Creative Strategist
Mid-level Creative role at murad. El Segundo · full-time · $120,000–$130,000 base.
Growth Roles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build creative briefs from audience insight, brand ambition, and a distinct point of view
- Turn research, behavior, and cultural signals into creative and channel opportunities
- Work with creative and media partners to shape ideas, channel roles, and campaign cohesion
- Guide campaign structure across audiences, phases, messages, and key moments
- Run briefing, alignment, concepting, and client-prep sessions that move decisions forward
What you bring
- Have meaningful strategy experience, usually at least five years, with flexibility based on your ownership and the complexity of your work
- Use audience research tools to find useful insights and stay ready to learn emerging platforms
- Show a portfolio that includes creative briefs and the strategic reasoning behind the resulting work
- Translate between creative and media disciplines while presenting clearly and guiding clients toward decisions
- Bring strong cultural curiosity and a clear instinct for ideas that earn attention and relevance
Who this fits
You’ll suit a mid-level strategist role with a creative-led agency foundation or comparable experience, especially if you enjoy turning ambiguity into focused creative direction. The job is hybrid: you’ll work from Murad’s El Segundo headquarters on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, then remotely for the rest of the week unless business needs change that arrangement.
From the employer
Inspired by Dr. Murad’s lifelong commitment to science-backed wellness, we create products and experiences not only for healthier skin, but for happier lives. At Murad, we’re committed to conquering the global health epidemic of stress. “Stress less. Be imperfect. Live longer.”—Dr. Howard Murad, Founder
About the Role:
Murad is looking for a Creative Strategist who gets energized by the moment when a smart strategy turns into something real. Work people can actually feel in the world, notice in the moment, and carry with them after. You’re excited by the challenge of helping brands show up in the wild in ways that feel fresh and intentional: in culture, in communities, in feeds, in experiences, and in the unexpected places where brands can earn attention and build belief.
This is a Mid level role for a strategist with meaningful experience in a creative-led environment (typically 5+ years, with flexibility depending on the level of ownership you’ve held and the complexity of the work you’ve led). You bring a strong advertising agency foundation or equivalent experience, and you’re comfortable working day-to-day with creative teams and media teams to build ideas that are both inspiring and executable.
You’ll sit at the intersection of creative strategy, communications planning, and campaign planning, helping shape the big idea, sharpen the message, define channel roles, and keep the work coherent from first brief through launch.
This position is hybrid and will be based in our El Segundo, CA headquarters on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and work remotely for the rest of the workweek, unless business needs require otherwise.
Key Responsibilities:
- Write sharp, motivating creative briefs grounded in audience truth, brand ambition, and a clear point of view. Briefs that make teams want to drop what they’re doing and start making.
- Turn research, audience behavior, and cultural signals into insights that unlock distinctive creative directions and channel ideas.
- Partner closely with creative teams through concept development, reviews, and refinements, protecting the core idea while making it stronger, clearer, and more ownable.
- Develop communications thinking that clarifies who we’re talking to, what we’re saying, and what each channel needs to do to bring the story to life.
- Collaborate with media and channel partners to ensure the creative idea and communications approach are designed together (not handed off), with clear roles for touchpoints across the journey.
- Help shape campaign architecture, including audiences, phases, messaging progression, and moments, and ensure the work feels connected across channels.
- Lead and facilitate working sessions (briefing, alignment, concepting, client prep) that keep teams focused, inspired, and moving toward decisions.
Qualifications:
- Meaningful experience as a creative strategist, communications planner, brand strategist, or account planner (typically 5 years) with ownership of workstreams.
- Audience research tool experience to uncover actionable insights and stress-test ideas, along with a curiosity and willingness to learn and master new platforms as they emerge.
- A portfolio of work you’re proud of, especially creative briefs and the thinking that shaped the work (not just the final outputs).
- Comfort living in the messy middle: you can take ambiguity and turn it into a clear creative challenge with momentum behind it.
- A strong instinct for what makes ideas travel, how brands can earn attention, feel relevant, and show up with intention rather than noise.
- Experience partnering closely with creative and media teams, including the ability to translate between disciplines and keep work aligned as it moves from idea to execution.
- Strong storytelling and presentation skills: you can make strategy feel crisp, human, and compelling, and you can confidently lead clients to decisions.
- Curiosity and cultural appetite: you notice what’s changing in people’s lives and behavior, and you bring fresh references and inspiration into the work.
What We Offer:
- A target pay range of $120,000-$130,000 annually, depending on experience, plus annual bonus
- 401(K) with an Employer Match, plus a monthly home internet stipend
- Hybrid work environment – join our El Segundo office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Unlimited Paid Time Off, plus 17 holidays off per year
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental, & Vision insurance options, FSA, HSA, and Life & Accident Insurance
- Wellness & Support Resources including Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Legal Shield & ID Shield, Travel Assistance, Estate Guidance, Gym and Meditation programs, and more
- Pet Insurance
- Professional Development Resources
- Access to Murad products at-cost & employee gifts, as well as the larger Unilever Prestige Discount Marketplace (including Hourglass, Living Proof, Dermalogica, K18, Paula’s Choice, & Tatcha)
Don’t meet every single requirement? We encourage you to apply! Studies show that women, non-binary applicants, and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. However, our diverse backgrounds, perspectives, identities, and talents drive Murad’s innovative legacy.
EEO Statement: Murad is an equal opportunity employer and will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with the L.A. Fair Chance Initiative Ordinance.