms including YouTube, Instagram/Facebook, TikTok, etc. A growth mindset, always thinking about how our clients can develop resonant, insightful advertising and what makes content engaging across audiences. Strong grasp on culture, with a keen understanding of what is relevant and an eye for upcoming digital trends. Excellent performance marketing and creative instincts with a track record of driving new concepts and pioneering new approaches within your company. Strong team player, with a passion for collaboration. Entrepreneurial spirit with a self-starting attitude and an ability to persuasively communicate strategic insights to the department and to stakeholders. Ability to navigate and influence within a fast-paced start-up organization. Fluency in Adobe Creative Suite or Figma is a plus. Proficiency in Asana and Google Sheets experience is a plus. PERKS & BENEFITS Remote or hybrid work environment with flexible hours Unlimited PTO + company holidays Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and disability coverage Life & AD&D insurance 401(k) with company match Paid parental leave & family support Pet care perks & insurance Learning & career development programs Commuter & transit benefits Exclusive employee discounts Salary Range: $80,000 - $90,000 annually The range is applicable for the labor market where the role is intended to be hired. Final base salary is directly related to each candidate's qualifications and experience uniquely. New Engen is proud to have offices in Seattle, New York, and Northwest Arkansas, each one anchoring teams that drive creativity, collaboration, and culture. But great work isn’t limited to those zip codes. We also support a distributed team of remote employees across the country, giving people the flexibility to do their best work wherever they are. We currently hire full-time employees in the following states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin Let’s Build What’s Next Together — If you’re passionate about media and eager to make a meaningful impact with a team that’s all in, we’d love to hear from you. Important Notice About Job Openings: Please be aware of fraudulent job postings, consulting engagements, solicitations, or employment offers from suspicious sources. These attempts are often designed to steal your personal information or trick you into paying fees for recruitment or training services. New Engen does NOT charge any application, processing, or training fees at any stage of the recruitment or hiring process. All legitimate job openings will be posted directly on our careers page, and all communication about these roles will come exclusively from Recruitment outreach, conducted via email through our ATS, Greenhouse, and never through unsolicited text messages or the @newengen.online domain. If you have any concerns about the authenticity of any message claiming to be from New Engen, please contact us immediately at [email protected] before taking any further action. We take your security seriously and are here to support you, ensuring your job search is a safe, positive experience.