Lead Brand Strategist

Description

Are you a strategic thinker who loves uncovering deep insights about audiences and transforming them into authentic brand narratives, purposeful positioning, and intuitive digital experiences? If you’re passionate about connecting meaning, mission, and measurable impact — you’ll find a special home at Interactive Strategies. We’re looking for a Lead Brand Strategist to join our growing Strategy team. In this role, you’ll help shape how organizations define who they are and how they show up in the world — through thoughtful brand strategy and compelling digital experiences. You’ll lead collaborative strategy engagements that span brand discovery, positioning, messaging, and digital expression. You’ll translate research and insight into clarity — guiding brand frameworks, website strategies, and content architectures that inspire and engage. You’ll work with mission-driven organizations — like the American Kidney Fund, Rainforest Trust, Urban Institute, CFP Board, Operation Smile, and The Wilderness Society — helping them build brands and digital experiences that move people and drive results. Responsibilities You’ll lead strategic engagements from discovery through execution, collaborating with a cross-disciplinary team of UX designers, writers, developers, and project managers. We are looking for individuals who are skilled in the full spectrum of brand strategy skills who will:

• Lead brand discovery process through stakeholder interviews, workshops, brand research, and deliverables.
• Conduct user and market research to uncover audience motivations, perceptions, and unmet needs.
• Translate insights into actionable brand strategy deliverables — such as audience personas, brand narratives, voice guidelines, user journeys, value propositions, and brand messaging strategies.
• Craft brand platforms that define mission, vision, values, personality, tone, and messaging hierarchy in conjunction with creative leads.
• Collaborate with digital strategy, content, marketing, and design teams to express the brand visuallyand experientially through sitemaps, wireframes,and content frameworks.*
• Consider new strategic approaches that integrate AI, storytelling,and data-informed insights across channels.*
• Serve as a strategic voice throughout creative development — ensuring alignment between brand intentand user experience.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with clients — facilitating workshops, presenting ideas clearly,and guiding decisions with confidenceand empathy.*
• Contribute to business development by helping shape proposals, presentations,and new strategic offerings.*
• Continuously identify opportunities to evolve our processand strengthen our strategic impact.

Qualities you bring to the table...

• Strategic Vision. You connect the dots between brand identity, audience insight,and digital experience — always grounded in purposeand clarity.
• Brand Storyteller. You articulate ideas that move heartsas well as minds, weaving strategy into powerful narratives.*
• Analytical Curiosity. You thrive on research — diving deep into dataand human insight to inform every decision.
• Collaborative Spirit. You bring others into your process — inspiring designers, writers,and developers to bring strategy to life.*
• Empathetic Leader. You listen first, synthesize complexity,and lead with emotional intelligence.*
• Confident Communicator. You’re at ease facilitating workshops, writing briefs,and presenting to clients with clarityand poise.
• Creative Energy. You balance analytical rigor with imaginationand enthusiasm, fostering an inclusiveand inspired team culture.

Requirements

We're looking for someone with talent*and a passion for strategy work including the following experience:

• 10+ years of experience developing comprehensive integrated brand strategies.*
• Agency experience is a plus!*
• Experience conducting user research including online surveysand focus groups.
• Excellent oraland written communication skills.
• Experience developing strong client relationshipsand account growth strategies.
• Experience generating strategy documentation including personas,user journeys competitive analysis sitemaps wireframes.

Benefits

We have a simple motto when it comes to company culture: "Everyone deserves to come to work and be happy." This means: (1) we care as much about quality as we do about budgets (2) we find the strengths in each employeeand nurture them (3) we encourage a culture that values innovationand creative freedom* (4) we want you to have fun; we understand that you have a life outside of work. We allow our employees creative freedom; treat them with respect; value their opinions; offering:

• Company-sponsored health vision dental insurance
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Profit sharing
• 4 weeks PTO starting; 5 weeks at year 3
• Company-paid short-term long-term disability
• Company-paid life AD&D insurance
• 11 paid holidays
• 401k with company match
• New business referral bonus
• Professional development opportunities
• Flexible work schedule
• Pre-tax DC Metro SmartBenefits

Salary Range: $110000 – $130000 (commensurate with experience)