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Quad

Associate Director, Connections Strategy

Quad, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60290

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Overview Join Quad as the

Associate Director, Connections Strategy . Rise is an award-winning, full-service Media Agency of Record that is backed by data and powered by people. We create omnichannel experiences using our proprietary tech stack and advanced analytics capabilities to help solve the unique struggles brands face today. This approach, with transparency at its core, specializes in omnichannel media, commerce and retail media, advanced in-home media, as well as content and creator marketing.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Strategic Communications Development: Translate audience insight into actionable, integrated communication strategies that drive measurable business outcomes across paid, owned, and earned channels.

Uncover Growth Opportunities: Conduct rigorous business and audience analyses using first-, third-, and syndicated data sources to shape client strategy and forecast market potential.

Champion Media Ecosystem Thinking: Define the role of each media channel within a connected experience, providing strategic guidance on investment, optimization, and cross-channel coordination.

Elevate Tool and Platform Usage: Drive adoption and effective use of strategic planning tools (e.g., Quad’s Tech Stack, MRI/Simmons), mentoring teams on best practices and application.

Integrate Strategy Across Functions: Collaborate with media, analytics, and creative teams to ensure strategy is substantiated by data, reflected in creative, and aligned across all touchpoints.

Identify & Activate Key Messaging Moments: Map consumer receptivity across the journey, leading the development of frameworks that inform messaging, timing, and contextual alignment.

Deliver Thought Leadership: Anticipate cultural, category, and media shifts—translating change into forward-thinking POVs, trend analyses, and strategic implications for clients and teams.

Guide Client Strategy & Relationships: Serve as a senior strategic voice in client engagements, clearly articulating rationale behind audience segmentation, channel planning, and messaging strategy.

Drive Operational Excellence: Partner with leadership to refine processes, tools, and team workflows that improve efficiency, quality, and consistency of strategic output.

Lead & Mentor Teams: Manage and develop junior strategists, fostering growth, accountability, and a high standard of strategic thinking and client service.

Support Business Development: Lead the strategic development of pitch responses, contribute to proposal writing and final presentations, and help drive agency growth initiatives.

Education Education:

Bachelor’s degree (communications, marketing, advertising, or business preferred).

Experience

A history of supporting the development of holistic communications planning strategies

5-7 years of communications planning, connections planning or account planning experience

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

Formal AI training is preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Fluent in relevant principles of human behavior and a command of the ever-evolving marketing communications ecosystem

Understanding of the principles of advertising, marketing and media. A basic knowledge of disciplines underlying these principles, i.e., psychology, economics, journalism

Knowledge of the dynamics of paid, earned and owned media - how each media element performs alone, how they perform together and how they are constantly changing

Employees can be expected to be paid an annualized salary range of $119,650 - $150,430, based on variations in knowledge, skills, experience and market conditions.

Rise and Quad are proud to be equal opportunity employers. We are committed to creating a place of belonging — a space where employees do not need to sacrifice who they are to exist and grow in our workplace. Rise and Quad do not discriminate on any unlawful basis including race, religion, color, national origin, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Rise and Quad also prohibit harassment of applicants and employees based on any of these protected categories.

Seniority level Associate

Employment type Full-time

Job function Business Development and Sales

Industries Advertising Services

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