How to hire a senior strategist

How to hire a senior strategist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior strategist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior strategist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior strategist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior strategist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your senior strategist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a senior strategist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a senior strategist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a senior strategist that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of senior strategists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Senior Strategist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Strategist	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$33-74
   Product Manager	A product manager is responsible for ensuring product development, providing the best marketing strategies, and effectively handling the sales and marketing team. Product managers' duties include monitoring the market trends and conditions, identifying business opportunities and plan initiatives, and collaborating the product launch process with the appropriate departments... Show more	$38-73
   Head Of Business Development	A head of business development is responsible for monitoring the company's overall business operations and client transactions. Heads of business development coordinate with clients for their requirements and specifications and develop the team to handle the project management operations... Show more	$45-91

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Client Facing
   • PowerPoint
   • Project Management
   • Client Relationships
   • Integrated Marketing
   • Business Objectives
   • User Experience
   • Business Development
   • Visualization
   • CRM
   • KPIs
   • Data Analysis
   • SEO

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage a team of three analysts to successfully execute on clients' Facebook marketing goals.
   • Create brand messaging, managing marketing media agency to launch company's first paid social PPC efforts.
   • Manage all top line donation form fundraising strategy including design, copy, naming conventions, redirects and A/B testing.
   • Assist with the implementation of CRM system.
   • Copy editing and optimization of content for search / SEO.
   • Create new SEM offerings including development, performance of and training others in SEO.

   More senior strategist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior strategist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior strategist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, senior strategists' average salary in hawaii is 46% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior strategists earn 55% less than senior-level senior strategists.
   • Certifications. A senior strategist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a senior strategist's salary.

   Average senior strategist salary

   $104,996yearly

   $50.48 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior strategist salary

   $70,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average senior strategist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$125,286	$60
   2	New Jersey	$125,248	$60
   3	Pennsylvania	$124,923	$60
   4	California	$119,348	$57
   5	New York	$112,119	$54
   6	Virginia	$107,689	$52
   7	Massachusetts	$106,956	$51
   8	Rhode Island	$106,595	$51
   9	Connecticut	$106,065	$51
   10	Minnesota	$105,665	$51
   11	Maryland	$103,322	$50
   12	Michigan	$99,996	$48
   13	District of Columbia	$99,616	$48
   14	Nevada	$98,834	$48
   15	North Carolina	$98,390	$47
   16	Colorado	$97,343	$47
   17	Ohio	$95,515	$46
   18	Illinois	$95,355	$46
   19	Arizona	$95,072	$46
   20	Texas	$95,034	$46

   Average senior strategist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	BP America Inc	$143,913	$69.19
   2	Google	$133,713	$64.29	49
   3	Moody's	$132,712	$63.80	1
   4	Vista Equity Partners	$128,450	$61.75	3
   5	Apple	$128,310	$61.69	11
   6	Northern Trust	$128,057	$61.57	3
   7	Microsoft	$125,166	$60.18	56
   8	Citrix	$122,625	$58.95
   9	Intel	$122,622	$58.95	1
   10	Silicon Valley Bank	$122,032	$58.67
   11	Workday	$121,733	$58.53	2
   12	Edelman Financial Engines	$121,256	$58.30
   13	BNY Mellon	$120,682	$58.02	11
   14	St. Joseph Healthcare	$119,917	$57.65
   15	Parsons	$119,883	$57.64	4
   16	The New York Times Company	$119,629	$57.51	2
   17	Bloomberg	$119,234	$57.32	1
   18	St. Joseph's Health	$117,799	$56.63
   19	Stifel Financial	$117,393	$56.44	2
   20	Cisco	$115,972	$55.76	100

4. Writing a senior strategist job description

   A senior strategist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a senior strategist job description:

   Senior strategist job description example

   The Rock Family of Companies is made up of nearly 100 separate businesses spanning fintech, sports, entertainment, real estate, startups and more. We're united by our culture - a drive to find a better way that fuels our commitment to our clients, our community and our team members. We believe in and build inclusive workplaces, where every voice is heard and diverse perspectives are welcomed. Working for a company in the Family is about more than just a job - it's about having the opportunity to become the best version of yourself.
   
   Rocket Mortgage, backed by Rocket Companies , means more opportunities for you to carve your own career path forward. From our desire to revolutionize the way people get mortgages to addressing challenges big or small with outside-the-box solutions, we're not your typical employer. We'll provide you with everything you need to make sure you're successful here. Apply today to join a team that offers career growth, amazing benefits and the chance to work with leading industry professionals.
   Minimum Qualifications
   3 years of experience in business, finance or analytics Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, a related field or equivalent experience Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   5 years of experience in business, finance or analytics Knowledge of SQL Python, R, and Power BI programming
   
   Job Summary
   As a Senior Pricing Strategist, you'll review pricing data to determine best strategies to enhance profitability and market share.
   
   Responsibilities
   Create and provide visibility around existing pricing strategies to senior leadership Propose and drive new initiatives aimed at maximizing revenue Recognize marketplace dynamics, internal processes and how sales convey pricing to clients to better build pricing structures Make informed decisions around what leads, channels and segments of our business will drive our pricing strategy by utilizing profit and loss information Help provide direction to the strategist team to drive teamwide initiatives to completion
   
   Benefits and Perks
   Our team members fuel our strategy, innovation and growth, so we ensure the health and well-being of not just you, but your family, too! We go above and beyond to give you the support you need on an individual level and offer all sorts of ways to help you live your best life. We are proud to offer eligible team members perks and health benefits that will help you have peace of mind. Simply put: We've got your back. Check out our full list of Benefits and Perks.
   
   Who We Are
   Rocket Companies is a Detroit-based company made up of businesses that provide simple, fast and trusted digital solutions for complex transactions. The name comes from our flagship business, now known as Rocket Mortgage , which was founded in 1985. Today, we're a publicly traded company involved in many different industries, including mortgages, fintech, real estate, automotive and more. We're insistently different in how we look at the world and are committed to an inclusive workplace where every voice is heard. We're passionate about the work we do, and it shows. We've been ranked #1 for Fortune's Best Large Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance List in 2022, named #5 on People Magazine's Companies That Care List in 2022 and recognized as #7 on Fortune's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2022.
   
   Disclaimer
   This is an outline of the primary responsibilities of this position. As with everything in life, things change. The tasks and responsibilities can be changed, added to, removed, amended, deleted and modified at any time by the leadership group.
   
   We are proud equal opportunity employers and committed to providing an inclusive environment based on mutual respect for all candidates and team members. Employment decisions, including hiring decisions, are not based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. We also provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with state and federal law.
   
   The Company is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, and does not discriminate in any hiring or employment practices. The Company provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with state and federal law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation in completing the application and/or participating in the employment application process should notify a representative of the Human Resources Team, The Pulse, at 1-800-411-JOBS.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right senior strategist for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior strategist job on Zippia to find and recruit senior strategist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with senior strategist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior strategist

   Once you've found the senior strategist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new senior strategist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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