VP Strategist

Job Description:

Joining Dentsu Creative, you will be part of a creative network, delivering ideas that are brought alive in new ways. Along the way, you will team up with inspiring people across the world and become part of a truly inclusive culture where everyone is given the opportunity to thrive and create the best work of their careers; always learning and always listening to shape ideas, create culture and change behavior. By bringing together the capabilities, experience and relationships of our collective experts, the opportunities for personal growth and development are endless.

Job Summary:

We are seeking a visionary VP of Strategy to lead the development of transformative brand strategies that connect deeply with culture and consumers. This role requires a strategic thinker who thrives on curiosity, collaboration, and creativity—someone who can turn insights into bold ideas that drive business impact.

dentsu Canada’s Strategy department is a community of thought collectors and thought connectors—united by empathy and driven to help clients solve for the future. As VP, Strategy, you will implement dentsu’s rigorous strategic process and frameworks across a complex, global business, shaping clear narratives and go-to-market plans that inspire confidence and deliver measurable impact.

Core Responsibilities

• Implement dentsu Frameworks: Champion dentsu’s strategic process—connecting insights, brand platforms, and experience design into cohesive, integrated communication plans.

• Insight Development & Synthesis: Research and synthesize consumer behaviors, cultural movements, competitive dynamics, and industry benchmarks into sharp challenges and actionable insights that unlock transformative strategies.

• Cultural Fluency: Maintain a strong pulse on popular culture and translating emergent trends and subcultures into brand opportunities with commercial relevance.

• Briefing & Storytelling Excellence: Spot unique “ways-in” to client briefs and develop inspiring creative briefs; craft simple, emotive brand narratives and sell through strategic plans with clarity and conviction.

• Go-to-Market Planning: Build and present end-to-end GTM plans that align brand platforms, content, channels, and experiences to business objectives and effectiveness goals.

• Collaboration & Influence: Partner across disciplines—creative, media, data, CX, and production—to deliver integrated solutions; lead work sessions and formal presentations that drive alignment and decisions.

• Effectiveness & Learning: Champion effectiveness, set hypotheses for impact, and foster a culture of learning through test-and-learn roadmaps and ongoing optimization.

AI Tools & Continuous Learning

• AI-Enhanced Insighting: Leverage AI-powered research, social listening, and analytics tools to accelerate trend identification, audience understanding, and scenario planning.

• Generative Strategy Support: Use AI to pressure-test propositions, explore creative territories, and refine messaging frameworks—while maintaining human-led judgment and brand guardianship.

• Operational Efficiency: Integrate AI into workflows (e.g., desk research synthesis, data visualization, and knowledge management) to improve speed and quality without compromising rigor.

• Continuous Learning: Stay on the frontier of emerging technologies, platforms, and methodologies; share learnings across dentsu Canada and the global strategy community.

Core Traits

• People-First: Deep empathy for consumer needs; skilled at mapping and influencing the end-to-end journey using brand and digital solutions.

• Brand Guru: Translates advertising platforms into brand actions that add real value and align to mission; proven track record with big brands and award-winning work.

• Master of Persuasion: Expert at selling ideas internally and externally; leads work sessions and formal presentations; partners with creatives to produce outstanding work.

• High EQ Collaborator: In tune with peers and clients, innately curious, and a natural connector who elevates team thinking.

• Cultural Omnivore: Becomes fluent in diverse topics quickly, bringing confidence and nuance to unfamiliar categories and communities.

• Clarity Champion: Boils complex problems down to their essence; believes any good strategy can be summarized in a sentence.

• Status-Quo Challenger: Rejects clichés, pushes for fresh thinking, and obsesses over effectiveness and craft.

What Success Looks Like

• Strategies are simple, sharp, and culturally relevant, clearly linked to business outcomes.

• Creative briefs spark breakthrough ideas; clients feel confident and energized by the plan.

• The team operates with rigor, speed, and empathy, and your leadership raises the bar.

• Insights and learnings are proactively shared, strengthening the department and global network.

• AI is responsibly embedded into workflows, improving insight quality and operational efficiency.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of marketing experience, ideally within an integrated advertising agency or similar environment.

• Clear evidence of strategic thinking and presenting excellence—from hypothesis framing to narrative building and persuasion.

• Team leadership experience: takes ownership and responsibility for people development, delivery quality, and culture.

• Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously and effectively under deadline.

• Strong verbal, written, and data presentation skills; form matters as much as function.

• Demonstrated collaboration and problem-solving mindset; self-motivated with high standards.

• Innate curiosity and appetite to learn; comfortable with the rigor and scrutiny of agency life.

Additional information:

Vacancy: Is this posting for the purposes of filling an existing vacancy? [Y/N]

The salary range for this position is $175k-$190k. Actual salary within the salary range will be based on a variety of factors including relevant experience, knowledge, and skills. A range of medical, dental, RRSP, paid time off, and/or other benefits also are available to all permanent employees.

AI Disclosure: [dentsu] utilizes artificial intelligence tools as part of its recruitment process, as during the sourcing and screening stages. All other parts of the dentsu application and hiring processes do not utilize artificial intelligence tools.

We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds foster a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better business results. We strive to create workplaces that reflect the clients we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. We are committed to working with our candidates from all ability levels throughout the recruitment process to ensure that they have what they need to be at their best. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact Canada.Recruitment@dentsu.com or to begin a conversation about your individual accessibility needs throughout the hiring process.

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Location:

Toronto

Brand:

Dentsu Creative

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent