Influencer Strategist - Associate Director

This role sits within Freuds' Social & Influence team – an award-winning specialist social media unit within Freud Communications. At Freuds, we combine the art of influence with the speed of social. We are looking for a senior leader who can bring together creative thinking, client service excellence, operational integration and commercial acumen to help shape the next chapter of our social offering.

The team exists to service clients across the agency through social strategy, campaign development, content planning, channel management, paid media, influencer marketing and creative activation. We partner with our earned teams across consumer, corporate, purpose-led, government and B2B briefs, helping brands and organisations navigate an increasingly social-first communications landscape.

As a Senior Influencer Strategist (Senior Account Director), you are responsible for setting the strategic direction for influencer and creator marketing across key Freuds clients, with a primary focus on the Danone portfolio. You are a senior strategic specialist, providing counselthat helps clients understand the evolving role of influence across comms, culture, brand building and commercial performance.

Your core responsibility is to develop and lead influencer strategies, frameworks, playbooks and planning tools that can be deployed across UK, European and global markets. You will work closely with client teams, social specialists, communications strategists and paid mediateams to ensure influencer activity is fully integrated into wider communications and marketing plans.

You will act as Freuds' specialist lead on influence within the modern communications ecosystem, helping clients navigate a landscape spanning creators, experts, stakeholders and emerging AI-driven discovery environments. You will be expected to continuously raise the quality of strategic thinking, industry knowledge and best practice across the agency.

Strategic Leadership

• Lead influencer strategy across Danone brands, including Evian, Aptamil, Actimel, Alpro, Skyr, Cow & Gate and future brands.
• Develop UK, European and global strategies, frameworks and activation models.
• Define the role of influencer marketing within communications programmes and brand objectives.
• Partner with teams to integrate influencer activity into broader communications planning.
• Create influencer playbooks, toolkits, planning frameworks and best-practice guidance.

Audience, Culture & Influence Planning

• Identify relevant influencer tribes, communities and networks using audience, culture and platform insight.
• Translate audience behaviour into clear influencer recommendations.
• Stay close to culture, platform shifts, creator behaviours and audience trends.

Influence Ecosystem Development

• Design influence ecosystems beyond traditional creator partnerships.
• Define the role of creators, experts, media, business leaders, employees and other credible voices.
• Show how different influence types build awareness, trust, credibility, consideration and advocacy.
• Connect earned, owned, paid and stakeholder communications into integrated influence models.

AI Search & Future Influence

• Advise how creators, experts and authoritative voices can grow visibility across social and AI-powered search.
• Identify formats, platforms and content approaches that improve discoverability and authority.
• Stay across emerging AI, platform and creator economy developments.

Measurement & Effectiveness

• Partner with data teams to build influencer measurement frameworks focused on business outcomes.
• Advise on metrics including reach, engagement, share of voice, sentiment, advocacy, brand lift and commercial impact.

Industry Leadership & Thought Leadership

• Maintain expert knowledge of the influencer, creator and social landscape.
• Stay informed on research and effectiveness studies from WARC, IPA, platform partners and industry bodies.
• Support agency thought leadership, new business and influencer strategy innovation.

Client Leadership

• Act as a senior strategic adviser to clients and internal teams.
• Present strategic recommendations confidently at global and local level.
• Build trusted relationships with senior marcomms and digital clients.
• Lead across integrated account teams and specialist disciplines.

Essential

• Proven experience developing influencer strategies, playbooks and frameworks for major consumer brands across multiple markets.
• Strong understanding of creator ecosystems, audience behaviour, platform and cultural trends.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders & disciplines in integrated agency environments.
• Excellent presentation, storytelling and client counselling skills.
  

Desirable

• Experience working on FMCG, healthcare, nutrition or consumer health brands.
• Experience operating across UK, European and global programmes.
• Familiarity with influencer technology platforms, social listening tools and measurement systems including Traackr and CreatorIQ.

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