Social Strategy Director

NewGen US – Social Strategy Director

Senior / Lead Level

Location: New York City Office
Working Arrangement: Hybrid – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the office
Salary: $160,000–$190,000

About NewGen

NewGen is a global social creative and creator agency made up of over 100 talented people worldwide, with offices in London (UK), Manchester (UK) and New York (USA).

We partner with leading brands to shape culture, tell stories that matter, and harness the power of social-first creative and creators to drive meaningful impact.

We’re not an advertising agency. We live social, move at the speed of culture, and build strategies designed to perform where people actually spend their time – feeds, fandoms, communities and comment sections.

The Role

We’re looking for a Social Strategist with deep platform fluency, strong influencer and creator strategy experience, and a passion for data-led thinking.

This role sits at the intersection of insight, creativity and execution – shaping how brands show up socially, how creators are activated, and how campaigns are structured to drive real impact.

You’ll lead strategic thinking across social and influencer workstreams, turning research and data into clear, inspiring strategic platforms that creative, social and influencer teams can build from.

You’ll also play a key role in mentoring junior team members and helping raise the strategic bar across the agency.

This is a hands-on role for someone who loves briefing, brainstorming, pressure-testing ideas and shaping work in real time – not just writing decks.

What You’ll Do

1. Lead Social & Influencer Strategy

• Lead strategic ideation across social, influencer/creator and go-to-market initiatives for key client accounts.
• Develop social-first strategic platforms that clearly define audiences, channel roles, creative territories and success metrics.
• Act as a strategic lead within cross-functional teams, partnering closely with creative, influencer, account, production and D&I teams to shape integrated social responses.
• Translate strategic platforms into practical outputs, including:
  • Social and channel strategies.
  • Influencer/creator strategies.
  • Messaging frameworks.
  • Campaign structures and always-on planning.
  • Creative and content strategies.

2. Data-Led Audience & Insight Development

• Define audience targets using primary research (surveys and interviews) and syndicated tools (e.g. GWI).
• Partner with the Data & Insights team to:
  • Brief research needs clearly and early.
  • Translate research findings into actionable insights and strategic implications.
• Lead strategic research projects, such as:
  • Concept and message testing.
  • Social listening.
  • Trend spotting.
  • Audience segmentation and need-state mapping.

3. Briefing, Brainstorms & Creative Shaping

• Own the development of clear, inspiring creative briefs for social and influencer work – setting direction, not just background.
• Lead structured, well-facilitated brainstorms that help teams arrive at stronger, more social-native ideas.
• Consistently review creative work, content calendars and influencer outputs to ensure:
  • Strategic alignment.
  • Platform relevance.
  • Cultural and social credibility.

4. Measurement & Performance Strategy

• Define KPIs and measurement frameworks aligned to social and influencer objectives, beyond vanity metrics.
• Partner with analytics and account teams to:
  • Analyse campaign and full-year performance.
  • Identify learnings and optimisation opportunities.
  • Make clear, data-backed strategic recommendations.
• Review and approve monthly performance reports, ensuring insights are meaningful and actionable.

5. New Business

• Support and help lead new business pitches, spearheading social and influencer strategy.
• Brief creative, social and influencer teams during pitches to ensure strategic clarity.

6. Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Help establish and evolve social-first strategic principles and best practices across the agency, setting a clear standard for how social and influencer strategy is developed and delivered.
• Play an active role in shaping how the strategy function grows, contributing to ways of working, templates, frameworks and shared approaches as the team scales.
• Be a trusted strategic voice internally, able to challenge work constructively, align stakeholders and keep social strategy focused, practical and culturally relevant.

7. Social-First Mindset

Being socially native is non-negotiable.

You should be deeply fluent in platform behaviours, creator dynamics and internet culture – understanding not just what’s trending, but why it’s resonating and how brands can participate authentically.

It’s okay to be chronically online.

We’d Love You To Have

• 6–9+ years’ experience in social strategy, digital strategy or integrated strategy roles.
• Deep expertise across major social platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, Reddit, Discord, etc.).
• Strong experience developing influencer and creator strategies.
• Comfort building data-led strategies using research and performance insights.
• Proven experience briefing creative teams and shaping social-first ideas.
• Experience leading brainstorms and strategic workstreams independently.
• Ability to balance big-picture thinking with practical execution.
• Strong presentation and storytelling skills.
• Experience mentoring or managing junior strategists.
• Agency experience, ideally in a fast-paced, social-first environment.
• Knowledge of gaming and creator culture is a plus.

What We Value at NewGen

Energy – You bring ideas, opinions and momentum.

Quality – You care deeply about the work and push it to be better.

Collaboration – No egos, just smart people building together.

Creativity – You think in ideas, not formats.

Partnership – You show up as a true partner to clients and teammates.

Benefits

• Annual Leave: Highly competitive 30 days’ holiday (excluding federal holidays), inclusive of the reset policy below.
• Reset Policy: Up to 10 additional non-contractual rest days. Full details are outlined in the Reset Policy, which may be amended or withdrawn at any time.
• Birthday Leave: An additional paid day off on your birthday.
• Holiday Shutdown: Company-wide closure at year-end. Some annual leave may need to be reserved to cover this period, although the Company may also grant discretionary additional paid leave.
• Healthcare: Medical, dental and vision coverage.
• Retirement: 401(k) and IRA retirement plans.
• Paid Time Off: Sick leave and public holidays.
• Family Leave: Maternity and paternity leave.
• Training & Development: Opportunities for professional growth and development.

Salary Range: $160,000–$190,000