Senior Client Associate Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

The Associate Director, Strategy is an elite strategic leader who independently runs senior-level strategy work across both client and business growth and ongoing delivery. They turn culture, data, and business challenge into strategy that earns attention and drives growth. As a strong day-to-day senior partner, they present and sell strategic thinking with confidence, and act as a cultural lead within the team, bringing fresh thinking on platforms, subcultures, creator behavior, and emerging consumer signals into every strategic recommendation.

This role owns the quality and delivery of major projects or workstreams within a larger account or business context, and remains hands-on across research, synthesis, briefing, planning, and deck development. The Associate Director mentors and may manage junior team members, helps guide key strategic decisions, drives constant innovation in our strategic approach, and contributes to the evolution of frameworks, ways of working, and team standards. They are a critical connector across COEs, ensuring strategy is sharp, on-brief, and driving measurable outcomes for our clients and our business.

What You'll Do Here:

Strategic Output & Ownership

• Independently lead senior-level strategy work end-to-end across client and business growth opportunities and ongoing account delivery.
• Turn qualitative and quantitative insights into clear, actionable recommendations that drive measurable outcomes for clients and the business.
• Own the quality and delivery of strategic work across major projects or workstreams within larger accounts or business contexts.
• Architect integrated, social-first strategies with fluency across Influencer, Community Management, Earned, Experiential, and Owned, with a clear POV on how each lever drives audience, business, and brand outcomes.
• Partner with clients to define the true nature of the business problem before solutioning, translating data-backed recommendations into clear direction that drives real creator performance.
• Define KPIs, measurement frameworks, and success metrics for strategic recommendations in alignment with Business Intelligence, and continuously adapt strategy based on performance and market shifts.
• Recommend strategic direction and help guide key decisions on assigned accounts, pitches, and workstreams.
• Drive constant strategic innovation by introducing new frameworks, tools, and points of view that elevate the team's output.

Client Partnership & Business Growth

• Serve as a strong day-to-day senior client partner, alongside client services, presenting and selling strategic thinking confidently to mid-senior and executive client stakeholders.
• Lead strategy across major RFPs, proposals, pitches, and existing client expansion opportunities.
• Identify and capitalize on client expansion opportunities through deep account intimacy and a clear view of client business challenges.
• Translate complex business challenges into innovative, social-first solutions that demonstrate clear client and commercial value.
• Partner with Sales, Client Service, Business Intelligence, and senior leadership to articulate Viral Nation's competitive advantages and shape compelling strategic narratives.

Team Development & Internal Operations

• Mentor junior strategists and support the development of strategic upleveling across the department.
• Manage direct reports as assigned, with accountability for performance, growth, coaching, and quality of output.
• Contribute to the evolution of ways of working, strategic frameworks, templates, and team standards.
• Support resourcing, capacity planning, and workflow management in partnership with department leadership and the PMO.
• Participate in recruitment, onboarding, and continuous learning initiatives that elevate team capability.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner cross-functionally with Creative, Talent, Accounts, Paid Media, Community, and Measurement to ensure strategic alignment across delivery.
• Lead and participate in internal strategy reviews and QA checkpoints, ensuring sharp, on-brief, on-strategy output before it reaches clients.
• Act as a connector and expert across Viral Nation's full suite of solutions, creating frameworks that enable productive collaboration across COEs.
• Contribute to Viral Nation's external strategic presence through thought leadership, POVs, and competitive intelligence shared across the organization and, selectively, with clients.

Success Measures:

• Strength and quality of strategic output and thinking.
• Consistent strategic innovation across assigned accounts, pitches, and workstreams.
• Ability to lead major assignments effectively and independently, end-to-end.
• Tangible contribution to client expansion, business growth, and delivery excellence.

You'll Need To Have:

• 8+ years of agency or in-house experience across social, creative, content, influencer/creator, business development, and/or strategy.
• Proven track record independently leading senior-level strategy work on Fortune 500 and enterprise brands.
• Extensive experience developing integrated, social-first strategies that drive both client and business growth.
• Strong track record leading RFPs, proposals, pitches, and client expansion plans end-to-end.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior talent and manage direct reports.
• Visionary mindset with the ability to turn thought-starters into fully integrated strategies, pitch decks, and campaigns.
• Experience interfacing and presenting to c-suite executives.
• Fluency in AI tooling, measurement platforms, and emerging social/creator tech, with a clear POV on how to apply them to elevate strategic output.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with strong senior client-facing presence.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple major workstreams simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for innovation.
• Experience working directly with brands and at agencies.
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or a related field.