Associate Director, Strategy

Heartbeat is the full-service marketing agency for healthcare Challenger Brands. It’s our lifeblood to help these brands overcome their competitive challenges and rise above the expectations. That means we never take the easy road. We are a crew of optimists and activists who believe that “Never Been Done” doesn’t mean “Don’t Ever Do.”

That’s the philosophy, here are the creds: 250+ employees between NYC & LA; strategy, creative, media, & technology under a single roof; a pile of industry awards for our work (Clio, OMMA, MM+M, MANNY) and our agency (4x Best Place to Work from Ad Age & MM+M). We are especially proud of our industry-leading commitment to diversity & inclusion, with recognition from Med Ad News as a D&I Champion.

If you want to surround yourself with partners who are insightful, inventive, and courageous—well, you just hit the motherload.

The strategy team at Heartbeat Ideas is responsible for unearthing consumer insights and evaluating digital behaviors to create competitive advantage for our clients. This can be a deep look into a single campaign insight or a broader look that identifies and evaluates all of the opportunities available to make sound business and marketing decisions.

Both strategic planning and analytics are key dimensions to our work. Logical thinking that breaks problem solving into a discrete, clear flow is critical to providing credible recommendations to our clients. We are fiercely committed to delivering high-quality analysis, in a structured, thoughtful presentation, with strict attention to deadlines and deliverables.

In general, to succeed in Strategy, candidates must demonstrate a strong work ethic, exceptional analytical skills, and a knack for converting insights into creative, actionable recommendations for our clients. An ability to communicate effectively and efficiently in both written and oral form and build trusted internal and external relationships are also key. Backgrounds in agency and consulting organizations are desired, as skills in analyzing and presenting information are honed.

This position is suited to a strategist with a minimum of 6-8 years’ experience working in a similar agency environment or in a management-consulting firm. The manager will be responsible for the day-to-day execution and management of projects/assignment.

Responsibilities:

• Collecting and synthesizing data with or without analyst support
• Planning, organizing and delivering complete pieces of analyses
• Developing meaningful or noteworthy insights
• Formulating strategic recommendations ranging from brand positioning, marketing strategy and digital engagement strategy
• Presenting findings to internal teams and clients
• As needed, contributing to the development of project-assigned analysts
• Managing small, non-complex projects independently and successfully
• Managing internal relationships with other departments, identifying opportunities for efficiencies in working relationships and cross-departmental processes and hand-offs (e.g. Creative, Client Services, Media, Program Management, and Technology)

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree and MBA preferable
• Background in strategy and/or consulting in digital and/or healthcare space
• Demonstrated project management experience; either managing small project or small team within larger project or experience in managing deliverables/ project timeline

Skills:

• Strong analytical/logical thinking
• Structured problem solving approach to address complex strategic/management issues
• Secondary research skills (both quantitative and qualitative; experience in researching and analyzing markets, customer segments, products/services, and competitor profiles; familiarity with internet sector statistics and trends)
• Primary research skills (experience in designing interview formats and questionnaires, conducting interviews, facilitating focus groups)
• Familiarity with different digital channels (e.g., web, mobile, CRM, social media, search)
• Familiarity with digital analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, online buzz monitoring)
• Developing action-oriented strategies that provide the foundation for execution; experience with implementation-oriented projects
• Client relationship development and management
• Experience in healthcare is a plus

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.