Director of Strategy and Communication Planning

Los Angeles, CA

Cashmere Agency is a lifestyle-marketing company that creates cultural relevance and impact for brands through insights & strategy, creative & modern storytelling, public relations & influencer, social, experiential and web3. Our client base includes top-tier brands, TV networks, motion picture studios, and tech companies.

We are comprised of a diverse collective of minds from the worlds of entertainment, advertising, and new media who come together in identifying trends to create and execute creative ideas that resonate in, and drive, the culture. We’ve been recognized by AdAge as 2021 A-List Stand Out Agency, 2020 A-List Agencies to Watch, and 2019 AdAge Multicultural Agency of the Year, and just shortlisted, again in 2022.

The strategy discipline at Cashmere is uniquely-built to forge more authentic connections for brands and ultimately unlock ‘undeniably dope’ creative solutions that the culture engages with and even adopts as their own. Our process understands audience psychographics and behaviors (particularly GenZ multi-hyphens) – well beyond traditional demographics and personas – and mines for fresh cultural spaces where your brand can credibly live & lead in the culture surrounding your audience.

We are seeking an exceptional Comms (sometimes referred to as Connections) Strategy leader – and do’er – who is passionate about guiding how and where brands show up as much as what brands say. You would join our powerhouse strategy team, to help us map effective comms plans for our brands, as well as set and action the vision for the agency’s Communications Strategy philosophy, practice and team.

This role will be reporting to, and collaborating closely with the Chief Strategy Officer and SVP, Cultural Strategy. You’d work closely with a range of brand/creative/social strategists (and a data desk team at the center) to build and scale Cashmere’s Comms and Connections Strategy as a baseline capability across our brands. You’d also cast the future hires as our burgeoning comms discipline inevitably grows.

You would champion the impact and difference that a communications strategy contribution makes: from how the discipline works alongside client, agency (strategic and creative especially) and media agency partner leadership, to ensuring the agency helps brands create brave and bold brand encounters in their audiences’ world.

How You Thrive With Us

You have a passion for culture, and a deep understanding of how media (& data) and audience trends relates to the success of a brand, along with an innate ability to translate and connect this to the context of today’s cultural landscape.
You love strategic ideas that inspire creative big ideas that come to life across channels and are skilled at collaborating across departments, including Social, PR, Influencer, and Experiential Departments to successfully build cohesive integrated marketing plans.
You’re hands-on and capable of translating insights into compelling narratives and ideas, ultimately presenting your POV to agency teams and clients with conviction and flair.
You have a proven track record of selling in concepts that translate into successful campaigns that move a brand’s business and culture.
You are a strategic force that sees opportunity in challenge and the many possibilities for what brands can be.
You run at the speed of culture and new business –swiftly synthesize new industries and verticals, helm fast fluid research and discovery, and can inform diverse strategic outputs: from creative strategies and briefs, to creative platforms, and messaging matrixes all the way down to advising the tactical ideas and execution.
You are self-driven and can run autonomously with base council and oversight by Director Social Strategy and Chief Strategy Officer.
You thrive in ambiguity and help to drive clarity and cohesion in sometimes uncertain contexts – ie business problem identification and go-forward approach in response to occasionally-muddled RFPs, managing both the inexperienced/novice client and expert client in all matters comms strategy, steady fortitude and integration among varying IAT partners at degrees of comms-saavy.
You are entrepreneurial and love building new things.
You embrace a “how things could be done” mindset rather than hold on to a “this is how it has always been done” mindset.
You proactively bring new inspiration, strategic frameworks, content, tools and partners to the projects you lead on, while ensuring it all lives up to Cashmere’s values and standards for its strategic product.
You have big ambition to make your mark on a burgeoning comms practice at a fast-growth cultural agency for some of the world’s most dynamic brands.

Responsibilities:

Overseeing the development and implementation of a cohesive Communications Strategy practice within the agency
Articulate the role of Communications Strategy in relation to Cashmere’s unique Culture-first approach to Strategy
Work closely across Creative teams and in partnership with other departments to inspire creative executions across channels
Broker and defend Cashmere’s strategic and creative interests directly with IAT Media Agencies and Client Media Leads
Embrace innovation and experimentation to unlock new approaches for how Communications Strategy can come to life
Help set the vision for, and manage the expansion of the Communications Strategy team sometimes this may be holding co Comms Strategy resources) with the Cashmere Strategy Department
Ability to work on both fast-paced pieces of business as well as longer term projects, this includes helping team established appropriate timelines and resource allocations
Help establish appropriate tools for conducting Communications Strategy work at scale
Implementation of Communications Strategy toolkit for utilization across the Strategy department
Establish effective working relationships with partner Media Buying agencies to help drive a creative and culturally driven approach to offering effective Communications Strategy guidance
A keen understanding of when the time is to apply rigorous process versus developing adaptable approaches

Requirements:

Bachelor's Degree In Marketing or related field of study OR demonstrated and directly related progressive on the job experience
7+ experience executing Communications Strategy in a variety of environments
Experience managing teams
A solid track record of successfully implementing Communication Strategy in a variety of agency environments
Highly collaborative and strong ability to work across departments to develop an integrated approach to Communications Strategy that can make an impact throughout the agency
Experience developing and proposing research solutions for bridging gaps when there is a lack of substantial data and insights around an audience
Appreciates a wellness-first Strategy department leadership style and culture

Cashmere’s core values are:

Own the work. Elevate each other.
Seek to understand. Speak with intent.
Spark something. Challenge everything.
Make room. Make change.
Set the standard. Be undeniably dope.

Cashmere is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

If you would like to become a part of one of the most influential, culture agencies, then apply today!

The anticipated salary range for this position is $160,000 - $175,000 annually. Salary is determined by a combination of factors that include relevant experience, knowledge, skills,other benefits also are available.