Ascend Strategic Marketing Consultant (12-Month Fixed Term Contract)

Who we are

We’re The Kite Factory; the independent media agency built on Values and Velocity.

Our values set the direction. Velocity drives the momentum. Together, they shape how we think, how we work, and how we help ambitious brands grow in a world that rarely stands still.

Everything we do is built around one belief: the best media ideas are the ones that deliver measurable growth. That’s why we combine strategic thinking, creative ambition, and commercial accountability to create Ideas That Deliver - media solutions grounded in insight, executed with precision, and measured by real-world impact. From commercial challengers to leading purpose led organisations, we partner with brands including WaterAid, White Claw, British Red Cross, Lovehoney, MedExpress, Friends of the Earth and M&G Wealth.

Today, we have specialists across strategy, planning, activation, data, analytics, and creative thinking - united by curiosity, collaboration, and a shared ambition to deliver work that makes a measurable difference.

We’ve grown quickly because we’ve stayed true to what makes us different: independent thinking, deep client partnership, and a culture that empowers people to move with clarity, confidence, creativity, and momentum.

People love working here, and it shows. We’re proud to be recognised as a Campaign Best Place to Work and a Sunday Times Best Place to Work, creating a culture where individuality is valued, progress matters more than perfection, and talented people are trusted to do their best work.

About Ascend

Ascend is The Kite Factory’s dedicated growth consultancy – formed from 20 years of listening to client growth challenges and powered by a team with deep experience driving impact at senior levels within complex organisations.

Ascend addresses Marketing challenges beyond the media brief that unlock growth – both for existing TKF media clients – and Ascend-only clients.

We help organisations reach higher by providing the headspace, insight, skills and models of working that unlock sustainable competitive advantage.

The Opportunity

With demand for Ascend significantly growing across multiple sectors, we are looking for a strategic, curious and highly collaborative strategic marketing consultant to join the team on a 12-month basis.

This is a hands-on consulting role focused on delivering live client projects. You will lead research and insight work, help shape clear strategies, and work with clients to turn those strategies into practical plans and ways of working.

This role will work directly with senior clients and TKF leaders across; Planning, Media Channel specialist teams, Insight, Strategy, Data and Analytics to diagnose challenges, shape growth strategies, facilitate organisational change, and support leadership teams to embed new ways of working.

Typical Ascend project types include, but are not limited to, audience segmentation, brand & income strategies and marketing & communications integration projects.

We are looking for someone with the ability to lead these projects with senior oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Insight & Diagnosis
• Lead initial Discovery work (understand the challenges, find the truths) across client engagements (interviews, desk research, data insight).
• Distil insight into clear problem definitions, opportunities and strategic hypotheses.
• Lead audience, product and organisational diagnostics across Insight, Change and Innovation workstreams.
• Collaborate with research partners and TKF Insight and Data & Analytics to interpret findings and shape strategic implications.
• Strategy Development
• Lead on the development of growth strategies, brand and fundraising strategies, audience and product strategies, and innovation roadmaps.
• Deliver strategic recommendations grounded in insight, organisational context and market dynamics.
• Work alongside Senior Client Collaborators to translate insight into clear, actionable pathways.
• Organisational Change & Integration
• Lead C-suite–level integration projects and organisational change programmes.
• Co-create / design or refine models of working, governance approaches, cross-functional processes and communications frameworks.
• Facilitate workshops (co-creation, integration, innovation, prioritisation).
• New Business – Pipeline & Pitching
• Build the Ascend new business pipeline by proactively leveraging your own networks, sector knowledge (experience in the not for profit, financial services or travel sectors is desirable), and external relationships to identify and open new consultancy opportunities. Expected to generate 1–2 new opportunities through network during the contract
• Convert opportunities through compelling pitch responses, crafting insightful, concise, and engaging proposal materials grounded in Ascend’s ethos and capabilities.
• Actively contribute to Strategic Marketing elements of pitch processes, including narrative development, slide creation, solution design, and participating in pitch meetings where appropriate.
• Work closely with TKF’s New Business & Marketing team to maintain visibility of pipeline, support wider agency pitches where Ascend adds value, and ensure all opportunities are tracked and progressed.
• Client Partnership
• Develop strong, trusted relationships with Client Collaborators
• Bring pace, positivity and rigour to project delivery.

