Vice President, Senior Strategic Planner

Vice President, Senior Strategic Planner, Advertising

Fenton is the social change agency taking on the world’s toughest challenges in human rights, social and economic justice, environment, education, and public health. With expertise in both earned and paid media, we are powered by the creativity and passion of 100 professionals working across the country, creating strategies for non-profit organizations, political advocacy groups, foundations, and social purpose companies to drive progressive social change.  

We are seeking a strategic, data-driven leader who thrives at the intersection of media, psychology, and social impact. If you’re passionate about using science-backed strategies and advertising to drive change, we’d love to hear from you.

About the Role
The Vice President, Senior Strategic Planner would lead the development of sophisticated, data-driven advertising and communications strategies that inspire action. This role requires a seasoned strategist with deep expertise in paid media, behavioral science, and psychographic analysis to drive audience engagement and campaign effectiveness. The ideal candidate will be a thought leader in the field, adept at leveraging insights from research, psychology, and media consumption patterns to shape compelling campaigns.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Develop high-impact, multi-channel communications and advertising strategies that integrate digital, social, programmatic, and traditional media to reach, persuade, and activate key audiences.
• Behavioral Science & Audience Insights: Leverage behavioral economics, psychographic analysis, and audience segmentation to craft nuanced messaging and targeting strategies.
• Advertising & Media Innovation: Oversee paid media planning and execution, ensuring alignment with broader communications goals while optimizing for performance, efficiency, and audience engagement.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Establish clear KPIs, lead campaign measurement efforts, and translate performance analytics into actionable optimizations.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner closely with creative, media, and research teams to ensure seamless execution and continuous refinement of messaging, targeting, and delivery strategies.
• Thought Leadership: Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies, and evolving media consumption habits to inform agency best practices and drive innovation in campaign execution.
• Client & Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as a strategic advisor to clients, presenting insights and recommendations that elevate campaign effectiveness and maximize impact.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in communications planning, media strategy, or advertising within an agency or consulting environment.
• Prior experience working on progressive social impact campaigns is preferred.
• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Behavioral Science, Psychology, Communications, Marketing, or a related field is preferred.
• Expertise in audience research methodologies, psychographic analysis, and behavioral science applications in media and advertising.
• Proven ability to lead complex, multi-million-dollar campaigns with measurable impact.
• Deep understanding of digital and social advertising platforms, including Meta, Google Ads, programmatic, and emerging channels.
• Exceptional analytical skills with experience using data visualization, A/B testing, and predictive modeling to inform strategy.
• Strong leadership, communication, and client management skills.

Fenton Offers

• A competitive salary against industry standards – commitment to pay equity practices – published salary bands across all levels
• Salary for Vice President  = $150,000 – $200,000
• Year-end discretionary bonus
• Access to the Fenton Learning Lab, the agency’s proprietary professional development portal.
• Comprehensive healthcare plans
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• 401K with employer match (50% up to 6% of salary)
• Profit sharing plan (2% of salary)
• Unlimited PTO for exempt staff and generous accrual policy for non-exempt staff
• 11 paid company holidays
• Discretionary company closing between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays
• Pre-tax commuter benefits via WageWorks
• Mobile Phone Reimbursement ($100/mth, non-taxable)
• We have adopted a hybrid remote/in-office worksite model. We require all employees to live within a 35-mile radius of any one of our four strategic hubs (New York, D.C, LA or SF). You have the option to work remotely from your home and will travel to Company meetings/events as needed, or you can work from any one of our shared workspaces.
• Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Fenton is an anti-racist and intersectional organization that prioritizes the needs of those who have been historically marginalized or oppressed. We do the work of creating positive social change as an act of repairing the harm done to those who have been and are currently disenfranchised across racial, gender, sexual orientation and preference, religious and other marginalized backgrounds. We are committed to doing work that is rooted in justice and equity and continuing to learn how to do this work better.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong commitment to the affirmative hiring of people of color, members of the LGBTQI+ community, people with disabilities and women. We strive to represent the diverse community reflected in our client work and believe that our firm’s continued success is driven by hiring and retaining high caliber staff from all backgrounds, experiences, identities, and orientations. We are committed to supporting our staff in growing their careers.