Head of Strategy and Planning

At Noble People, our media strategies are creative, data-driven, and designed to drive top-line results for our clients. Our plans leverage media budgets in bold, unexpected ways, identify new opportunities beyond traditional channels, and deliver business outcomes by influencing both the media and the message. The Head of Strategy and Planning will ensure that strategy is not just a deliverable, but a driving force that unlocks business growth, innovation, and transformational results. They will also architect and lead our planning discipline pushing boundaries across audience strategy, channel planning, media planning, and creative media tactics. They will advise, direct, and guide each client’s Product Lead and their teams to build and deliver world-class recommendations themselves with the support of specialized experts under their leadership. They will do this by building exceptional systems and developing exceptional people. This leader will scale planning and strategic capabilities across the agency without sacrificing quality- leveraging tools, templates, frameworks, and workflows. Just as critically, they will be an outstanding coach and collaborator- developing talent, shaping industry-leading perspectives, and working hand-in-hand with senior peers across the agency. Who you are A strategic thinker who blends creativity with analytical rigor, a guiding force toward original media solutions that drive business results. 15+ years of strategic and media planning experience in a media agency, creative agency, corporate marketing department, or consultancy A transformational leader who blends creativity with analytical rigor to develop strategies that inspire amazing ideas that drive business results. Well-read, with a deep understanding of marketing science, martech, digital media, social media, and traditional media, and how they work together to drive results. An exceptional communicator who conveys complex concepts clearly and persuasively. A leader who fosters talent growth through training, mentorship, and process refinement. Persistent in finding ways to pull off the seemingly impossible—never a blocker, always living in possibility. A systems builder who uses guidelines, templates, and methodologies to unlock breakthrough ideas that work. Obsessed with clarity and allergic to fluff You’ve built great work, and now you want to architect the standard. You've got the evidence to back this up Impressive Work Portfolio Proven track record of developing innovative strategic media plans that leverage data and insights to drive business outcomes. Examples of your personal contribution to insights, strategies, and plans that  Affect both the media and the message Have innovative and widespread solutions valued by multiple partners in a marketing ecosystem (i.e., creative agencies, CRM, and retail.) Leverage market analysis, audience segmentation, and consumer insights Reflect a varied approach across the consumer journey Case work and awards that demonstrate the ability to turn research into business-driving results You’ve Operated at Scale You have examples of systems and tools for scale that you created to support your impressive work portfolio above through frameworks, workflows, and the people you’ve led You’ve integrated AI and technology-driven solutions to enhance planning capabilities. Strong Client & Talent Following A leader with a track record of inspiring and retaining top-tier talent. Former clients who want to work with you again Strong in Sales Environments Your choices around strategies and plans have been bold and critical to winning competitive pitches Deep Category Expertise Particularly in B2B, fintech, QSR, retail, and DTC, with a strong grasp of media planning, communications, buying, and analytics integration. Responsibilities Leadership & Development Lead and oversee Noble People’s Strategy and Planning discipline from research through plan delivery, to drive business impact with bold ideas, supported by bulletproof rationale. Develop and implement a scalable strategy and media planning platform, equipping Product Leads with the tools, templates, training, and frameworks needed to deliver strategic recommendations, media plans, and ideas. Train and mentor Product Leads with strong media planning backgrounds to operate as strategic leaders, while also developing dedicated strategists to support them. Establish clear strategy and planning discipline standards that, ensure a structured yet flexible approach to strategic media planning and execution. Support collaboration between Product leads with all of their resources, including senior leadership, Client Leads, media partners and internal teams in analytics, strategy and activation Serve as a charismatic, high-impact presenter for internal meetings, clients, new business pitches, and industry events. Provide strategic oversight and feedback to Noble People’s Audience practice, ensuring alignment with business objectives and market opportunities. Strategic Excellence, Planning Execution & Innovation Define and uphold the gold standard of the strategic and media planning output at Noble People, ensuring all work is rooted in bold creativity, data-driven insights, and drive tangible business outcomes by: Selecting and managing key data partners, research tools, and technology solutions in collaboration with fellow discipline leads. Establishing product standards, frameworks and templates that define our strategy, planning and tactical recommendations. Identifying the growth opportunity, the target consumer and JTBDs that map to KPIs Crafting the communications strategy and channel recommendation and allocation that will change consumer behavior and drive business results Guiding data and insights teams to surface the most valuable findings that drive business growth, ensuring insights translate into actionable, transformative strategies and plans. Leading and facilitating ideation sessions, aligning cross-functional teams on strategies that shape media, creative, and go-to-market approaches. Building proprietary tools, partnerships, and methodologies to inform channel selection, benchmarking, allocation, and phasing decisions. Collaborating on AI integration at Noble People, advancing a “platform” organizational structure that enhances efficiency and innovation. Ensuring plans align business objectives with marketing goals, and select channels that maximize audience reach, attention, and outcomes. Maintaining and evolving Noble People’s Strategy and Media Planning POVs, publishing thought leadership that reflects emerging trends, consumer behavior shifts, the media marketplace, and marketing innovation. Client & Business Leadership Act as a trusted strategic advisor to clients, ensuring all recommendations align with their business and marketing objectives. Champion a collaborative, high-performance environment, fostering a culture of innovation, creativity, and measurable impact. Deliver bold, original media plans that challenge industry norms and creates tangible business results for clients. Represent the agency as a consistent contributor in new business efforts, helping to secure and expand client partnerships. Align strategy with our clients' CMO, CEO, and CFO priorities, ensuring marketing initiatives drive business-wide transformation and revenue growth. Other duties as assigned. Requirements 15+ years of strategic and media planning experience in a media agency, creative agency, corporate marketing department, or consultancy A transformational leader who blends creativity with analytical rigor to develop strategies that inspire amazing ideas that drive business results. Well-read, with a deep understanding of marketing science, martech, digital media, social media, and traditional media, and how they work together to drive results. An exceptional communicator who conveys complex concepts clearly and persuasively. A leader who fosters talent growth through training, mentorship, and process refinement. Persistent in finding ways to pull off the seemingly impossible—never a blocker, always living in possibility. A systems builder who uses guidelines, templates, and methodologies to unlock breakthrough ideas that work. Obsessed with clarity and allergic to fluff You’ve built great work, and now you want to architect the standard. Benefits We take care of you Noble People offers a generous time-off package of 15 PTO days per annum, Safe & sick days, Personal and Birthday PTO as well as Summer Fridays, Mental Health & Wellness days, and a Sabbatical Program if you are with the agency for 7 or more years. We offer a comprehensive healthcare plan for eligible employees and their families which includes Medical with Telehealth/virtual care options, Dental, Vision, 401K, STD, LTD, Life Insurance Lastly, we allow for a cell phone reimbursement, pre-tax commuter benefits, Flexible Spending Account, daily snacks, and much more. The salary range is 250,000-300,000 USD per year. Diversity and Inclusion At Noble People, our people are our greatest asset. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment that attracts, engages, and retains the best possible talent. Our diversity of experiences, backgrounds, locations, viewpoints and ideas is what makes us a great place to work and differentiate us as an employer of choice. We are an equal opportunity employer At Noble People we are committed to expanding opportunities for all employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, sexual identity, disability, or any other characteristic. Each person is valued for his or her talents, expertise, experience, and perspective.