Strategy & Performance Lead

The strategy & performance lead is a senior position responsible for connecting business strategy, brand strategy, marketing strategy and performance measurement into one cohesive approach that drives measurable business growth. We're looking for a strategic, curious and results-driven leader who thrives at helping organizations answer the question, "What does success actually look like?" before determining how to achieve it, a marketing leader who doesn't just build great strategy but makes it happen and knows how to translate it across the business.

The strategy & performance lead serves as the connective tissue across our agency, bringing together strategy, creative, technology, commerce, media, social, PR and account service into a unified direction. They are responsible for ensuring that recommendations are rooted in audience insight, initiatives have objectives and reports demonstrate business impact.

This leader is known for creating clarity in complex environments, connecting data with decision-making and helping clients confidently invest in marketing that drives growth. They build trusted relationships with client teams while guiding internal teams and seeking alignment.

This person must be located in the Kansas City or Columbia, MO, area.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Business & Marketing Strategy Leadership

• Translates business objectives into measurable marketing outcomes to help define what success looks like
• Lead and collaborate on the development of integrated marketing strategies
• Bring together research, analytics, market intelligence and audience insights to shape strategic direction
• Help internal teams prioritize strategies, tactics and initiatives that create the greatest business impact
• Support business development efforts through strategic consultation and proposal development.

Audience Strategy & Customer Insight

• Help cross-functional teams develop a deeper understanding of priority audiences beyond demographics
• Guide targeting and customer journey strategies that improve marketing effectiveness
• Ensure audience insights influence every phase of planning and execution
• Lead the planning, execution and analysis of primary research studies, leveraging research platforms to uncover audience insights
• Manage relationships with third-party research partners, overseeing the execution of qualitative and quantitative research studies.

Performance Strategy & Measurement

• Define and own measurement frameworks that connect marketing performance to business outcomes
• Define KPIs that matter rather than simply reporting marketing metrics
• Lead the development of reports for CEOs, CMOs and senior leadership teams
• Foster a culture where performance measurement fuels creativity, informs decision-making and drives continuous improvement
• Lead cross-functional teams through performance reports, uncover insights and shape future recommendations
• Oversee the integrity of marketing data, ensuring analytics platforms (including GA4) and reporting tools are properly implemented, maintained and accurately tracking performance
• Analyze and synthesize data from multiple channels and platforms to uncover opportunities and guide strategic decision-making.

Cross-Functional Strategy Leadership

• Serve as the strategic lead on key clients, partnering closely with account service peers
• Collaborate with creative, technology, commerce, media, social, PR and account service teams throughout planning and execution
• Lead strategic workshops, annual planning sessions, strategic marketing plan development and executive presentations.

Team Development

• Build, mentor and develop high-performing strategists and performance marketers
• Establish scalable strategic planning frameworks that improve consistency across the agency
• Coach teams on connecting insights and business strategy into actionable recommendations
• Elevate strategic thinking throughout the agency by encouraging curiosity, collaboration and continuous learning.

Supervisor Expectations:

• Expectation setting, including working with your direct report on new staff orientation, training and work assignment
• Departmental responsibilities, including working with your direct report on policy enforcements, OOO requests and adhering to hiring criteria
• Regular communication, including one-on-ones, conflict resolution, philosophy guidance and ongoing coaching and mentoring
• Employee enrichment, including working with your direct report on goal setting, timely performance reviews and ongoing feedback.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Demonstrated success developing marketing strategies that produce measurable business outcomes
• Ability to connect analytics, customer insights and channel execution into actionable recommendations
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills
• Experience leading cross-functional teams
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and build trusted relationships.
• Working knowledge of analytics platforms including GA4
• Strong strategic planning, facilitation and problem-solving skills
• Ability to simplify complexity and create clarity across organizations
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for continuous improvement
• Naturally curious and always seeking to understand the "why" behind business challenges.

Leader Behaviors:

• Open-minded and active listener
• Continually grows people and business
• Truthful and transparent
• Decisive and accountable
• Forward-thinking
• Proactive and communicates in a positive manner

Education/Experience/Certification(s):

• 8 years of relevant experience in marketing strategy, business strategy, performance marketing or integrated marketing leadership
• Agency experience is strongly preferred
• Experience in leading a cross-functional team
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business or a related field.

Woodruff’s Perks That Support Growth and Flexibility:

We offer a range of benefits designed to support your work-life balance and empower you to stay creative, curious and courageous:

• Flexible work setup — choose hybrid work, or join us in our Kansas City or Columbia, MO, offices
• "Freedom Fridays" — no meetings on Friday mornings/Friday afternoons to use as you see fit
• Diverse, meaningful work — contribute to projects across a wide range of industries
• Collaborative, growth-focused culture — work with a supportive team that helps you build new skills
• And more — from wellness support to peer recognition, we value and invest in our people.