Director, Influencer Strategy

This is a remote, work-from-home position. Some travel is required for client meetings, internal meetings, and conferences.

About the role

Acceleration Partners is building out its influencer strategy discipline, and this role sits at the center of that effort. The Director, Influencer Strategy is a senior, externally-facing position responsible for shaping how AP goes to market with influencer programs. This person works at the intersection of sales, client services, and delivery, helping the business win new clients, build credible influencer strategies, and connect execution back to measurable outcomes.

The ideal candidate brings deep fluency in the brand-awareness and affiliate influencer space, strong business instincts, and the ability to work across internal teams to ensure that compelling strategic programs are successfully executed for our clients. A working knowledge of affiliate marketing is a plus; some learning curve on the affiliate side is expected and supported.

Responsibilities

• Strategy-Led Sales Enablement: Partners with the sales and delivery teams from the moment an opportunity comes in. Owns building a credible, well-reasoned influencer strategy for proposals and RFPs, using thought-leadership and industry insights to define creator strategy, audience insights, competitive analysis, creative positioning, influencer archetype creation, messaging frameworks, and platform recommendations. Ensures proposed strategies are grounded in deliverable scope and budget. Joins pitch meetings to present the strategy with authority and expertise, answering client questions thoughtfully.
• Program Strategy & Industry Intelligence: Defines the strategy for robust, in-depth influencer programs grounded in industry research and competitive intelligence. Stays current on brand activations in the influencer and affiliate space, tracking trends, emerging platforms, and talent ecosystems. Supports program launches and provides the strategic foundation for the delivery team.
• Industry-Leading Reporting: Adds narrative and strategic context to reporting, connecting the dots between the strategy sold, execution delivered, performance results, and forward-looking recommendations. Creates upsell opportunities by closing gaps in strategic reporting.
• Ongoing Client Support & Upsell: Plugs in throughout the client lifecycle to provide strategic recommendations, industry thought-leadership, and pitch expansion opportunities. Presents specialized program recommendations, optimizations, or expansions to clients alongside the delivery team.
• AP Marketing & External Presence: Contributes to AP’s external marketing through thought leadership, including speaking at or attending conferences on influencer strategy topics. Helps build AP’s profile and credibility in the influencer space.

What Success Looks Like

• By 6 Months: Strong grasp of AP’s influencer offerings and sales process, having contributed to multiple pitches. Producing influencer strategy decks that the sales team confidently presents. Established working relationships with client services leads and understanding of strategy-to-delivery translation. Adding narrative context and future recommendations to client reports.
• By 1 Year: Recognized internal resource for influencer strategy. Strategic program recommendations are successfully delivered with positive client feedback. Influencer pitch process runs more smoothly, improving win rates. Client reports feature cleaner strategic narratives, with more clients opting into expansion opportunities. Actively contributing to AP’s external presence through content or speaking, and having helped close at least one meaningful upsell opportunity.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in influencer marketing, with meaningful exposure to strategy, program buildout, or new business.
• Demonstrated ability to build and present influencer strategies in a business development or client-facing context.
• Deep knowledge of the influencer and creator ecosystem across platforms including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Substack, and emerging channels.
• Working knowledge of affiliate marketing is a plus; willingness to learn is required.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to produce client-ready materials independently.
• Ability to synthesize and visualize information effectively, independently or in collaboration with Design.
• Experience presenting to senior clients or speaking externally preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Ability to travel as needed for client meetings, team gatherings, and industry conferences.

Skills

• Brings a clear strategic point of view and can defend it in a room with senior clients and leadership.
• Equally comfortable building a deck and presenting it; thinks in narratives but understands tactics.
• Collaborative by instinct; understands that the best outcomes come from working across teams.
• Stays current on the influencer and creator space without being prompted; follows industry trends, brand activations, and social trends proactively.
• Operates with autonomy, ambiguity, and ownership in a discipline that is still being built out.
• Reliable and able to effectively prioritize to hit deadlines.
• Communicates with clarity and confidence, including with senior internal and external audiences.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, client-facing, agency environment working across multiple clients in different verticals.

About Acceleration Partners

Acceleration Partners is the world’s largest and first-to-market Partnership Marketing Agency, creating and nurturing partnerships that drive exceptional measurable outcomes for their clients. Managing clients in 40+ countries, AP’s global team of 300+ focuses on data-driven strategies that connect brands to the right consumers through affiliate and influencer marketing. All work is supported by APVision, a proprietary technology suite leveraging the largest dataset of any agency in the Partnership Marketing ecosystem. Serving over 200 brands—including household names like Amazon, Apple, Target, Google, Marriott, Coinbase, and Burberry—AP’s diversified team is defining what’s next in the industry by building high-performing partnership marketing programs.

Benefits

• 100% remote work for everyone.
• Group medical, dental, and vision coverage insurance (with opt-out benefits).
• 401K with matching.
• Open Paid Time Off.
• Summer & Holiday Wellness Breaks in July and December.
• Volunteer and Birthday Time Off.
• Focus Fridays.
• Paid Parental Leave Benefits.
• Wellness, Technology & Education Allowances.
• Paid sabbatical leaves, donation matching, and more.

Pay

Target base salary is $110–130K + bonus depending on location and experience.