We use human-centered design to solve big problems for impact-driven brands.

Design can change the world. We work with organizations that think the same thing. Because what we make is just as important as who we make it for. We help our clients tackle complex challenges and build strong brands. Our efforts position our clients for long-term sustainability and deeper connections with their audience. The impact we create is real. We are strategists, creatives, and designers and every single one of us is hardwired with a desire to leave the world better than the way we found it.

About

FiveStone Strategists are innovative, collaborative problem-solvers. We ask great questions, craft direction for solutions, guide implementation, and gather insights to work for the good of both the client and culture.

Our approach to strategy is rooted in human-centered design. This approach keeps the people we are designing for at the heart of our work and ensures solutions specific to them. Every project is based on a foundation of audience discovery— understanding needs, experiences, and opportunities, and from there creating empathy-driven solutions that achieve our clients’ goals.  

Description

FiveStone Strategy Directors set vision for our client, elevate thinking, and lead cross-disciplinary project teams through execution. 

We’re dedicated to understanding and advocating for clients’ goals across a wide range of design challenges. This role works across a wide range of brand and strategy projects including brand identity, creative campaigns, audience insights, marketing strategies, and brand application. Specific contributions include: 

• Serve as the day-to-day lead (with minimal oversight) on medium/large engagements
• Collaborate with other project leads and strategists as a supporter and thought partner
• Develop strategies to unlock impactful opportunities for our clients and help navigate major inflection points
• Defend with well-thought-out, insightful, philosophically sophisticated POVs and recommendations 
• Manage all aspects of discovery, including both qualitative and quantitative research (Ramp and maintain familiarity with clients’ industries, craft research plans/materials, conduct interviews/ethnographies, and guide analysis)
• Lead workshops both internally and with client teams, with the ability to create engaging activities, ideate, and extract meaning
• Guide agile development for strategic solutions— creating low-fidelity prototypes for feedback and testing
• Craft strategic creative briefs to guide design and development teams and ensure creative development aligns with project strategies
• Review creative assets to ensure they align with strategies, making recommendations around refinement 
• Usher strategies through implementation, monitor performance data, and identify strategic implications
• Contribute to content development, such as writing thought leadership pieces, case studies, and research reports
• Support executive-level client relationships and nurture the accounts
• Manage and build relationships with vendors and partners (copywriters, media agencies, etc.), ensuring their efforts align with project strategies

Desired Experience/Skills 

• 10+ years of experience working as a strategist (or similar) at a creative, brand strategy, design, or insights-focused agency.
• 5+ years of client-facing experience with the ability to develop and nurture relationships with day-to-day client contacts
• Experience using the human-centered design process (or similar) and creative development processes
• Strong communication skills (both written and verbal) with the ability to craft compelling narratives
• Stay heavily attuned to cultural, marketing, and social technologies and trends, and ability to forecast opportunities for clients
• Ability to execute across wide range of marketing channel (digital/social platforms, influencers, etc.)
• Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative research methods and a solid understanding of how they apply to client challenges
• Knowledge of measurement frameworks and tooling, and experience leveraging measurement indicators to make informed strategic decisions
• Dedication to finding exceptional solutions, and committed to seeing things through to success
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Core Competencies/Demonstrated Talent

Here are a few qualities we hope our Strategy Directors embody in your own, unique way.

• Creative problem solving
• Relentlessly curious and life lifelong learner
• Adaptable
• Collaborative team player
• Analytical, rigorous processor (challenge assumptions and recognize biases)
• Expert communicator
• Socially-minded, mission-driven
• Nimble and comfortable working on multiple projects at a time 
• Strong work ethic
• Insightful (ability to recognize patterns; connect the dots from objectives to insights to ideas)

Technology Requirements

We are a distributed team and rely heavily on digital tools, including Zoom, Slack, Google workspace, and digital whiteboards (e.g., Mural).

Travel, Location, and DEI

Travel is variable, typically 0-15%.

We are a distributed team, with hubs in New York, NY and Boulder, CO. This position could be based in either location or fully remote.

FiveStone is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We believe a diverse workplace is a great workplace.