---
title: 'Creative Strategy Director at DEPT®'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/creative-strategy-director-dept-amsterdam-40sxndc36awv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Creative Strategy Director at DEPT®

- **Company:** DEPT®
- **Location:** Amsterdam, Netherlands
- **Posted:** 2026-03-10
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/dept/jobs/7699467

## Job description

DEPT® is the Growth Invention Company, sitting at the intersection of marketing and technology. The Senior Creative Strategist role is part of our Creative & Media team based in Amsterdam. Our building is filled with a vibrant mix of talents, ranging from Creatives, Influencer Marketers, and a range of Strategists, to Account Managers, AI Experts, and Marketing Automation Consultants. Together, we blend imaginative storytelling, forward-facing creativity, and cutting-edge technology to create impactful creative work that drives growth for our clients like Netflix, Canva, Stokke, Foot Locker, Philips & Praxis.

## JOB PURPOSE

Creative Strategy Directors at DEPT® are at the heart of the action, operating at the intersection of creativity, culture, humanity, business, and technology - helping create work that moves people and drives growth. We don’t have a proprietary framework or process. We don’t like to follow best practices because they’re based on the past. In a world of constant flux and endless opportunity, we believe strategy is crucial to imagine the path forward.

## WHAT YOU'LL DO

- Define the real challenge: Truly understand the client’s business and its cultural context to unpack the real problem.
- Craft the springboard: Consistently develop strategies, briefs, and thought-starters that excite, inspire and give clear direction.
- Growth invention: You will be a key player in winning new clients and proactively uncovering organic growth opportunities for existing ones.
- Think beyond boundaries: We don’t do one-dimensional strategy. You are a hybrid thinker who defies traditional labels - just as comfortable building a high-level brand narrative as you are mapping out a reactive social campaign or a tech-driven activation.
- Elevate the floor: Everyone has something to teach. And as a senior, you won't just do the work; you will help others improve - within and beyond the team.
- That’s the core of it. Beyond that, we expect you to care about the work, the craft and humans, be comfortable in front of crowds and workshops, and be utterly yourself at all times.

## WHAT YOU'LL BRING

- Strategic voice: A senior strategist at DEPT® should have a sense of their strategic voice, their vision, and their POV on strategy. It’s what makes you unique, and your work special.
- Creative vision: A strategy isn’t brilliant until it leads to brilliant work. You thrive in inspiring, supporting, protecting, and nurturing creativity from before the briefing until after delivery.
- Entrepreneurial spirit: You don't wait for briefs to fall into your lap; you seek out new opportunities and can’t wait to make things happen.
- Embrace complexity: The world is increasingly complex and fragmented. Your superpower is processing, distilling, and demystifying that chaos into simple, actionable, and undeniable insights.
- Love research: You can set up, run, present, judge, and apply different types of research. You love playing the investigative journalist. You get under the skin of the audience, immerse yourself in the business and throw yourself into an industry - all for the betterment of the work.
- Commanding communication: Amazing ideas die in the dark without great communication. You know how to command a room, tell a story, disagree respectfully, debate fiercely and sell a vision with absolute clarity.
- Finger on the pulse: You know what’s going on in culture, in tech, on social and some other weird corners of the internet, and are able to turn that knowledge into action (or just great water cooler conversation).
- Driving effectiveness: The work doesn’t just need to be made, it needs to work, and strategy is responsible for ensuring it does. We need an effectiveness mindset, from start to finish - not just as an award-entry afterthought.
- Team Player: There’s a perception that the best strategists are mysterious lone-wolves who pontificate from ivory towers. That’s not the reality, at least not at DEPT®. Here getting to the best possible work is a team sport. Everyone has their roles and responsibilities, but we are all in it together. Both internally and with clients.
- Fluent in Dutch and English

## WE OFFER

- A flexible, hybrid working policy (2-3 days from the office, depending on location) and the opportunity to work from abroad for 13 weeks a year.
- 24 vacation days per year and the possibility to buy an unlimited number of extra vacation days.
- DEPT®/YOU Learning Menu and DEPT®/YOU Special Programs. Develop your skills with courses and programs tailored to your needs.
- Stay happy and healthy with a contribution to your health through the OpenUp platform, gym and wellness discounts, and healthy lunches at the office.
- Get a discount on your lease bike and ride in style. You can also enjoy hassle free-commutes with an NS Business Card.
- A reputation for doing good. DEPT® has been a Certified B Corp® since 2021, has been named a [Great Place To Work since 2022](https://www.greatplacetowork.nl/en/certification/certified/dept) in the Netherlands and named ‘Agency of the Year’ at both The Lovies and The Webby Awards.
- Awesome clients. Whether big, small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with all of them. And we celebrate all of our successes together!
- You can discover even more employee benefits [here](https://www.deptagency.com/nl-nl/employee-benefits/).

