How to hire a strategic planning director

How to hire a strategic planning director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step strategic planning director hiring guide:

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

What does a strategic planning director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your strategic planning director 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 strategic planning director 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

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   A strategic planning director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, strategic planning directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of strategic planning director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Strategic Planning Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Strategic Planning Director	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.	$45-102
   Business Development Manager	A business development manager's duties include identifying business opportunities, developing effective models and strategies to improve business performance, searching for potential clients to generate income and attract partnerships. A business development manager must have extensive knowledge of the market trends and adjust strategies as needed to meet the needs of the client... Show more	$32-72
   Marketing Manager	Marketing managers are experienced employees who oversee the marketing department of the organization. They manage activities such as marketing campaigns, social media postings, company branding, and other strategic marketing activities... Show more	$34-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Business Development
   • Financial Models
   • Financial Analysis
   • Executive Leadership
   • Strategic Priorities
   • Market Research
   • Data Analysis
   • Human Resources
   • Strategic Thinking
   • Corporate Strategy
   • CRM
   • Program Management
   • Strategic Direction

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage, implement, and assess key strategic initiatives with a focus on client relations and maximizing ROI.
   • Lead central team summarizing and prioritizing all DOD opportunities, enabling more efficient and effective resource allocation across several program departments.
   • Direct the identification and development of reporting and analytics packages measuring sales and marketing outcomes against state business goals and metrics.
   • Align budgets and resources with clients' business goals and demonstrate solid ROI for marketing dollars.
   • Develop and execute production plans initially in spreadsheets and convert to customize ERP software.
   • Train and mentore staff in proper utilization of current proprietary procurement system technologies and ERP systems development and implementation.

   More strategic planning director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your strategic planning director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A strategic planning director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a strategic planning director in Alabama may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level strategic planning director usually earns less than a senior-level strategic planning director. Additionally, a strategic planning director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average strategic planning director salary

   $142,172yearly

   $68.35 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level strategic planning director salary

   $94,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average strategic planning director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$158,770	$76
   2	Oregon	$157,203	$76
   3	New Jersey	$154,366	$74
   4	Connecticut	$143,499	$69
   5	Pennsylvania	$139,568	$67
   6	New York	$139,407	$67
   7	Arizona	$138,622	$67
   8	Massachusetts	$136,751	$66
   9	Colorado	$133,383	$64
   10	Maryland	$132,118	$64
   11	Ohio	$131,559	$63
   12	Michigan	$127,647	$61
   13	Illinois	$124,853	$60
   14	Florida	$123,113	$59
   15	Utah	$120,021	$58
   16	Missouri	$119,739	$58
   17	Georgia	$119,052	$57
   18	District of Columbia	$117,636	$57
   19	Texas	$116,998	$56
   20	Virginia	$116,049	$56

   Average strategic planning director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$212,234	$102.04	133
   2	Turo	$184,637	$88.77	3
   3	Bath & Body Works	$179,799	$86.44
   4	Nike	$174,254	$83.78	27
   5	BRP US Inc	$173,960	$83.63
   6	Cisco	$173,413	$83.37	24
   7	Walmart	$171,867	$82.63	203
   8	Forever 21	$170,582	$82.01
   9	Western Alliance Bank	$166,291	$79.95	7
   10	Sanofi US	$163,660	$78.68	66
   11	BNY Mellon	$163,258	$78.49	42
   12	Microsoft	$161,378	$77.59	73
   13	Draftfcb	$160,891	$77.35
   14	AbbVie	$160,567	$77.20	90
   15	Novartis	$159,975	$76.91	14
   16	WSFS Bank	$158,547	$76.22	2
   17	Teradata	$158,503	$76.20	50
   18	Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide Inc	$158,150	$76.03
   19	Allergan plc	$157,778	$75.85
   20	Turner Broadcasting	$157,738	$75.84

4. Writing a strategic planning director job description

   A strategic planning director 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 strategic planning director job description:

   Strategic planning director job description example

   Day to Day:
   1. Uncover compelling insights (with an emphasis on contextual insights). Search for new, fresh ideas, insights and observations that help to inspire creative thought. Be an instigator for change within the agency and with our clients. Inspire and guide the team to create excellent briefs.

   2. Lead research projects. Organize, design, and run qualitative research groups (especially as this relates to supporting context strategy). Actively get involved in the research projects, qualitative and quantitative.

   3. Support new business when time permits. Take an active role in helping to guide strategic thought on new business projects. Play a key role in new business pitch meetings. Help to assume Planning responsibilities, beyond that of the Client’s, for new business that is brought into the agency.

   4. Present and write brilliantly. Will present their thinking in internal meetings, client meetings and new business pitches. More than simply having good ideas, they will need to be able to persuade others of their thinking.

   5. Act as a strategic mentor. Needs to work collaboratively with other agency partners, including but not limited to other strategists, instilling strategic thinking across the team. More than working independently, it is the expectation that the Director, Strategic Planning will coach and mentor others through the strategic process.

   6. Foster trust, confidence, and respect from our clients. Partner with them to deepen our relationship and open the doors to more remarkable work.

   7. Partner within the agency and drive integration. It is critical for the Director, Strategic Planning to foster high level relationships within the agency to help create and see through the vision for our client’s brands and businesses. This needs to occur with Creative Directors, Media Directors, and Account Directors in all disciplines.

   8. Write successful business effectiveness award case studies. One of Team One’s corporate goals is to win business effectiveness awards alongside of creative awards.

   9. Growth mindset. Looking for someone who brings a confident level of experience, yet always open to learning and growing.

   Experience:

   • 8+ years’ experience working as a strategist and 2-3 years managing other strategists at an integrated agency
   • Financial experience required
   • Experience in sports partnerships preferred

   Education:

   • Bachelor’s degree strongly recommended
   • Graduate degree a plus

   Skills and Abilities:

   • Needs to be experienced with basic computing tools including Word, PowerPoint and Excel; Google Docs a plus
   • Needs to be hardworking, inspiring, entrepreneurial, articulate, analytical and interested in people and ideas
   • Strong writer and presenter
   • Fluent across qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
   • Charismatic leader and mentor
   • Willing to travel
   • Business savvy

   Additional Information
   
   

   All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find strategic planning directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any strategic planning directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level strategic planning directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your strategic planning director job on Zippia to find and attract quality strategic planning director candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting strategic planning directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 strategic planning director

   Once you've selected the best strategic planning director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   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 strategic planning director 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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