Strategic Planner 4

Aquent is partnering with a global leader dedicated to shaping the future of youth engagement and driving significant impact within their industry. This is a unique opportunity to join a team that is at the forefront of strategic innovation, where your expertise will directly influence critical business decisions and long-term growth trajectories. You will play a pivotal role in translating powerful insights into actionable strategies, fostering sustainable growth, and empowering future generations.

About the Role

We are seeking a visionary leader to join our client's Strategy team, focusing on their vital Youth Business. This pivotal role offers the chance to profoundly influence the direction of one of the company's most important and visible dimensions. You will serve as a trusted thought partner to senior leaders, guiding them through complex strategic challenges and identifying groundbreaking opportunities for growth. If you thrive in dynamic environments, possess a powerful blend of analytical rigor, business acumen, and exceptional communication skills, and are driven by the opportunity to shape the future, this role is for you. You will independently lead cross-functional teams and strategic initiatives, making a tangible impact on consumer, marketplace, and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic planning process, developing robust recommendations and serving as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on critical business opportunities and challenges.
• Direct and execute comprehensive analysis and due diligence for new growth opportunities, translating complex findings into clear, actionable strategies.
• Spearhead strategic project workstreams, applying sound hypotheses and rigorous frameworks to generate profound insights that extend beyond mere analytics.
• Catalyze the execution of actionable plans through close collaboration with senior leaders and their functional teams.
• Align and guide teams through intricate organizational structures, providing essential project management support for cross-functional initiatives, including coordinating process milestones and deliverables.
• Collaborate with diverse cross-functional teams across the business to prepare comprehensive business reviews, scorecards, and materials for strategic workshops.
• Drive integrated actions that ensure success within the Youth segment and empower adults, fostering sustainable growth.
• Partner with leaders to address complex strategic questions, mobilize cross-functional teams around shared priorities, and translate long-term visions into actionable plans that accelerate business and organizational impact.
• Identify and shape the next wave of growth opportunities for the Youth segment through long-range planning and strategic exploration.
• Develop innovative frameworks, insights, and recommendations that empower leaders to evaluate emerging trends, unlock new growth vectors, and make informed investment decisions.
• Measure progress against strategic priorities, ensuring resources are focused on the highest-impact opportunities.
• Diagnose performance, identify key learnings, develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and communicate clear recommendations to strengthen decision-making, improve execution, and drive continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Economics, Applied Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of experience in strategic planning or consulting, with a minimum of 5+ years in corporate strategy, management consulting, investment banking, corporate finance, business operations, business development, corporate development, or a related field.
• Strategy-specific experience within the apparel or consumer goods industry.
• Proven experience navigating complex cross-functional organizations, collaborating effectively with finance, insights, planning, merchandising, product, brand, marketplace, and other related teams.
• Expertise in Keynote or other presentation tools for creating compelling executive-level presentations and engaging decks.
• Experience in leading sophisticated strategic projects and a proven track record of methodically analyzing problems, gathering information, generating options, and proposing and acting on a course of action.
• Demonstrated success in influencing cross-functional teams and stakeholders without direct authority.
• Consistent track record of bringing together diverse individuals with different goals and facilitating productive discussions.
• Strong understanding of growth strategy, business performance, and value creation within consumer-facing industries.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to create structure from ambiguity and synthesize large amounts of information into actionable insights.
• Outstanding communication and written/verbal storytelling capabilities, with the ability to simplify complexity and influence executive audiences.
• A bias towards action, comfort working in ambiguity, and the ability to navigate complexity and adversity effectively.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational pragmatism and an execution-focused mindset.
• Strong interpersonal skills with a track record of building trust and credibility across diverse teams and leadership levels.
• Curiosity, demonstrated learning agility, and a growth mindset.
• Proficiency in business development, quantitative, and qualitative acumen.
• Expertise in strategic planning and project management within a cross-functional, global matrix environment.
• Strong skills in data/market analysis and financial modeling.

What Will Set You Apart

• Master's degree preferred.
• Experience leading and managing multiple workstreams, effectively driving work processes.
• Strong prioritization abilities and the capacity to quickly adapt and contribute with a short ramp-up period.
• Previous industry experience is a plus.
• Passion for consumers and products.

About Aquent Talent

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits!

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.