Senior Strategist - The Kitchen

ROLE: SENIOR STRATEGIST

TEAM: THE KITCHEN NORTH AMERICA

LOCATION: CHICAGO

COMPANY OVERVIEW:

Welcome to The Kitchen by Kraft Heinz – the in-house agency taking marketing into a new era. With bases in Toronto and Chicago, we're not just a team; we're culinary pioneers blending culture, creativity, and collaboration. Join our 100+ member crew of Creatives, Strategists, Producers, Designers, and Content Creators. Together with our brand partners, we unlock creativity at the speed of culture, turning brands into icons with breakthrough social and digital ideas. Come be part of a team where passion meets innovation, crafting experiences that leave a lasting impression—one spicy idea at a time.

ROLE OVERVIEW:

The Senior Strategist at The Kitchen is responsible for serving as the day-to-day strategic lead across multiple brands. We seek someone who thrives in a fast-paced, creative environment. This role demands a unique blend of strategic thinking, cultural curiosity, and, above all, a passion for social media. Day-to-day responsibilities include developing strategies for brand activations and overseeing the content development for organic social. 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 and how social media fits in. They will lead and coach a team of Social Media Managers, ensuring the team is inspired to deliver great content and brand activations that move at the speed of culture.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• STRATEGIC THINKING: Maintain a deep understanding of the brand, 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.
• CULTURAL STRATEGY & CREATIVE BRIEF DEVELOPMENT: Translate the events, trends, and conversations surrounding our brands into inspiring creative opportunities and proactive briefs that allow these brands to participate in culture quickly and effectively. Identify the passion points and topics a brand should engage in, 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.
• PASSION FOR SOCIAL MEDIA: Stay updated on the latest social media platforms and trends, ensuring that Creatives and Brand Partners understand how to operate in a constantly changing social media landscape.
• 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.
• SOCIAL PLAYBOOK DEVELOPMENT: Oversee social media playbook development with an eye for solid brand DNA, voice, and platform strategy.
• SOCIAL LISTENING: Translate social listening data and media insights into strategic recommendations that help inform brand activations and social content.
• 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 MANAGEMENT: Work with a pod structure consisting of Creatives, Social Copywriters, and Content Creators, and directly manage two Social Media Managers. Help your Social Media Managers develop planned and reactive social briefs, deploy daily content, and manage the relationship with Brand Partners.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:

• 5+ years of experience in a brand, creative, or social strategy role.
• Proven track record of managing brands with a significant following, 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).
• Love and deep understanding of culture and social trends.
• 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, Kraft Heinz, and Salt 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 SALT/The Kitchen’s total rewards program.