About the Role

Monks is on a mission to create a new future for this industry—one global, cross-cultural collective with a passion for using our skills to create better work and a better world. That’s how we’re able to connect the dots between data, content, media, and technology from everywhere we are—a true end-to-end model. Joining Monks means having the opportunity to create award-winning work with some of the most gifted, focused, joyful, borderline obsessive talents from all over the world.

Now, about the opportunity: Associate Strategy Director, Comms Planning.  We are seeking a driven, communicative, reliable and insightful teammate to work alongside our Media Strategy and Brand teams, and become a trusted, invaluable partner to internal teams and client partners.

This role sits within Monks Media Studio, a purpose-built collective of brand-first thinkers whose charge is to raise the bar of Comms and Media Strategy. We look to bring creativity into media thinking and vice versa, creating campaigns and experiences that produce results far beyond their media reach. 

You are a strong writer/communicator, as well as a visionary capable of architecting effective growth on behalf of brands, grounded in human insights & behaviors.

You’ll collect data to inform strategies across brand development, campaigns, pitches, and projects. Your day-to-day involves collaboration with our strategy partners in Media, Creative, Social, Data and more as projects require. You’ll be familiar with brand, media, and social strategies and frameworks, with the ability to take on solo tasks as well as collaborative projects.

You’re a strong brief crafter and deck builder, who understands how to organize information, both written and visual. You’ll be skilled in determining the key mindsets or behaviors we need to reach, jobs to be done and tactics to employ that inspire our multidisciplinary teams. You’ll also collaborate with them throughout creative development to ensure well-rounded, thoughtful bodies of work. 

Organization and time management are crucial. You’ll work on more than one project and client simultaneously, balancing priorities across your time. Your communication skills are excellent, as you’ll engage with disciplines across the Monks network to accomplish tasks with cross-functional teams.

You're considered invaluable to:

• Media Strategy partners for your ability to help stay a few steps ahead, anticipating client/project needs, and helping to come up with solid strategic POV that tactfully course corrects and gives clarity (even under tight deadlines). 
• Creative partners for translating client asks into clear, concise, actionable creative briefs (supported by insights) to inspire great work. You’re trusted as a creative sounding board, and connect with Creative teams throughout ideation to keep ideas on track. In presentations, you’ll set up the brilliant solution, supported by concise facts and effective, informed strategy.
• Client partners who count on you to bring a unique perspective, evolve thinking, and fundamentally enhance everyone's understanding of the brand, project, audience and more. As an Associate Comms Planning Director, you’ll be the voice of the consumer and the channels expert for our team and our client.
• Brand cohorts who rely on you as a source of inspiration to the department and an expert in 360° planning. You’re a no-ego team-player who thrives in collaborating to bring brand strategies and ideas to life in unique and thoughtful ways.
• Growth partners who trust you to support new business opportunities with differentiated and resonant planning approaches.

Responsibilities:

• Own your strategic perspective, bringing your strongest thinking, insight, and communication skills to craft strategies that are relevant for our client’s day-to-day needs.
• Bring your best strategic self: share your frameworks, approaches, historic findings and life experiences to the table, willing to share and adapt with other Monks across a variety of strategic pillars and executions
• You serve up sharp thinking in well-designed decks that deliver on client/ project KPIs with care, vision, intelligence, and an understanding of the audience. 
• Extract behavioral tensions and cultural whitespace using audience intelligence platforms (e.g., GWI, YouGov) to ground broad brand goals in actionable human truths.
• Analyze category dynamics and cross-channel habits via syndicated and digital intelligence tools (e.g., Nielsen, Pathmatics) to uncover strategic vulnerabilities and high-impact intersection points for our messaging.
• Synthesize raw inputs into deck-ready narratives—separating data points from the actual strategic implications that inspire creative teams and tether to trackable KPIs.
• Be culturally aware and responsive to relevant shifts and trends, always seeking out opportunities, partners, and audiences that can expand our client work

About You

The essentials:

• 5-7 years experience in Comms/Connections Strategy or adjacent strategy (digital, media, social, brand) with at least 1 year specifically in Comms/Connections
• Strong writer and communicator who writes fact-based, exciting, compelling narratives/briefs
• Self starter who’s eager to contribute
• Community-minded networker ready to collaborate with our many capabilities
• Intelligent & perceptive, seeing connections and the big picture where others don’t
• Persuasive and thoughtful ability to change minds and tell a story
• No ego- the Monks’ culture is all about collaboration
• Creative mindset that permeates your strategic thinking
• Experience partnering with cross functional teams, creative teams and agencies, stewarding the brand and consumer

At Monks, we believe in fostering an environment where a diversity of perspectives can thrive. We proactively work to design hiring processes that promote equity and inclusion while mitigating bias. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome and encourage qualified applicants, from all backgrounds, who are excited to contribute to our mission.  

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