Manager, Strategic Planning

Avoq is seeking a talented strategic planner to join our award-winning Insights & Strategic Planning team. As part of this team, the Manager, Strategic Planning will lead qualitative research development, facilitate interviews and collaborative brainstorms, distill insights and findings, and outline brand, messaging and communication strategies to guide teammates and clients. This position can be based out of our Washington, D.C. or NYC office. 

WHO YOU ARE 

The Manager will be responsible for identifying insights and strategies and will play a critical role in determining how we can approach meeting our client goals. You must be ...  

• A Research Maven – You have experience with both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and are comfortable suggesting and evaluating program designs. 
• Inherently Curious – Always asking “why?” and/or “why not?” to develop deep knowledge, fresh perspectives and actionable insights. Plus, you stay up to date on trends, technologies and behaviors, keeping a pulse on opportunities that may arise for your clients.  
• A Storyteller – You – in partnership with Insights team colleagues – synthesize your findings into compelling recommendations, reports, strategy briefs, message platforms and presentations. 
• Collaborative – You facilitate and empower internal teams, clients, and stakeholders on a variety of policy issues and client challenges.  
• A Dot Connector – You excel at finding connections between different and sometimes disparate information and making sense of the path forward.

WHAT YOU’LL DO 

• Help identify what we know and what we need to know as part of the upstart of new projects. 
• Spearhead research, including stakeholder interviews, IDIs, focus groups and polling – often in partnership with our Insights teammates and/or third-party research partners. 
• Facilitate workshops, brainstorms and collaborative meetings to foster collaboration and ideation. 
• Distill critical data points into research-driven narratives - uncover themes and compelling insights across inputs and channel them into branding, messaging and communications strategies and recommendations. 
• Write and deliver strategy briefs that crystalize the charge for our teammates.  
•  Collaborate with other agency teams to develop products that present analysis and strategies in accessible and compelling ways  

• Support proposal writing teams, enhancing new business initiatives through the integration of strategic thought starters and unique insights. 
• Work on a diverse range of clients spanning the public, nonprofit, and corporate sectors — including national advocacy campaigns and corporate initiatives on behalf of Fortune 500 companies and innovative start-ups. These could be short or long-term projects.  
• Bring a can-do attitude and an openness to learning about client initiatives as well as receiving feedback to your work to help deliver best-in-class results. 
• Present findings and recommendations to diverse audiences, including clients, internal staff, and third-party stakeholders. 
• Support development of measurement frameworks and methodologies grounded in KPIs and client objectives. 

Requirements

YOUR EXPERIENCE 

As a qualified candidate, you have 4+ years of work experience in most of the areas below: 

• Prior experience working in brand or strategic planning within an agency setting. 
• Education or interest in advertising, communications, media or politics. 
• Participation in and comfort overseeing and/or conducting consumer research (i.e., in-depth interviews, focus groups, etc.). 
• Contribute to research reports, presentations, and other strategic documents such as briefs, message platforms and marketing plans. 
• Understanding of digital and traditional advertising, including how campaigns are developed, executed, and measured, as well as trends involving advertisers, publishers, and platforms. 
• Passionate and curious about branding, communications, media, policy, and business issues. 
• Excellent writing, editing, research, and presentation skills. 
• Superior organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail. 
• A proven track record of successfully completing multiple projects under tight deadlines. 
• Advanced PowerPoint skills and strong proficiency with Excel (e.g., pivot tables, nested formulas, etc.). 
• Familiarity with and/or willingness to learn media analytics tools, such as Brandwatch, Meltwater, Newswhip, SEMRush, Google Data Studio among others. 

Candidates need not possess every attribute listed above to qualify for a role. If you identify with this profile but don’t quite meet all of the criteria we strongly encourage you to apply to joining our winning team! 

Benefits

Avōq prides itself on the kind of innovation that is only achieved through inclusive collaboration and equal opportunity.  Maintaining a diverse staff of first-class talent (including those from BIPOC, LGBTQ communities, and others from historically underrepresented groups), and conferring a sense of value and belonging on each team member is central to our mission as expert communicators and advocates. 

Salary Range: $85,000-115,000

We offer a uniquely rich benefits package to support our team’s quality of life outside of work that includes: 

·    100% Company-paid Medical, Dental and Vision insurance

·    Paid parental leave

·    401(k) contributions

·    Flexible, hybrid work arrangements

·    12 paid company holidays per year, up to 39 days individual paid time off 

·    Winter break: Offices close the last week of the year

Avōq also provides necessary assistance or modifications to the application process for prospective candidates. If you need support, please reach out to [email protected] and include your full name and the accommodation needed to assist you with the application process. Decisions to grant reasonable accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis.