Associate Vice President, Creative Strategy

What to know

This person will uncover insights that push the creative limits for some of the most important causes and campaigns. We're looking for a leader with a record of success in developing the strategy that underpins supporter engagement and program success.

You will drive growth and impact by identifying and concepting creative opportunities, brand awareness plays, and cross-channel journeys.

With a demonstrated mastery of the craft and a portfolio of best-in-class work, this person is expected to work on our most complex accounts with ambitious goals and, at times, ambiguous challenges - and to meet those challenges with innovative solutions and deliverables.

In this role, you might find yourself devising a supporter-first strategy to help a charity efficiently scale and grow sustainably.

Or, you may be challenged with uncovering rich audience insights that lead to new opportunities for an organization's expansion and diversification plan.

You'll be a critical strategy and creative leadership voice on a team of multi-disciplinary colleagues including communications strategists, analysts, tech directors, and account directors.

We're looking for an individual who can inspire and mentor people across disciplines and help strengthen and evolve our fundraising, mobilization, and brand strategy practices.

The company

Blue State is a purpose-driven agency. We partner with leading causes, brands, and campaigns and create real change. From Google and UNICEF to Amnesty International and Oxfam, we transform how brands and causes raise money, influence policy, build platforms, and grow communities of supporters.

Led by the most creative and analytical minds from the political, nonprofit, and brand worlds, Blue State is a part of WPP Digital and has 150+ employees in the US and London.

A day in the life

• Working closely with your colleagues and clients, develop a vision for our clients' success. Act as a strategic resource and guide on clients' current state and future opportunities with minimal oversight.
• Surface and synthesize the audience insights and business intelligence that drive breakthrough campaigns and experiences;

ensure creative execution maps back to the strategy & recommend pivots and enhancements as needed.

• Establish strategic direction for campaign, project, or product by defining objectives, audiences, learning opportunities, and creative territory.
• Establish effective and inclusive creative processes that inspire the best ideas and work from the team, including applying an equity lens to the campaigns and creative we produce.
• Translate research and performance data findings into actionable takeaways and strategic plans and creative briefs.
• Lead structured and inspiring brainstorms, lift up others' ideas, and foster collaboration with teammates to ensure well-rounded, ethical, and strategically informed creative.

Lead client workshops and presentations.

• Informed by the latest industry trends, demonstrate knowledge of grassroots fundraising, growth strategy, website strategy, supporter mobilization, and brand strategy - and the appropriate audience strategies and research methods for each.
• Use frameworks like SWOTs, audience mindsets, learning agendas, landscape research, creative briefs, strategy maps, cases for support, etc.

to guide our strategies, clients and teams, creating clear and compelling end-to-end deliverables.

• Drive success through cross-channel planning, including content strategy and UX recommendations, as well as have an understanding of how propositions and creative lives on a range of integrated channels, supporting online and offline performance.
• Participate in pitching and upselling new business as well as represent Blue State via event participation and other thought leadership.
• Strengthen and evolve our fundraising and mobilization capabilities through experimentation, knowledge sharing, and mentorship.
• Build morale and ensure the team feels appreciated and celebrated for deliverables and successes.

The team

Good strategy is about taking the best possible journey to your ultimate destination and our Strategy Team is focused on plotting that course for our clients.

Our team spans across many offices, but works closely with local cross-disciplinary teams to tackle big problems for a variety of clients.

For us, this isn't just work. Everything we do is connected to something we care about and we're seeking an individual willing to work tirelessly to create positive change in the world.

What we offer

• Unlimited time-off (inclusive of sick, personal, and vacation days)
• $1,000 annually in professional development funds
• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Inclusive family planning coverage, including fertility, surrogacy, and adoption benefits
• Flexible and health savings accounts
• 401K & employer match
• Generous paid holiday schedule
• 12-week fully-paid parental leave for all parents-to-be
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Remote work flexibility

We approach in-office working with a hybrid model. On-site presence is welcome for US staff who are within commuting distance of the NY or DC office.

Managers retain discretion to require in-person attendance for folks on their discipline or client teams as necessary, including for those whose roles require them to be in person.

To enter our US offices or attend Blue State events, staff and visitors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including with a booster shot when eligible.

Exceptions for protected grounds will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The salary range for this position is $115k-$150k; compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Some things we're looking for

• You have at least 8+ years of relevant experience in a relevant role, with a proven track record of running successful digital campaigns.
• You have command of a room and superb presentation skills. An ability to make stakeholders feel confident in the creative and strategic choices we are making.
• You're a thinker and a doer; this role asks you to both provide oversight and be willing to roll up your sleeves and dig into the work.
• You are not a lone wolf. You genuinely enjoy bringing others along in the process of the work. The words "that's not my job" aren't part of your vocabulary-particularly when it's clear that those around you may be still learning and in need of support.
• You're resilient and able to adapt to new situations, solve problems on the fly, and communicate with those around you.

Teamwork and scrappiness required, with an agile approach to projects which may change course regularly based on results and the external environment requiring a pivot.

• You're effective at delivering clear and constructive feedback to project team members. You're a people leader, experienced and dedicated to growing and mentoring teams, while being open to feedback and what you can learn from others.
• You have a shared passion and curiosity for making change. This includes comfort with ambiguity, a restlessness that resists the status quo, and a commitment to quality that ensures we're always making progress.
• You are steeped in the art of empathy, practice mutual respect, and will act as a role model at Blue State. A commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is vital.

At Blue State, diversity is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. We encourage those from underrepresented communities - women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, those with disabilities and people at all the intersections in between - to apply.

Even if you don't think your current skill set checks every box, but this role seems to align with your strengths, we want to hear from you.

Blue State is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible application and interview process. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, please contact us at redacted with the subject line : Accommodation Request to get started.

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