Senior Strategist

Where strategy makes a difference.

Without is an award-winning brand design studio helping progressive clients make the world healthier, tastier and more rewarding by defining and expressing their difference. From redefining Mexican food in the UK, to reimagining the luxury health club, to making good coffee do good.

We’re looking for a world-class senior strategist who can make a difference by communicating difference.

The role

This is a creative role. You’ll combine the analytical skills needed to identify insights, with the ability to express original ideas in ways that connect emotionally and inspire deep, experiential brands.

As a partner to clients, and alongside a talented design team, you will fundamentally shape brands as strategic lead – from attending meetings with prospective clients and contributing to proposals, to creating original brand propositions and ways to bring them to life. You’ll excel in…

• Converting initial interest into new business wins, with credibility and expertise, contributing to convincing proposals that demonstrate an affinity with client challenges.
• Taking the strategic lead on projects, delivering rigorous analysis and intelligent assessment: from points of difference to portfolio architecture; sector analysis to client culture.
• Bringing diverse and thought provoking perspectives to bear on client briefs, bolstering design thinking with a broader commercial and cultural viewpoint.
• Writing brilliantly. From naming and messaging hierarchy, to brand positioning and creative written propositions that inspire design.
• Championing the strategy, seeing brand ideas delivered through design and activation with clarity.
• Identifying opportunities for brand activation, creating application strategies that multiply the effectiveness of our work.
• Building strong, trusted relationships with clients, with proactive engagement and dialog, to identify further opportunities for collaboration.
• Bringing energy, enthusiasm and difference to our collegiate culture.
• Being a voice for the studio, giving context to and celebrating the team’s work in the media.

Your skills

As a senior strategist, you will have at least 7 years of experience, with a track record of research and insight, developing brand strategies, guiding those strategies to creative and practical outcomes, and building successful, long-term relationships with clients. You will be able to demonstrate the following qualities:

Intelligence and the ability to simplify complexity.

You’re able to apply structured thinking across a wide variety of sectors and problems. Your ability to simplify the complex is at the heart of successful branding – from helping clients answer their ‘why, how, what’ to supporting UX designers structuring websites.

Creativity.

You’re design literate, original thinker, who balances sound research with the ability to argue and express ideas in compelling, groundbreaking ways.

Authority.

You’re an excellent communicator, writer and presenter, with a flair for theatre where required. A leader and team builder, you’re great with people, facilitating collaboration, managing impasse with charm; a good listener and can take partners on a journey.

Curiosity.

You’re widely read, engaged in how design can improve things and have a broad frame of reference. You’ll have some tried and tested methods, but an open mind and desire to do whatever it takes to create the best work.

Working at Without

We work with purpose, energy and empathy, not preconceptions. You’ll benefit from an environment that blends the dynamism and variety of a mid-sized team with the professionalism and ambition of larger studios.

• Flexible hybrid working, with a mix of studio and home working
• £500 training bursary every year to help develop and grow.
• Private healthcare.
• Summer away days to switch off and celebrate as a team.
• Paid shutdown between Christmas and New Year.

—

Alongside the results we create for clients, we pride ourselves on our positive, supportive culture. We’re an equal opportunities employer, where ideas are welcomed from all quarters.

Whilst the position is hybrid remote, we value and encourage in-person collaboration. Applicants must live a commutable distance to central London.