Group Director, Strategy

WHY DEPT®?

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.

At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

THE ROLE:

We are hiring a Group Strategy Director—an executive leader who will serve as the strategic architect of our social media practice, operating at the intersection of creative breakthrough and performance excellence. You will balance long-term brand-building initiatives with the agility required for real-time social planning and cultural responsiveness.

This role requires deep, hands-on experience in social media strategy and execution across both global brand platforms and regional social presences. You will lead the development of integrated cross-channel social ecosystems while maintaining platform-specific strategies that respect each platform's unique mechanics and audiences. You will manage and elevate a team of social strategists and community managers while building strong partnerships with social platform representatives to ensure DEPT stays at the forefront of platform innovation.

Reporting to the VP, Strategy, you will serve as both the creative conscience and the performance integrator for all social work—partnering closely with Creative Directors on platform-native creative concepts while collaborating with paid media and data intelligence teams to ensure these ideas are architected for optimization, testing, and measurable business impact across Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, and emerging social platforms.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Lead the development of comprehensive cross-channel social media strategy roadmaps that balance long-term brand-building objectives with real-time social planning capabilities—integrating cultural relevance, platform-native creative innovation, and performance optimization across all major platforms
• Partner closely with Creative Directors and social creative teams to translate complex brand challenges into inspiring, platform-specific creative briefs designed for both breakthrough social impact and systematic testing
• Guide the development of editorial calendars, content frameworks, and always-on social programming that maintains strategic coherence while allowing for cultural agility and real-time responsiveness
• Stay at the forefront of both broad and niche cultural trends—maintaining deep cultural fluency across mainstream movements, internet subcultures, emerging communities, and platform-specific trends to ensure our social work remains authentically relevant
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with social platform representatives (Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.) to gain early access to platform updates, beta features, new ad products, and exclusive opportunities that give clients competitive advantages
• Navigate the complexities of global brand social presence across diverse regional markets, developing frameworks that balance centralized brand governance with decentralized regional execution to ensure both consistency and local cultural authenticity
• Collaborate closely with paid media teams to ensure organic social strategy aligns with paid activation, providing strategic guidance that informs media planning while respecting the distinct ownership of paid execution
• Partner with data intelligence teams to define social performance measurement strategies that connect creative quality metrics to business outcomes, translating performance insights into actionable creative strategy
• Own senior-level client relationships as the trusted social media strategy advisor, facilitating high-impact workshops and leading conversations across organic social, community management, and influencer strategy
• Drive thought leadership on emerging social formats, platform innovations, and the evolving creator economy—positioning DEPT as a leader in the convergence of social creative excellence and performance
• Manage, mentor, and elevate social strategists and community managers, building team capacity for both platform-native creative craft and strategic rigor
• Establish clear accountability structures and performance metrics across the social strategy team, ensuring strategic objectives are achieved across key accounts while providing guidance on resourcing and operational effectiveness

SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE AFTER 12 MONTHS LOOKS LIKE:

• Social Excellence + Performance: You have established DEPT's reputation for social media work that delivers both platform-native creative breakthrough and measurable business results—consistently improving creative quality scores while driving documented uplift in social media efficiency and client KPIs
  
  
• Cross-Channel Social Ecosystem: You have built integrated cross-channel social strategies that respect platform-specific best practices while creating cohesive brand experiences, with clear frameworks for balancing long-term brand-building with real-time cultural responsiveness
  
  
• Platform Partnerships: You have established strong relationships with key social platform representatives, securing beta access, early feature adoption, and strategic partnership opportunities that give our clients competitive advantages
  
  
• Social Team Elevation: Your social strategists and community managers are recognized as leaders in platform-native creative craft, consistently delivering strategic work that is both culturally sharp and commercially rigorous
  
  
• Client Social Impact: Clients regard you as the indispensable social media strategy voice who pushes the boundaries of what's possible—whether through breakthrough platform-native creative concepts, innovative measurement approaches, or new optimization frameworks

WHAT YOU BRING:

• 10+ years of social media strategy experience with proven track record developing and executing social strategies across all major platforms (Meta/Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, etc.), with minimum 5 years leading social strategy teams for global brands
• Deep platform fluency and cultural expertise: Expert-level understanding of social platform mechanics, algorithms, and content formats, combined with active engagement in both mainstream and niche cultural trends, internet subcultures, and emerging social communities
• Cross-channel ecosystem expertise with proven ability to build integrated social strategies across multiple platforms while maintaining platform-specific approaches, including strong track record guiding editorial calendar planning and always-on social programming
• Experience with global brands operating across regional markets, including understanding the complexities of centralized brand strategy with decentralized regional execution and fluency in regional platform preferences and cultural sensitivities
• Established relationships with social platform representatives (Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.) with proven ability to leverage these partnerships for beta access, early feature adoption, and strategic platform guidance
• Track record balancing long-term brand-building initiatives with real-time social planning, including crisis response, cultural moment activation, and agile content creation
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing senior social strategists, community managers, and social creative talent, with proven ability to manage multi-disciplinary teams and elevate both creative craft and strategic rigor
• Exceptional client-facing communication skills with specific experience advising CMOs and brand leaders on comprehensive social media strategy, platform trends, and social ROI, comfortable leading C-level discussions and facilitating high-impact strategic sessions
• Expertise in social-first creative briefing methodologies with ability to translate cultural insights and audience intelligence into compelling platform-native strategic narratives that inspire creative teams
• Strong collaborative skills working across paid media and data intelligence teams, with understanding of social performance measurement and ability to translate insights into creative strategy while respecting distinct ownership of paid activation and analytics

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

We are a collaborative, open-door, best-idea-wins environment that fosters personal and company growth and has fun doing it. Here is a snapshot of our benefits package:

• Healthcare, Dental, and Vision coverage
• 401k plan, plus matching
• PTO
• Paid Company Holidays
• Parental Leave

WE SUPPORT YOU BEING YOU:

DEPT® is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We believe our work is its best when our people feel safe and free to be themselves. We’re committed to an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment and selection process and workplace, regardless of anyone’s identity, background, beliefs, lifestyle or disabilities. So tell us about any accommodations you need. It’s totally confidential and only used to make sure you feel fully supported at every step.

DEPT® participates in E-Verify, meaning your Form I-9 information will be sent to the federal government to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.

We are a B Corp-certified company passionate about purpose-driven work. Our hope is that you can feel good about the contributions DEPT® is making to the world and we always have an open door for your ideas in making the world a better place.

DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Coach, eBay, and OpenAI.

Learn more about DEPT®

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION

At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.

Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine.

We also encourage you to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us.