Director, Commerce Strategy

Responsibilities

• Set the strategic agenda for your client portfolio, identifying the long-term levers for brand growth and business transformation.
• Act as the senior strategic advisor to clients, providing a provocative and consultative perspective that challenges their business models and identifies untapped commerce opportunities.
• Translate complex insights into compelling strategic narratives and actionable "jobs to be done" for brands, retailers and key channels that inspire both clients and creative teams.
• Set and uphold the standard for strategic rigor, ensuring that every brief, roadmap, and narrative produced by the team is of the highest quality and driven by a clear, defensible point of view.
• Direct the synthesis of complex business challenges into elegant strategic frameworks that provide clarity for both internal teams and senior client stakeholders.
• Conduct thorough market research and competitive audits using database tools such as MRI Simmons, Mintel, Infegy, and YPulse to identify trends, potential threats and white-space opportunities.
• Leverage sales and shopper panel data to uncover core business problems and size market opportunities.
• Develop comprehensive retail and engagement strategies that translate brand objectives into actionable plans across in-store, online, social, and email platforms.
• Identify and draft compelling case studies for industry awards (e.g., Effies, WARC, Cannes Lions) to showcase the agency’s best-in-class commerce work and the impact and effectiveness for our clients.
• Partner with Media and Growth Strategy teams to review performance reports and translate analytical findings into insights that drive strategic and actionable recommendations.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in advertising, Communications, Marketing, or a related field.
• Leadership Experience: 2-3+ years of formal experience managing direct reports, with a proven track record of coaching team members through performance management and career pathing.
• Strategy Experience: 7-10 years of experience in omnichannel retail strategy, engagement marketing, or a related field. Proven experience with channel and communications planning, including developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns across physical and digital/ecommerce channels and touchpoints. Demonstrated ability to apply structured strategic frameworks to solve business challenges and a track record of identifying data-driven growth opportunities.
• Retail IQ: Demonstrated experience working on top U.S. retailers with a strong understanding of their business models and marketing strategies.
• Technical Skills: Applied experience with database tools (MRI Simmons, Mintel) and sales/panel data platforms.
• Communication: Exceptional storytelling skills; ability to command a room, handle difficult client questions, and translate complex strategy into clear business logic for senior audiences.

Preferred

• Industry Background: Experience within an agency, CPG company, research company, or consulting firm is preferred.