Senior Strategic Planner( New York, NY)
ZS is a professional services firm that works side by side with companies to help develop and deliver products that drive customer value and company results. From R&D to portfolio strategy, customer insights, marketing and sales strategy, operations and technology, we leverage our deep industry expertise and leading-edge analytics to create solutions that work in the real world. Our most valuable asset is our people-a fact that's reflected in our values-driven organization in which new perspectives are integral and new ideas are celebrated. ZSers are passionately committed to helping companies and their customers thrive in industries ranging from healthcare and life sciences, to high-tech, financial services, travel and transportation, and beyond.
Are you passionate about understanding the human experience? Do you have a track record of bringing information to life by turning it into compelling stories? Are you that rare combination of strategic and creative thinker who loves to collaborate, inspire and motivate people to take action based on the stories you tell? Are you the type of team member who likes to roll-up-the-sleeves? If so, the ZS Creative and Design (C&D) team could be just the place for you to apply and grow your skills.
The ZS C&D team was created to enrich and evolve our consulting approaches and offerings. Our clients look to us to express ideas, concepts and emotions in ways that engage, excite, and drive them to action. This action comes from our strategic planners having a deeper insight into people, culture and brands. This deeper understanding brings information to life through storytelling and immersive experiences. We help make information more accessible and immediately understandable for all those involved. As a result, the information is more actionable, memorable and is shared more consistently and easily both internally and with client partners. By being the engineers and architects that bring information to life, C&D creates impact where it matters for our teams and clients and we do so by expressing insights, strategies and executional ideas through creative platforms.
C&D is comprised of a diverse team of talented individuals who are on a mission to address the evolving needs of our clients using a human-centered design approach. The C&D studio has three areas of focus: Design, Strategic Planning and Creative Expression. As a strategic planner on the team, you'll be collaborating with various members of C&D, as well as a broader team of consultants.
SENIOR STRATEGIC PLANNER
We seek an effective, experienced Strategic Planner to join our New York, NY office who can lead our clients in developing a vision, ideas, and roadmap for how to activate marketing strategies. The Strategic Planner will partner with internal teams and clients to conceive innovative methods to connect business and marketing strategy to execution. You will synthesize insights, strategies and executional ideas for clients, and work with our visual and experience designers to bring them to life.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and articulate relevant marketing implications from strategic consulting engagements across multiple projects simultaneously;
- Work with other consulting team members and design team to bring strategic and tactical recommendations to life for clients;
- Orchestrate the design process with visual designers and experience designers;
- Bring specific knowledge, skills and processes in strategic planning and train others on strategic planning best practices, including:
- Crafting customer personas from segmentation data and analysis,
- Mapping digital customer journey and ecosystem,
- Developing communication platforms aligned to segments and journey stages,
- Drafting creative and experience briefs;
- Demonstrate thought leadership on new and innovative programs, tactics and customer experiences in the marketing world, both within and outside pharmaceuticals;
- Design and facilitate workshops related to brand identity, brand positioning, creative prototypes, segmentation, customer journey, and customer experience;
- Partner with managers and principals to drive business development and client relationships;
- Work in a fast-paced environment with the ability to handle multiple projects while adhering to deadlines and driving progress;
- Serve as an active member of the Practice;
- Cultivate the marketing expertise of our people.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree welcomed;
- The ideal candidate would have worked for both an advertising agency and digital agency, so they have a solid understanding of brand building and digital strategy / journey work
- Ideal candidates will have 4+ years of relevant work experience in strategic planning for a branding firm, advertising agency or digital agency, pharmaceutical industry experience is required;
- Understanding of account, creative, and operational agency processes;
- Ability to effectively partner with end clients, consultants and agency personnel across disciplines (i.e., marketing, sales, account and creative) to orchestrate effective pull-through strategies in the development of customer engagements/experiences;
- Deep understanding of strategic brand identity, brand segmentation, targeting, positioning, customer journey and customer experience;
- Adept at distilling complex concepts and communicating a big idea;
- Ability to take business insights and strategies and conceive of innovative, relevant, and tangible activation ideas;
- Eagerness to build a new capability within a consulting organization;
- Strong analytic and problem-solving skills;
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, ability to guide construction of compelling visuals for presentations across a variety of contexts;
- Written communications skills go beyond crafting presentations and include the desire to write storylines for videos the team produces;
- Willingness to travel to meet client needs (Potentially 10-25%);
- Supervisory experience preferred.
ZS is a global consulting firm. Fluency in English is required; additional fluency in at least one European or Asian language is desirable.
Candidates must possess work authorization for their intended country of employment. An on-line application, including a full set of transcripts (official or unofficial), is required to be considered.
ZS offers a competitive compensation package with salary and bonus incentives, complete medical/dental/life insurance programs and retirement savings benefits. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
ZS is committed to providing and maintaining a safe workplace. Must have received or be willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination by date of hire to be considered. Proof of vaccination will be required. Religious/Medical Exemptions can be requested on a limited basis upon hire.
NO AGENCY CALLS, PLEASE.