Director of Client Strategy

This role is for a seasoned marketer who thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution; someone who can read between the lines, uncover insights, craft smart marketing roadmaps, and guide both clients and internal teams to deliver exceptional work.

As Director of Client Strategy, you will lead brand and marketing strategy development for Kismet’s clients while also serving as the day-to-day client liaison on key accounts. You will lead our discovery process, translate findings into actionable marketing and media plans, manage budgets and timelines, and oversee implementation alongside our creative and account teams. This is a senior, hands-on role designed for someone who wants to lead both thinking and doing from day one.

Reports to: Partners

Position: Full-Time, In-Office

Location: Lexington, KY

Education / Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, advertising, or a related field.

Salary: Based on experience and skillset.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership

• Prepare and conduct client discovery sessions to define goals, audiences, and differentiators. Then translate those insights into comprehensive strategic documents and actionable marketing plans.
• Develop brand positioning, messaging frameworks, content strategies, and campaign roadmaps that align with client objectives.
• Provide strategic direction on media planning and channel strategy, including audience segmentation, platform selection, and budget allocation.
• Identify new ideas and growth opportunities for existing clients, continuously shaping innovative campaign concepts and fresh approaches to reach specified target audiences.
• Partner with the Creative Director and Art Director to translate strategic direction into campaign concepts, visual themes, and creative asset execution that connect across touchpoints.
• Present strategies and recommendations directly to clients and executive stakeholders with confidence and clarity.

Account Management & Implementation

• Serve as the primary point of contact for select accounts, ensuring strategic intent carries through every stage of execution.
• Meticulously manage multiple budgets, scopes, and timelines, while proactively communicating progress, challenges, and opportunities internally and externally.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with creative, content, and media partners to ensure all work aligns with the established strategy and measurable outcomes/KPIs.
• Monitor campaign performance and recommend optimizations to strengthen reach, engagement, and ROI.

Leadership & Growth

• Mentor junior staff, modeling strong strategic thinking, professional maturity, and proactive client service.
• Contribute to new business efforts by defining scope and helping shape proposals and presentations.
• Play an instrumental role in evolving Kismet’s strategic offering and discovery methodology as the agency continues to scale.
• Help build a team of emerging strategists and account leaders under your guidance over time.

NON-NEGOTIABLES:

• A bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, advertising, or a directly related field.
• A minimum of 10 years of agency experience in strategy, account management, or a related role.
• Proven experience developing and presenting comprehensive marketing and brand strategies; thinks in frameworks, connects dots across disciplines, and can build a strategy from the ground up.
• Strong understanding of modern marketing channels, including digital, content, and media strategy, and how they integrate to turn complex B2B challenges into actionable marketing plans.
• Working knowledge of creative concepting and design processes (bonus if you’re comfortable collaborating in Adobe Creative Suite, but not a requirement to execute creative).
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and leadership skills resulting in the ability to command a room and build trust with senior-level clients.

You might be a great fit if:

• You give a damn about the details.
• Your discovery output consistently leads to clear, actionable, and effective marketing plans.
• Clients view you as both their strategic advisor and executional partner.
• Campaigns are grounded in insight, well-coordinated, and visually cohesive.
• Kismet’s strategic process becomes more efficient, insightful, and results-driven under your leadership.
• Internal teams feel clear, aligned, and energized by your direction.
• You are confident, communicative, and open to both receiving and providing productive feedback.
• You show up fully, thrive on collaboration, respect others, and bring fresh ideas to the table.
• You find value in mentoring team members.
• You are truly passionate about marketing and its impact.
• You thrive in the world of B2B marketing and are passionate about making an impact at a small business.

While you’re probably awesome, this might NOT be for you if:

• You prefer to work remotely.
• You are not a dive-in, team-first, wear multiple hats type of person.
• You are a big picture thinker but miss the finer points.
• Managing multiple clients/projects at once overwhelms you.
• You need heavy oversight (our team values earned independence).
• You lack an inherent respect for deadlines.
• You don’t enjoy collaboration, feedback, or a fast-paced environment.
• You lead with ego or refuse to grow your skillset, perspective, or colleagues.

BENEFITS:

• A Minimum of 120 hours of paid time off per year
• In addition to PTO, Kismet Marketing observes the following nine (9) holidays. These holidays will be paid, and the office will be closed:

- New Year’s Day

- Martin Luther King Jr. Day

- Memorial Day

- Independence Day

- Labor Day

- Thanksgiving Day

- Day after Thanksgiving

- Christmas Eve

- Christmas Day

• Eight (8) hours per calendar year for personal appointments during the workday to encourage employee health and wellness
• Up to ten (10) hours per calendar year for self-guided volunteer opportunities
• A full day off to celebrate yourself on your birthday
• Paid parental leave
• Simple IRA match
• Anthem PPO Health insurance (Kismet pays half the monthly premium for the employee)
• Optional dental, vision, and short-term disability insurance
• Bi-weekly payroll
• Bonus opportunities

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply, please send a cover letter (including any connections to Kismet), resume, portfolio, and references to jhaney@kismet-marketing.com

ABOUT KISMET:

Definition of kismet: When you encounter something by chancethat seems like it was meant to be. Arhythmic and unavoidable fate that seems like it was always meant to be.

Founded in 2018, Kismet is a full-service professional services marketing firm. We don't like being put in boxes, but there are quite a few we like to play in. Marketing strategy, design, digital, copywriting, branding, websites, press, social strategy, print, videography, photography, media placement, and lead nurturing are a few of our favorites.

At its core, Kismet is a creative agency aligned with clients who value and are inspired by flexibility, progress, and purpose. With a low-ego approach, we view marketing as a team sport. We love being challenged by clients, and we love challenging back because that's where meaningful marketing lives.

Considering our entire portfolio, 60% of Kismet’s client work is B2B professional services firms, including architects, engineers, and construction companies. The entire Kismet bench understands this industry; how work is pursued, how they make money, their delicacy of “small world” relationships, the thrilling competitiveness, and their evolving need for talent at all levels.

We also know our client’s innate and necessary desire to differentiate. That’s why we intentionally keep 40% of our relationships tied to non-AEC folks. It makes us better at business, inspires our designs, challenges our creative process, and injects excitement into everything we do.

Our culture is a combination of like-minded people we call clients, partners, team members, and friends. With a close-knit internal team and a few incredibly astute strategic partners, we are small but mighty. We are also tirelessly selective and choose to work with people and organizations who respect and share the core values we fiercely protect. These include being:

• High performing
• Positive and solution-oriented
• Polite, yet honest
• Creative and inclusive
• Willing to push the right boundaries
• Quick to pivot when necessary
• Ethical at all times
• High empathy
• Gratefully motivated

It’s this common ground and mutual fixation on the goal that energizes us, cultivates our creative ideas, and keeps us coming back to do the work we love for people we respect.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $75,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $75,000 - $110,000