Brand Strategist (Contract)

Location: St. Louis, Missouri (Remote within the U.S. accepted)

Start Date: Flexible, ideally late August or early September

Duration: 6 months, with potential to extend

Weekly Commitment: ~20+ hours/week, with flexibility

Availability: Must be available for core collaboration hours (9–5 CST) for check-ins and workshops

Compensation: $60-80/hour based on experience

Paradowski Creative is seeking an experienced, contractBrand Strategist to help shape the future of our clients’ brands across positioning, messaging, digital platforms, and integrated campaigns.

We’re looking for someone who brings a balance of rigor and imagination — someone who’s equal parts analytical and creative. A strategist who can dig into complex business challenges, audience behaviors, and cultural context, then translate those findings into compelling, actionable strategies that inspire teams and drive real business growth.

This is a contract role that offers the opportunity to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams on high-impact work. You’ll confidently present your thinking to clients and stakeholders, building trust through clear insights, thoughtful storytelling, and culturally aware recommendations that move brands forward.

What You’ll Do

As a Brand Strategist at Paradowski, you’ll play a central role in defining strategic direction for brands across industries. You’ll collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to drive smart, human-centered work — and partner directly with clients to help move their businesses forward.

• Research consumer, brand, and cultural insights that lead to innovative or disruptive ideas
• Develop concise, inspiring creative briefs that guide the development of compelling communications
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative research, using tools and techniques to uncover key insights and opportunities
• Analyze industry drivers, competitive landscapes, and cultural trends to anticipate client challenges and identify areas for differentiation
• Advocate for the target audience/users throughout planning, ideation, execution, and evaluation — ensuring the work is grounded, relevant, and human
• Support the development of social strategy — aligning content, channel approach, and messaging with brand objectives and audience behavior across platforms
• Consult meaningfully with clients by deeply understanding their business dynamics, challenges, and goals
• Collaborate with writers, designers, and account leads to ensure creative ideas are cohesive, intentional, and built around real human connection
• Help shape brand positioning, messaging frameworks, and tone-of-voice guidelines
• Present your thinking clearly and confidently to both clients and internal teams, building trust through smart, culturally aware recommendations
• Contribute to post-launch evaluation and help refine strategy based on performance or feedback

Key Deliverables

As a Brand Strategist, you’ll be asked to contribute to a range of deliverables — from foundational brand strategy to tools that guide day-to-day execution. Depending on the client, the work, and the moment, your outputs may include:

• Brand discovery summary and insight decks
• Competitive landscape and positioning analysis
• Audience segmentation and persona development
• Brand architecture, messaging frameworks, and tone of voice guidelines
• Creative briefs for campaigns or platform work
• Presentation materials and strategy documentation

What You Bring

• 3–5+ years of experience in brand, content, social, or digital strategy (agency or consultancy background preferred)
• Strong understanding of B2B and/or B2C content marketing strategies and tactics, with the ability to pivot between them as needed
• Hands-on experience with qualitative and quantitative research — including interviewing, moderating, synthesizing insights, and analyzing data
• A solid grasp of the digital landscape, social media platforms, and emerging technologies
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills — you’re a confident storyteller who can simplify complexity and sell in big ideas
• Familiarity with branding frameworks, marketing funnels, and creative processes
• A strategic mindset grounded in curiosity — you're always asking why, who for, and what if
• Innate interest in marketing, brands, communications, and culture
• Comfort operating in a collaborative, fast-moving environment, across disciplines and with a variety of stakeholders

Working Hours & Expectations

• Estimated 20+ hours/week, with flexibility based on project demands
• Must be available for core collaboration hours (9–5 CT) for check-ins and workshops
• Strong communication and proactivity in managing deliverables and timelines
• Ability to adapt to evolving scopes and navigate ambiguity with confidence

Why Join Us?

This is more than a freelance assignment — it’s a chance to partner with a passionate, multidisciplinary team and contribute to work that matters. At Paradowski Creative, we build immersive brand experiences grounded in creative play. From branded gaming to playful social storytelling, we design interactions that spark curiosity, invite participation, and strengthen emotional bonds between people, brands, and each other.

We believe great marketing isn’t just data talking to data. It’s people connecting with people — through ideas that feel real, not manufactured. The work here invites curiosity, sparks joy, and builds emotional gravity. You’ll be empowered to bring your voice to the room, collaborate across disciplines, and make a tangible impact on the brands we help shape.

To Apply

Send your resume, a short note about your interest, and a portfolio or work samples (if available) to jobs@paradowski.com with the subject line: “Brand Strategist (Contract).”