Associate/ Strategy Director

Associate Strategy Director / Strategy Director, Carat Shanghai

Core purpose of role

The Associate Strategy Director will work alongside the Strategy Lead and Strategy Planning teams to develop insight-driven, integrated media and communication strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes. This role will provide independent day-to-day strategic support to account teams, translate data into actionable insight and visual narratives, and contribute to new business efforts under the guidance of the Strategy Lead.

Top 3 best things about the job

1. Challenging but high-impact work: take ownership of day-to-day strategy on SP accounts and contribute to new business pitches, build from zero to one and see direct results.

2. End-to-end impact: not siloed in media, be able to have chance to connect the whole communication strategy, across devices and channels, and see how integrated plans land in real business outcomes.

3. Supportive culture: a pleasant working environment with leaders who value high performance and individual development without "rat racing."

KPI metrics

• Contribution to new business (pitches supported / workstreams led) as well as driving growth of extension scopes from existing clients
• Contribution to annual media strategy devising, and deliver independently day-to-day SP strategy needs
• Quality and adoption of strategic frameworks across accounts
• dentsu Connect (planning tool) deployment
• Supporting the Awards-Winning Process

Position of the role

Reports to Strategy Lead, Carat China. This Director-level role is primarily a strategic partner to the Strategy Lead and will independently support account teams on daily strategic needs, mentor junior planners, and act as a core member of pitch teams (supporting or leading specific workstreams as required).

Key responsibilities

• Provide daily strategic support to SP teams, co-shaping briefs, identifying media opportunities and recommending tactics across paid, owned and earned channels.
• Support developing integrated communication strategies that link business objectives to measurable media and content outcomes.
• Support in research, data collection and analysis (quantitative and qualitative) and translate findings into clear, compelling visualizations and client-ready narratives.
• Support and contribute to new business pitches, craft positioning, insight, channel mix and measurement approaches for pitch workstreams.
• Support the awards-winning process: identify award‑worthy work, prepare submissions, coordinate case materials and narratives.
• Collaborate closely with Analytics/Business Science, Insights, Creative, Media and Digital teams to ensure joined-up solutions.
• Assist in refining and landing planning tools, templates and best practices across the agency.
• Assist in producing share thought leadership, case studies or internal resources that can elevate Carat's strategic profile.

Tasks & measurement

In 3 months

• Support Strategy Lead in developing deliverables, mainly contributing in brainstorm, research & data support, insights & narrative draft.
• Build relationships with client and internal stakeholders.
• Provide independent strategic input on at least one live client campaign or pitch workstream.

Measurement: trusted contributor able to independently produce clear insights and visualizations for team use.

In 6 months

• Established as the go-to day-to-day strategic partner on multiple accounts.
• Played a key role in at least two pitches or major campaign launches (supporting workstreams).
• Begun sharing with team and introduced data/visualization practices.
• Measurement: visible impact on stakeholder satisfaction in daily strategy deliverables and pitch quality; demonstrable dentsu Connect tool implication.

In 12 months

• Independently manage daily strategy for core accounts with minimal supervision from the Strategy Lead.
• Assisted in producing thought leadership or case work shared internally or externally.

Measurement: measurable strong stakeholder satisfaction.

What you will need

• Minimal 8 years' experience in strategic planning or media strategy planning.
• Track record in devising media strategy and pitch support.
• Advanced data skills: confident in data collection, analysis and dashboarding/visualization (Excel; SQL or Python a plus; Power BI, Data Studio or equivalent).
• Able to turn complex data into simple, persuasive visual stories and recommendations.
• Passion for integrated communication strategy across paid, owned and earned channels and for connecting media to broader brand and product experiences.
• Good client-facing presentation skills.
• Results-Driven: Persistent pursuit of measurable results and continuous improvement.
• Degree-level education or equivalent experience.
• Professional English and Mandarin required.

About us:

Carat is the world's first media agency and privileged to work with some of the most storied and innovative brands in the world. Most recently named a leader amongst global media agencies by Forrester, Carat is consistently ranked the #1 media agency in the world. With over 12,000 experts in over 100 countries. Carat is a dentsu company and delivers an unparalleled capability to unlock real human understanding and connect people and brands through powerful and engaging media experiences.

Within Carat China, we value the diverse talents to bring in different inspirations, embrace innovation, and prioritize collective success. We are a dynamic team that refuses to settle for anything less than excellence. We leverage the group's vast capabilities to deliver integrated media solutions and innovations that brings impact for our clients and society.

Our commitment to media creativity and excellence drives us to push the boundaries of what's possible, and importantly, we make it real.