Strategy Manager

Strategy Manager is the senior operational layer of Foundation's strategy practice. This role owns client relationships at the oversight level, develops strategists, and enables VP-level leadership to focus on business growth, team architecture, and company direction.

Responsibilities

• Own the Client Oversight Relationship
  • Serve as the senior point of contact for each account in your book, building and maintaining relationships with budget decision-makers and senior client stakeholders
  • Act as the primary escalation owner when strategic direction is challenged, client expectations are at risk, or a situation requires a more senior voice
  • Host strategy presentations, sell the direction, and hold your ground under pushback
  • Maintain a clear, current view of account health across your entire book, surfacing risks to the VP of Strategy before they become problems
• Drive Strategic Quality Across Your Book
  • Oversee GEO and content strategy execution across every account you own, ensuring work is aligned with the defined strategic direction and meeting client-specific KPIs
  • Provide meaningful oversight review on strategic deliverables including content plans, QBRs, and monthly reporting, identifying drift, outdated assumptions, or missed opportunities
  • Bring a GEO-first lens to every account; be fluent in generative and answer engine optimization and ensure it is reflected in reviews and work elevation
  • Partner with Account Management on each shared client to ensure contracts, upselling, and cross-team coordination are handled cleanly and strategically
• Lead and Develop the Team
  • Manage 3-5 strategists with real accountability for their development, not just their output; build meaningful PDPs and run structured 1:1s
  • Coach strategists on call confidence, client communication, and the ability to own and defend strategic positions
  • Score and review strategist client calls using the Foundation performance rubric, delivering specific, actionable feedback
  • Develop team GEO capability, ensuring strategists can articulate and execute generative engine optimization with confidence
  • Flag performance concerns to the VP of Strategy early, with supporting evidence
• Support Revenue Growth and Account Expansion
  • Identify upsell and expansion opportunities within your book and route them to Account Management with a clear strategic rationale
  • Participate in strategic sales conversations for new accounts where your subject matter expertise adds credibility and conversion value
  • Contribute to Foundation's GEO positioning by staying current on platform shifts, citation behavior, and AI-search trends

Requirements

• 5+ years in digital strategy, content strategy, or multi-channel marketing strategy, with at least 2 years in a senior or oversight capacity
• Demonstrated experience managing or meaningfully developing at least one direct report
• Proven GEO fluency: you have built and delivered content strategies designed for AI-driven answer engines and can speak to it with authority
• Strong B2B or SaaS/tech client portfolio, with experience presenting and defending strategy at the VP or Director level
• Strong analytical capabilities across digital platforms such as Google Analytics, Search Console, Ahrefs, and HubSpot
• Exceptional ability to communicate complex strategic direction with precision and confidence, in writing and in real-time client conversation

Qualifications

You might be a fit if you...

• Have moved past legacy SEO and actively build content and GEO strategies for generative and answer engine visibility as a core discipline
• Are fluent in B2B and SaaS/tech client relationships, understanding the funnel, stakeholder dynamics, and sales motions
• Can hold a position under pressure, presenting, defending, and closing on strategy recommendations without defaulting to hedging or deferral
• Want to build people, not just manage them; have real examples of growing a direct report's capability
• Are ready to lead a team before feeling completely ready; default to ownership, not escalation

Metrics / KPIs

• Account Health and Retention
  • Zero unmanaged escalations
  • Post-Strategy NPS of 8 or above (internal and external)
  • Retention rate across your oversight book remains positive
• Strategic Quality
  • Strategic deliverables across your book are delivered on time, clearly structured, and to spec
  • Oversight review catches drift before client delivery, not after
• Team Performance Development
  • Each direct report has an active PDP reviewed monthly
  • At least one strategist advances measurably on a named development gap per quarter, as evidenced by rubric scores and call review data
• GEO Execution Quality
  • GEO strategies recommended across your book reflect current platform behavior and best practice
  • Accounts influenced by GEO-informed strategic pivots show measurable improvement in AI citation visibility within 90-180 days
• Revenue Contribution
  • Commission tied directly to expansion within your oversight book
  • Upsell opportunities are identified proactively and routed to Account Management with clear strategic rationale

Pay

• Base Pay Range: $80,000 - $110,000 CAD / year
• Expected Total Compensation (OTE): $105,000 - $145,000+ CAD / year

Final compensation is determined by experience, role level, and location using a role × level × location framework.