VP, Brand & Cultural Strategy

Vice President, Brand Strategy: Partnerships, Experiential, Entertainment & Culture

How We Strategize:

A laugh. A tear. A heart skipping a beat. A human reaction to something completely unexpected. This is what drives us.  It’s also the inspiration for our name btw (an elevated blood pressure, since you ask).

As a growing strategy team within the global powerhouse of 160over90, we take the mantle of digging deep into the cultural currents of what people most care about today and tomorrow; attaching a brand to the right and relevant insights…and guiding the way ideas come to life across every/any part the communications spectrum.

Is your heart beating faster yet?

Who You Are:

First and foremost, you’re serially curious; about brands, about people and the world around us. How all of it is changing and evolving. You’re plugged into culture; Interested and inspired by the now and next with a love and deep understanding of brands and how to translate them.  Simply put, you love to ask (and understand) why.

You appreciate the value of others, nurturing those who work for you, inspiring those who work with you.  Powering the collective that gets us to bigger and better; that gets us to wow.  When in doubt, you do, valuing courage over comfort.  And you always give a damn. About the client, the agency, the people and the work.

Success in this role requires the high tolerance for ambiguity a dynamic marketing and non-traditional agency landscape demands, the intellectual curiosity to stay at the forefront of cultural and category dynamics, the emotional intelligence to question and understand consumer behaviour and the collaborative spirit to work closely with internal creative, account, subject matter experts, and project management teams. It also requires a significant degree of Strategy leadership experience, product excellence and management skills allied to a certain confidence, gravitas and way with words (written and spoken) that means clients and colleagues alike, listen.

Intrigued?

Responsibilities:

This is a VP of strategy role based in Los Angeles, reporting into a co-lead of strategy for the agency, and serving as a key member of the leadership team in our Beverly Hills office. Your profile and experience should reflect that of a seasoned Strategy leader with primary responsibilities across Research & Measurement, Brand Building, Wide Ranging Strategy Applications (including Partnerships, Experiential & Entertainment), People Management, Business Development and Strategic Product / Thought Development. 

Your role will cover a wide range of core responsibilities:

• Owning senior-level client relationships across priority accounts, serving as a trusted strategic counselor to C-suite and senior brand leaders—particularly in the areas of partnerships, experiential platforms, and entertainment-driven growth.

• Leading strategy at the intersection of brands, talent, and rights-holders, collaborating closely with creative, partnerships, and WME counterparts to design culturally resonant, commercially sound platforms that move beyond campaigns into ecosystems.

• Shaping and scaling strategic approaches to partnerships and experiential marketing, including sponsorship strategy, brand-talent collaborations, live experiences, cultural moments, and IP-led activations.

• Bringing strategic leadership to the business development process (both new and organic); directing and/or authoring quick turn strategies to support major new business pitches for the agency.

• Driving strategic rigor from insight through execution, ensuring that cultural intelligence, audience understanding, and brand POVs are translated into clear creative territories, experience design principles, and activation roadmaps.

• Acting as a senior strategic voice in entertainment-adjacent work, including film, television, music, sports, fashion, and creator ecosystems—helping brands navigate how (and when) to authentically participate in culture.

• Partnering with Account and Operations leadership to ensure strategic excellence at scale, balancing ambition with feasibility, and helping teams manage complexity, scope, and evolving client needs.

• Developing and mentoring a dynamic group of strategists and research analysts across the globe; whether direct reports or not ––helping to coach up the broader Strategy team (as well as departments we collaborate with) to reach their/our full potential.

• Contributing to the evolution of the agency’s strategic products and frameworks, particularly those that support non-traditional marketing models, experiential platforms, and partnership-led growth.

• Representing the agency externally, participating in industry conversations, panels, press, and thought leadership opportunities that reinforce 160over90’s position as a leader in culture-driven strategy.

• Acting as a key representative of the Strategy team and leader across the agency at large; providing a senior point of escalation ­and demonstrating an ability to solve complex challenges with limited oversight.

• Serving as a senior in-office presence in Los Angeles–working closely with the heads of Account, Creative and Operations in Beverly Hills to foster a culture that reflects our values across departments, mentor talent, and contribute to the overall success of the agency.

• Helping define the future of the Strategy discipline within 160over90, identifying emerging opportunities, evolving team capabilities, and developing ways to improve our product, people, processes and performance to the benefit of the agency.

Skills and Experience:

Whether you’re a loud force of nature or a quiet powerhouse, you must bring confidence and perspective to all you do.

• 10+ years of strategy experience at creative agencies and/or specialist agencies (experiential/pr/digital, partnerships etc.) or brand-side or maybe both!

• 4+ years of senior leadership experience over a wide portfolio of diverse clients across a global network.

• Substantial experience developing creative strategies for a range of brand applications & categories.

• Exceptional presenter and storyteller, with a strong ability to craft and develop compelling materials.

• Vast experience across traditional strategy frameworks; ability to roll up sleeves and do, not just direct.

• Comfort and confidence in presenting work and selling "the thinking” to C-suite audiences.

• Proven experience in leading a team and in developing, supporting and nurturing junior staff.

• Ability to thrive in a large, complex (and atypical) organization, managing diverse stakeholders and building stronger relationships and deeper connections within the WME Group network.

• Entrepreneurial nature; ability to proactively adapt ways of working within an evolving agency model

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to develop a clear, compelling POV that sells strategy (internally and externally).

• The soft skills of strategy: emotional intelligence, curiosity, empathy, and collaboration.

• A strong portfolio of breakthrough strategies that cross categories and drive results. Experience as both a maker of great work and an instigator of it.

• A proven track record for winning business, building business outward and elevating the profile and profitability of the strategy department within an agency and/or client account.

• Extensive experience with a variety of research tools and methodologies, with a proven ability to direct, expand, and drive sell-through of research capabilities

• As for your qualifications, we care more about you and your work than your school.

Who We Are:
WME Group is at the center of sports, media, entertainment, and fashion and is a largely relationship-based business. To foster an environment of collaboration, develop our future talent, and build on relationships across leadership, peers, and teams, we work from the office 4 days per week. We see immeasurable value internally and throughout the core of the businesses we support.

Don’t meet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the hourly rate shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience. The company strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the hourly rate shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience. The company strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Hiring Rate Minimum:

$150,000 annually (minimum will not fall below the applicable state/local minimum salary thresholds)

Hiring Rate Maximum:

$200,000 annually