How much does a head of strategy make?

A head of strategy makes an average salary of $180,000 in a year. However, this can range from $100,000 to over $400,000 in a year. Highly experienced heads of strategy should expect to earn over $200,000 a year, with the top ten percent earning over $400,000 in a year. Meanwhile, new heads of strategy should anticipate lower salaries that might range from $100,000 to $150,000 a year.

How much does a strategy director make?

The strategy director makes an average salary of $140,000 in a year. However, this can range from $85,000 to over $300,000 in a year. Highly experienced strategy directors should expect to earn over $200,000 a year, with the top ten percent earning over $300,000 in a year. Meanwhile, new strategy directors should anticipate lower salaries that might range from $80,000 to $100,000 a year.

What is a director of strategy and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted expert

Harlan Spotts Ph.D.

A director of strategy is an individual who leads the development and implementation of a company's long-term goals and objectives. They work closely with senior executives to analyze market trends and identify opportunities for growth.They collaborate with various departments to ensure alignment with the company's vision and mission. As a key member of the leadership team, a director of strategy plays a vital role in shaping a company's future direction and success.

What's a day at work look like for a director of strategy?

Harlan Spotts Ph.D.

Professor of Marketing, Western New England University

We have been talking about post-pandemic work, and the key word is going to be flexibility. Flexibility with work environment, could be in the office, could be at home, could be at Starbucks. The concept of "going" to work has changed. So, I see every day and week potentially being different. Companies are seeing how much can be done via web conferencing, so you will see less business travel (not a good thing for the airlines). There will still be some, but less than before. The pandemic as accelerated technology adoption and use across industries, perhaps by 5 years. students will we working in different environments, and across time zones. They did this before, but it will be even more common.

ScoreDirector Of StrategyUS Average

Salary

8.8

Avg. Salary $145,870

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 33.85%

male 66.15%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a director of strategy?

Pros

High-level strategic thinking and decision making
Opportunity to shape the direction of the company
Competitive salary and benefits
Potential for career growth and advancement
Opportunities for networking and building relationships

Cons

High stress and long hours
Pressure to deliver results and meet targets
Difficult decision making and trade-offs
Balancing short-term goals with long-term vision can be challenging
Dealing with resistance to change from stakeholders or employees

Key steps to become a director of strategy

Explore director of strategy education requirements

Most common director of strategy degrees

Bachelor's

67.7 %

Master's

26.9 %

Doctorate

2.0 %

Start to develop specific director of strategy skills

Skills	Percentages
Analytics	9.06%
Healthcare	7.57%
Project Management	7.54%
Business Development	4.68%
Client Facing	4.36%

Complete relevant director of strategy training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of strategy learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of strategy based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of strategy resumes.

Research director of strategy duties and responsibilities

Manage RFP and RFI processes.
Lead the re-engineering of the overall DTC marketing process.
Lead SaaS business divesture negotiations, system and customer transition.
Plan, develop, lead and manage Medicare programs and medicare-relate studies.

Get director of strategy experience

Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become a director of strategy. The most common roles before becoming a director of strategy include director, manager team lead and senior manager.

Prepare your director of strategy resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of strategy resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of strategy resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable director of strategy resume templates

Build a professional director of strategy resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of strategy resume.

Apply for director of strategy jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a director of strategy job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do directors of strategy rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Director of strategy reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2022

Cons

I am responsible for everything be it any side of the business

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

I love content and marketing overall. As a former journalist turned marketer, I love connecting with audiences and catering to what their interests may be, whether they know it or not yet. As a content director, I get involved in various departments like business development, finance, presidental level and others. Normally, most expect to only be involved in marketing efforts, but that simply isn't true.