WHY DEPT®?

We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA.

We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter.

At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build.

## DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.

Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine.

We also encourage you to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us.

Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts [here](https://www.deptagency.com/the-good-company/).

## About DEPT®

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: DEPT® is a global digital agency that combines technology and marketing to help ambitious brands grow faster.
- **Entity Type**: Private (backed by The Carlyle Group)
- **Headquarters**: Amsterdam, Netherlands (global HQ; 30+ offices across 5 continents)
- **Founded**: 1996 (founded as TamTam; rebranded to DEPT® in 2019)
- **Founders**: Paul Manuel and Bart Manuel (founded TamTam, the predecessor agency)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Digital Agency, Technology, Marketing, Commerce, AI
- **Target customers**: B2B, Enterprise (clients include Google Store, KFC, Beats by Dre, Patagonia, Lego, YouTube, National Geographic, Meta, Adidas, Microsoft, Hulu, Supercell, Tomorrowland)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To be the best agency for the world, not just in the world. A certified B Corporation, they aim to pioneer tech and marketing while balancing purpose and profit.

## Products & Services
- **Integrated Agency Services**: A 50-50 blend of technology and marketing services, including strategy, creative, data, and media.
- **DEPT®/AI**: A dedicated AI practice launched in 2023, with 50% of revenue now AI-enabled.
- **Commerce Services**: Recognized by Forrester as a top 10 Commerce Services Provider.
- **Specialized Studios**: Includes BASIC/DEPT®, Hello Monday/DEPT®, STUDIO DUMBAR/DEPT®, and Dogstudio/DEPT®—each with unique creative and technical specialties.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed; backed by The Carlyle Group (partnership announced in 2023).
- **Key Metric**: Over 4,000 employees (Depsters) across 30+ offices in 5 continents.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: The Carlyle Group (strategic partner), Waterland Private Equity (historical partner). Key clients include Google, Meta, Microsoft, Lego, Adidas, Patagonia, and KFC.
- **Growth Signals**: 30 acquisitions since 2015; named Webby Agency of the Year 2022, 2023, 2024; Campaign Digital Innovation Agency of the Year 2023; launched Asia Pacific operations in 2021; 50% AI-enabled revenue; 85+ nationalities and 50+ languages spoken in-house.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Partner-led model**: 200+ owners with "skin in the game," ensuring entrepreneurial accountability and long-term client relationships.
- **Global scale with craft depth**: 4,000+ digital specialists available as one integrated team across all time zones.
- **B Corp & Climate Label certified**: First global agency to become a Certified B Corporation, with a strong focus on sustainability and social impact.
- **Award-winning track record**: Consistently recognized as Agency of the Year by Webby and Lovie Awards.
- **50-50 tech/marketing split**: Rarer in the industry, enabling full 360-degree client solutions.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI integration**: Deep investment in DEPT®/AI to embed AI into all service lines (50% of revenue already AI-enabled).
- **Global expansion**: Continued growth through acquisitions and new market entries (e.g., Asia Pacific, Americas).
- **Sustainability & Impact**: Active impact strategy focused on four pillars: Impactful Work, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Community, and Climate.
- **Talent development**: Heavy investment in learning ("DEPT®/YOU" curated learning experiences) and internal mobility.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as "inclusive, supportive, open" with a strong emphasis on diversity (85+ nationalities), equity, and inclusion. Certified B Corporation with a clear purpose.
- **Flexibility**: Open to discussing flexible and hybrid working arrangements to achieve work/life balance.
- **Benefits**: Health and wellness benefits, DEPT®/CARES (annual day of giving), DEPT® Festival (all-expenses-paid global gathering), and DEPT®/YOU (curated learning experiences for personal and professional growth).
- **Global opportunities**: Ability to work from offices across 5 continents, with a strong internal mobility ethos.
- **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on pioneering, innovation, and craft; 50-50 tech/marketing split means engineers and technologists are core to the business.
- **Notable perks**: Climate Label company (100% climate neutral, 37% renewable energy), strong sustainability focus, and community impact programs.

## Sources
1. [DEPT® Careers Page](https://www.deptagency.com/careers/)
2. [DEPT® Homepage](https://www.deptagency.com/)
3. [DEPT® About Us](https://www.deptagency.com/about-us/)
4. [DEPT® Culture Page](https://www.deptagency.com/en-in/culture/)
5. [DEPT® Job Board (Greenhouse)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/dept)

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