Associate Partner, Head of Strategy

Reposted 24 Days Ago
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Chicago, IL, USA
In-Office
200K-275K Annually
Expert/Leader
Design
The Role
The Associate Partner, Head of Strategy will lead strategic initiatives for clients, enhance measurement practices, apply AI thoughtfully, and mentor strategists while driving growth and innovation for VSA Partners.
Summary Generated by Built In
VSA’s purpose is to design for a better human experience. As a strategy and design agency, we blend consumer insights and data with human-centered design to activate meaningful, motivating and measurable experiences in an increasingly noisy world. With offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, VSA offers a full range of fully integrated capabilities—branding, advertising, data science and technology—all under one roof. VSA is also a proud member of Meet The People, an international family of unified and independent agencies. For more than 40 years, we have delivered solutions for business and creative leaders at some of the world’s most respected brands and forward-thinking organizations, including Google, Nike and IBM. 
About VSA Partners

VSA Partners is a leading brand and marketing agency within the Meet The People network. We help businesses create meaningful connections with their audiences through strategy, design, and technology. Our integrated approach combines creativity and media expertise, enabling clients to navigate complexity and achieve measurable impact. Collaborating with partners like True Media Services, we deliver holistic solutions that align brand, marketing, and media strategies. As an independent agency, we offer the agility, transparency, and speed today’s clients demand with the culture of collaboration and accountability our people value.

Role Overview & Context

As Associate Partner, Head of Strategy, you will lead strategic thinking across client engagements and new business opportunities while serving as a steward of VSA’s strategic voice internally, with clients, and in the market. Strategy at VSA elevates insight, simplifies complexity, and drives accountability through measurement. This role is pivotal in shaping brand direction, driving growth, and ensuring integrated solutions that connect creativity with media. You will collaborate with creative teams, media specialists, and senior leadership to deliver strategies that advance measurement and accountability, anticipate industry shifts, and champion the thoughtful use of AI.

Expanded Responsibilities
  • Drive Growth & New Business Impact: Partner closely with VSA’s Head of Growth to sharpen and express the agency’s strategic POV in pitches and shape strategic narratives through compelling storytelling.
  • Lead & Evolve the Strategy Practice: Set the vision for VSA’s strategy practice across brand, marketing, experience, and communications. Build strategic capability and evolve frameworks, tools, and ways of working.
  • Elevate Measurement, Media & Effectiveness: Establish and strengthen measurement practices tied to outcomes and impact. Champion closer alignment of media, creative, and measurement.
  • Apply AI Thoughtfully & Effectively: Champion responsible use of AI in research, insight development, ideation, and optimization. Help the team build fluency with emerging tools while maintaining strategic rigor.
Key Responsibilities
  • Define and articulate brand and marketing strategies for diverse clients.
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders.
  • Lead strategic development for pitches and new business opportunities.
  • Collaborate with True Media Services to align creative and media strategies.
  • Advance measurement practices tied to outcomes and impact.
  • Champion responsible use of AI in research, insight, and optimization.
  • Mentor and inspire a team of strategists, fostering excellence.
  • Stay ahead of industry trends and bring innovative thinking to client work.
  • Shape strategic narratives expressed through compelling storytelling.
  • Ensure integration of creativity, media, and measurement for holistic solutions.
Core Skills & Experience
  • 10+ years in brand or marketing strategy leadership roles.
  • Proven track record of driving strategic initiatives for major brands.
  • Expertise in integrated marketing and media collaboration.
  • Experience establishing measurement and effectiveness frameworks.
  • Fluency in AI and emerging technologies as strategic tools.
  • Exceptional storytelling and presentation skills for C-suite audiences.
  • Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to challenge conventional thinking.
  • Strong leadership and team development capabilities.
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
  • Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
Qualifications
  • Deep understanding of integrated marketing, including creative and media.
  • Comfortable engaging with senior client stakeholders and C-suite executives.
  • Experience in agency settings with a focus on growth and innovation.
Why This Role, Why Now

VSA is at an inflection point, with clients navigating unprecedented change and strategy evolving due to new tools and complexity. This role offers the opportunity to shape how strategy drives growth and innovation for clients and the agency, positioning VSA as a leader in integrated brand, campaign and media solutions.

Chicago Estimated Salary Range
$200,000$275,000 USD

VSA Partners is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable environment for all employees. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit and business need.

California Residents - Please review our Privacy Notice here. 

VSA PARTNERS, LLC
vsapartners.com

  

Skills Required

  • 10+ years in brand or marketing strategy leadership roles
  • Proven track record of driving strategic initiatives for major brands
  • Expertise in integrated marketing and media collaboration
  • Experience establishing measurement and effectiveness frameworks
  • Fluency in AI and emerging technologies as strategic tools
  • Exceptional storytelling and presentation skills for C-suite audiences
  • Strong leadership and team development capabilities
  • Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred
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The Company
HQ: Chicago, IL
188 Employees
Year Founded: 1982

What We Do

VSA is a hybrid brand strategy and design agency. We partner with business, strategic and creative leaders, combining our strategic consulting with design-driven experiences to solve business problems and realize the future of a brand. As a hybrid agency, we blend consumer insights and data with the craft of design to activate the most meaningful, motivating and measurable experiences. For VSA employees as well as those we recruit, we’ve adopted a long-term hybrid model that allows people to define their way of working in the way they want. This means that VSAers can work from anywhere in the United States—home, office or any place in between. Working from anywhere gives VSAers the option to find time to work alone, join others for office-based collaboration, or meet up as needed for small-group moments and client meetings. We’re also hiring with geographic “neutrality”—pursuing the best talent wherever it may live. We think having a workplace option matters most these days: Employees benefit from human interaction and the need for a change in scenery from time to time. And also, VSA benefits from a diversity of experiences and perspectives that come from seeing and participating in the larger world. All of which is why we see our offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco as a flexible, accessible network of workspace hubs for employees to use as needed for work and interaction with colleagues.

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