We are seeking a Creative Strategist to join our Eat + Drink (E+D) Team. The E+D Team develops operational and conceptual food + beverage strategies for restaurant and hotel owners. This position will support our hospitality project leads by turning these strategies into strong client communications supported by data, key takeaways, trends, narrative + technical writing, and imagery. This position will support a fast-paced team of hospitality consultants with the research, analysis, and presentation design that is required for our client-facing work.

The ideal candidate is an expert at visual storytelling, technical writing, and data visualization. They are organized, curious, creative, and disciplined. They are a flexible, collaborative team member and value the collective win. 

This position is based in Bethesda, MD but is temporarily remote due to COVID-19. 

Key Tasks + Responsibilities

• Presentation Development: Work from existing project work, project outlines, and key strategic direction provided by the senior team members to combine some or all of the job duties below into clear, visually-rich decks that express these strategies clearly.
• Moodboard Design: Visually communicate conceptual ideas, design, signatures, or other concept and operational features through careful use of lifestyle imagery.
• Copywriting and Written Communications: Write concise narrative elements that enunciate proposed strategies and conceptual ideas.
• Concept Development Support: Assist in developing and visually communicating food + beverage concept details in creative ways such as concept signatures, basic space planning, and narrative and technical writing.
• Demographic Research: Collect demographic data through internet research and Streetsense tools to provide background on concept or project work and complete market feasibility assessments for hotels and restaurants.
• Competitive Set Analysis: Tag and examine potential competitors in the hotel and food + beverage space through online research that may provide clarity into the market – locally, regionally, and globally – to inform concept decisions, direction, and to tee up strategic recommendations.
• Internal Initiatives: Assist in the development and publishing of thought leadership pieces, articles, and posts. When requested, together with the directors, pilot new project management tools, create project templates and tools like outlines and storyboards, and leverage collaborative technologies for improving the studio work day-to-day.
• Business Development Support: Assist in the development of presentation decks and visually branded proposals for new work and to highlight our past work.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Hospitality Management, Marketing, Advertising, Communications, or related field of study
• 5-7 years of professional experience in branding, marketing, design, advertising, communications, or related field 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite
• Outstanding graphic design and visual communication skills 
• Mastery of written and verbal communication 
• Proficiency in technical and narrative writing, with the ability to write and edit under short deadlines 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Attention to detail and excellent editing and proofreading skills – you can spot a typo in a split second
• Awareness of and interest in food + beverage trends is a must – you should be the one all of your friends ask where to go out and eat
• Ability to work cross-functionally with creative, strategy, and project management teams
• Experience in a fast-paced work environment

Preferred, but Not Required

• Skilled at developing and presenting infographics, charts, and data visualization
• Food + Beverage (F+B) or Hospitality industry experience a plus
• Financial/business literacy a plus
• Experience with ArcGIS or ESRI