Description
We are seeking a Temporary Context Director to join our team in Brooklyn, New York. This role is based in Brooklyn with four days in-office and one day remote.
As a Temporary Context Director, you will lead integrated communications and cultural strategy across all McDonald's AACM workstreams, translating business objectives into full-funnel channel architecture and campaign systems. You will own annual and campaign-level StratPack deliverables, ensuring outputs directly inform media, creative, and investment decisions.
Key responsibilities include:
- Direct media strategy inputs in partnership with MIAT and Publicis teams, shaping channel mix, audience strategy, well-rationalized media partner recommendations, custom partnership evaluation, and Investment Briefing recommendations
- Lead Custom Partnerships strategy and oversight, from RFI/RFP development through execution, ensuring cultural credibility and measurable business impact
- Pressure-test creative concepts, talent casting, and campaign rollouts through a culturally fluent lens rooted in African-American consumer insight
- Provide ongoing audience intelligence and marketplace POV to inform Always-On brand stewardship and long-term planning
- Maintain senior-level client relationships, influencing cross-agency alignment and strengthening Translation's credibility as a media-fluent strategic partner
Requirements include:
- Advanced integrated communications planning across paid, owned, earned, experiential, and custom partnerships
- Strong command of audience strategy, channel role definition, and reach/frequency implications
- Ability to translate cultural research and data into clear, commercially grounded recommendations
- Deep fluency in African-American consumer dynamics, subcultures, and media behaviors
- Expertise evaluating media partners and partnerships using audience fit, indexing, and performance signals
- Executive-level presentation and stakeholder management skills
- Operational discipline within complex, matrixed, multi-agency systems
Minimum qualifications include 7+ years of experience in communications planning, connections planning, integrated media strategy, or cultural strategy within an agency or brand environment.
Preferred qualifications include experience working on QSR and/or large-scale retail brands, experience within complex Integrated Agency Team (IAT) ecosystems, direct involvement in Investment Briefings, RFI/RFP development, and custom partnership negotiations, experience mentoring, coaching, and developing mid-to-senior planners, and deep organizational and operational skills adapted to high-paced workflows.