Senior Strategist (Portfolio/Retail)

ROLE: SENIOR STRATEGIST (PORTFOLIO/RETAIL)

TEAM: THE KITCHEN NORTH AMERICA

LOCATION: CHICAGO

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

The Kitchen brings together a range of disciplines and capabilities. It’s a team of creatives, producers, data analysts and social experts working together to deliver remarkable ideas that live in a variety of mediums, from everything from social to TV. This team moves at the speed of culture. It is built to respond to trends and events as they happen, coming up with the ideas that transcend social media to capture the spirit of the moment, earn media impressions, and get the country talking.

Are you ready to join an award-ambitious team that's making waves in the advertising industry? Our incredible team has been recognized internationally by industry giants like Cannes, One Show and was named Campaign's Global ‘In-House Agency of The Year’, further solidifying our position as a leader in the industry. Join us and be a part of something truly special - a team that's dedicated to creating ground-breaking work and pushing limits.

At The Kitchen, we're not just looking for individuals who want to be a part of the advertising industry - we're looking for trailblazers who are ready to lead the way to the next big thing! We want individuals who are passionate about producing award-winning work and have an innate drive to their craft and are eager to generate innovative ideas both within and outside of the brief.

ROLE OVERVIEW:

The Senior Strategist at The Kitchen is responsible for serving as the day-to-day strategic lead across multiple brands, supporting Portfolio Marketing. We seek someone who thrives in a fast-paced, creative environment. This role demands a unique blend of strategic thinking, cultural curiosity, and, channel expertise to deliver 360 campaigns that win shoppers, from above the line to below the line. Day-to-day responsibilities include developing strategies for occasion-based multiple brand campaigns, and delivering channel strategic plans that unlock business growth. We seek someone with a proven track record of successful campaigns, strategic brief development, and framework building. The ideal candidate understands the full marketing funnel and ecosystem, with particular emphasis on retail, shopper, and portfolio marketing.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• STRATEGIC THINKING: Maintain a deep understanding of the brands, audiences, business priorities, competition, and industry trends. You will work on creative briefs, comms plans, campaign rollouts, and thought leadership, among other things, ensuring strategic thinking is incorporated in all aspects of the agency’s work.
• RETAIL, SHOPPER AND PORTFOLIO STRATEGY & CREATIVE BRIEF DEVELOPMENT: Define strategies for our Kraft Heinz portfolio of brands to drive cross-sell and incremental purchase during power windows, understanding how to drive situational salience at the moment of purchase/truth. Identify how our brands best show up together in these key occasions and shopper moments, delivering insights that will inspire creative teams and meaningfully impact businesses.
• COLLABORATION WITH CREATIVE TEAMS: Work closely with the Creative team to brainstorm, generate thought starters, and actively help them hone their work.
• UNDERSTANDING OF PAID MEDIA: Understand ad units, media opportunities, and post content options in a complex multi-platform online environment to make strategic recommendations for creating and amplifying work that reaches the right audience, with both paid and owned media.
• UNDERSTAND HOW TO WIN IN ONLINE/TRADITIONAL RETAIL ENVIRONMENT: Demonstrate knowledge of how to plan campaigns for a shopper mindset. Think about all channels where our shopper will intersect with our message, and how to effectively communicate to resonate across our brands.
• PRESENTATION SKILLS: Strong communication skills, excellent writing ability, and enthusiastic presentation skills. Translate big and complex ideas clearly and effectively into simple, compelling stories and presentations to help get ideas approved by Brand Partners.
• TEAM COLLABORATION: Work with a pod structure consisting of Creatives, Account, Production. Own relationships with Central Marketing Portfolio team for your assigned campaigns.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:

• 5+ years of experience in a brand, comms, shopper, or retail strategy role.
• Proven track record of managing national brands, ideally for a CPG or lifestyle brand.
• History of working with Creative teams, providing expertise and influencing creative ideas.
• Proficiency in creating presentations (PowerPoint, Google Slides).
• Ability to translate research and data into meaningful insights that inspire big ideas.
• Solid understanding of the tools and frameworks that support strategy development (e.g., social listening).
• Strong background in channel or comms strategy, unlocking the right message at the right moment.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills in a group environment.
• A university or college diploma in marketing, advertising, or a related field is preferred.

The Kitchen and Kraft Heinz are committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting and retaining the most qualified employees regardless of race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, or disability.

The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is $100,000–$120,000. Individual compensation within this range is determined based on job-related factors such as experience, skills, level of responsibility, internal equity, and business needs. This range represents the expected base salary for this role and does not include other elements of The Kitchen’s total rewards program.