Company Description
Swanson Russell is the Nation’s Leading Agency for Brands That Work and Play Outdoors. Our crew of big thinkers, go-getters and team players uncover insights that unleash new possibilities for our clients. It’s how we build genuine trust that strengthens over time, it’s how we Make Belief™ in the brands we represent. If that passion for great ideas, good people and creating work that makes brands stand out interests you, apply today.
Role Overview
We're looking for an Experience Strategist to lead digital marketing engagements from strategy through delivery. You'll take audience research and data from our research and data teams and turn it into a clear point of view on who we're talking to, what will move them, and how we should show up across channels. From there, you'll help lead the analysts, web specialists, and email specialists working on your accounts, and partner with account and creative strategy leads to keep the work on scope, on schedule, and true to the strategy all the way through production.
There's real client team leadership in this role: helping determine overall strategic direction, creating a clear vision for how we connect with disparate audiences, scoping engagements and opportunities, and holding the bar on quality.
Our preference is for candidates based in Lincoln or Omaha who can collaborate in person with our team.
Key Responsibilities
Project Planning & Strategy
- Lead discovery on digital engagements: scope the work, define requirements and success metrics, and turn research and audience data into a clear strategic point of view.
- Develop statements of work, estimates, and project plans, working closely with account leads to build the overall marketing plan.
- Define the audience and potential experiential and digital engagement opportunities, then document it clearly enough for creative and technical teams to build from.
Project & Team Leadership
- Serve as the strategic and operational lead across assigned accounts: manage scope, schedule, budget, and deliverables.
- Help lead the analysts, web specialists, and email specialists working on your accounts, making sure their work reflects the strategy and holds up to a high bar for quality.
- Partner with account and creative strategy leads throughout the engagement, not just at kickoff and handoff.
Content, Search & Digital Experience
- Help clients get found and understood by both people and AI search tools, shaping how content and messaging are structured to perform in search and answer engines.
- Contribute to website, campaign, and content plans that connect strategy to the channels where clients actually compete.
Client & Business Development
- Serve as the main strategic contact for assigned clients, presenting research-backed recommendations directly.
- Contribute to new business pitches and look for chances to grow existing accounts based on what the data is telling us.
Qualifications & Requirements
Education
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
Experience
- 6+ years as a digital strategist, producer, project manager, or in a related digital strategy role, with experience scoping and managing projects, statements of work, budgets, and timelines.
- Comfortable building strategy from research and data, not just executing against a brief.
Team Leadership
- Experience directing multi-disciplinary teams (analysts, web and email specialists, creative and technical partners) and driving consensus.
Strategic & Technical Range
- Able to move between big-picture strategy and the technical detail of content, search, and digital experience.
- Experience using personas and audience research to build a strategic case is a plus.
Comfort with AI-Assisted Tools
- Curious about how AI-assisted research and content tools change the work, and ready to use our proprietary research and analysis tools as part of how you build strategy, not instead of judgment.
Core Competencies
- Strong writer and confident presenter, comfortable in front of clients.
- Excellent organizational skills to prioritize, plan, and balance workload across several accounts at once.
- Collaborative, direct, and willing to push creative and technical partners toward the strongest answer.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
- 6+ years as a digital strategist, producer, project manager, or in a related digital strategy role
- Experience scoping and managing projects, statements of work, budgets, and timelines
- Experience building strategy from research and data
- Experience directing multidisciplinary teams and driving consensus
- Ability to work across strategy and the technical details of content, search, and digital experience
- Strong writing and presentation skills, including client-facing presentations
- Excellent organizational skills for managing multiple accounts
- Experience using personas and audience research to build a strategic case
- Curiosity about and willingness to use AI-assisted research and content tools
What We Do
Swanson Russell is an integrated, full-service marketing communication agency, with a focus on six key industries: Outdoor Recreation, Green/Turf, Agribusiness, Health Care, Construction and Regional Brands. That’s what we do, and it’s all we do. Which means we know those industries – and the people who live them – like the back of our hand. More importantly, we know how to bring them together. As a full service agency, we specialize in Brand Strategy, Digital and Traditional Creative, Website and Mobile Development, Social Media Content and Management, Media Services, Database Marketing and Public Relations. We’ll use every tool in the box to solve a problem. It’s all about the message on the page. And whether that page is on Facebook, in a magazine or anywhere in between, our aim is always the same: connect brands with the people who live them. Learn More: www.swansonrussell.com