What You Will Bring

You will typically produce:

Insight summaries and clear problem definitions

Strategic decks (e.g. growth strategy, Marketing strategy)

Workshop plans and outputs

Practical recommendations (e.g. audience frameworks, campaign approaches, ways of working)

Skills & Experience

This role suits someone with at least 7-10 years’ experience, comfortable leading parts of projects independently, while working with senior support on the most complex or senior client interactions.

Experience in consultancy, strategy, fundraising/marketing strategy, organisational development, planning or insight roles (spanning agency or client side), with a track record of driving real change and impact across sectors

Expert in synthesising complex qualitative and quantitative inputs into clear, actionable strategic insight that shapes business and growth decisions

Comfortable switching between strategic leadership and hands-on delivery, including working directly with key data tools such as TGI, YouGov and IPA TouchPoints

Comfortable working in ambiguity, defining challenges and shaping solutions.

Strong communicator with excellent storytelling and presentation skills.

Proven Experience facilitating workshops or co-creation sessions that align teams and unlock shared direction

Expert in connecting media with creative, audience and data to deliver joined-up advertising systems

Mindset & Approach

You embody Ascend’s ethos:

Approach challenges with empathy

Bring your skillsets and respect others

Listen, distil and collaborate

Work beyond the brief to unlock organisational growth

You are someone who:

Is intellectually curious and energised by complex challenges.

Enjoys working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams.

Can balance big-picture thinking with practical delivery.

Thrives in fast-paced environments with multiple workstreams.

Is motivated by helping organisations achieve meaningful impact.

What Success Look Like

In this role, success looks like:

Projects delivered on time with clear, actionable outputs

Clients understanding their key challenges and next steps

Workshops that lead to decisions and real change being implemented, not just discussion

Positive feedback from clients and internal teams

What We Can Offer You

Opportunity to work across high-profile brands

Exposure to senior leaders across strategy, insight, analytics

A purpose-driven consultancy environment where your thinking genuinely shapes client outcomes.

Support from The Kite Factory’s wider media, creative, data and planning teams.

A collaborative culture that values curiosity, courage and kindness.

Our Culture

We’re immensely proud of the vibrant culture at The Kite Factory. Our commitment to continuous improvement is reflected in our quarterly pulse surveys, which create a valuable feedback loop, allowing us to evolve and refine our agency's operations. Here, every voice is heard and valued. We've diligently built and embodied our core values: Think Freely, Aim Higher, Stay Smart, Get Involved, and Win Together.

Our people are our greatest asset, and the connections they forge with one another are the foundation of our success. To strengthen these relationships and foster a supportive and inclusive environment, we offer several committees that everyone is encouraged to join, including Social, Diversity & Inclusion, and Environmental Impact. These groups play a crucial role in shaping our culture and ensuring that we not only work together but thrive together.

Inclusivity and belonging

At The Kite Factory, we welcome applications from all walks of life including those who are under-represented in our industry. We’re committed to creating a diverse and inclusive place to work where everyone feels they can belong and celebrate each other's differences. It’s so important to us that all voices are heard and listened to so that we can truly create an inclusive place to work where our teams can thrive.

Application

At The Kite Factory we value original thinking, human taste and work that has a point of view. So when you apply, don’t smooth the edges, show us how you think.

Bring your perspective, your experience, and your curiosity. We want to get a real sense of who you are and what you’d bring to the work and the team. AI can help, but it can’t replace judgement or voice. Use it wisely - what matters most to us is you.