Job Description
Sonder is the realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. In short: everyone has a story. At Sonder & Tell, we apply that thinking to brand strategy. Every brand has a singular narrative to share with the world. We help them find it, then tell it.
Sonder & Tell is looking for a Strategy Director. It’s an incredibly exciting time for our agency, and this an opportunity to shape the way we approach strategy – by championing new processes, thinking and methodologies to inform future projects.
The role will involve leading and mentoring our team in brand strategy work – from articulating a challenge and opportunity, through to creative manifestation as well as messaging and comms. You’ll get your kicks from developing others. Whether it’s seeing colleagues flourish, or seeing clients fired up about an idea. And you’ll know how to guide both with confidence.
The right person values the power of well-crafted words to express and elevate ideas, and has the ability to write engaging brand stories that can go the distance. While Sonder & Tell is currently a words-first studio, our team pulls in a wide frame of references, interests and influences to build brand worlds. You’ll do that too.
About Sonder & Tell
Sonder & Tell creates strategy that reads like a story, which helps brands make sense of who they are. Our clients range from ideas-stage start-ups to established consumer brands including Mindful Chef, Bumble, Rude Health and Lick. Our work spans brand positioning, messaging, tone of voice, naming, training and comms. Our nine-person team blurs the lines between strategy and creative, just like the best brand stories do.
The Role
The role is perfect for a Senior Strategist looking for an opportunity to step up and lead a team in a growing agency. On bigger projects, you’ll attend key workshops and presentations; turning insights and research into creative strategies and writing briefs for copywriters to bring them to life. For our shorter ‘sprints’, you’ll act as a creative editor: mentoring the strategy team with internal check-ins, joining brainstorms where needed, and giving final sign off of strategic and creative work.
We’re looking for someone who’s as excited about dreaming up with concepts as they are mentoring others to come up with their own. We’re also looking for someone who can constantly challenge and push our offering, finding new and exciting ways to set Sonder & Tell apart.
Your responsibilities will be varied but will include:
- Leading, mentoring and inspiring our team – helping strategists get to creative ideas and copywriters to realise a strategic vision
- Leading the creative strategy stage of all large-scale brand positioning/story and tone projects
- Conceptualising unique brand positionings, tone of voice concepts and comms ideas, and briefing out writers to bring it to life
- Overseeing the translation of a brand story into a strategy for content and communications
- Working directly with clients on an ongoing basis and presenting key strategic work
- End-to-end idea articulation and storytelling through great presentation writing.
- Playing a role in winning new work and growing our relationships with existing clients.
- Hiring, training and managing the ongoing development of the strategic team
- Shaping our narrative within the agency world
- Unlocking the potential for strategy at Sonder & Tell and guiding the strategic vision and culture
The ideal person will:
- Have 8+ years experience as a strategist, ideally in brand
- Be a proven leader
- Be a master storyteller and writer, with experience crafting brand narratives
- A brilliant presenter, able to construct a persuasive argument with logic and imagination
- Be a confident facilitator of workshops, able to challenge and break through thinking
- Strong capabilities in stakeholder management and the ability to earn the trust of clients, especially when guiding them through change
- Be able to design and build a vision for a project with a view to growing long term client relationships.
- Be entrepreneurial and future-thinking – someone that can constantly break the mold of what “strategy” is and present new ideas that S&T can own.
- A university degree is not prerequisite – we'll consider people based on the strength of their work and enthusiasm for the challenge
And also have:
- Curiosity and a deep interest in the world
- A flexible approach; our agency is always learning and growing
- A client-oriented mindset
- A positive, can-do attitude
- Excellent attention to detail
- No ego
- Kindness
Benefits of working at Sonder & Tell:
- Opportunity to become a leading role in a growing company
- A creative working environment and supportive team culture
- Workplace pension offered through NEST
- Coaching with MoreHappi 2x a month
- Workplace wellness package through Juno
- Learning & Development budget
- Flexible working (2 days in central London office, 3 days at home)
- Flexible working hours
On Inclusive Storytelling
We believe everyone has their own unique way of seeing the world. We value inclusive storytelling and are committed to hiring people from diverse backgrounds. Even if you don’t feel you meet all the criteria please apply anyway. It’s only through inclusive conversations that we can hope to build diverse and inclusive brands. If you share our values you’ll find a home at Sonder & Tell.