Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Creative Strategist, Advisors Creative Desk

Creative Strategist

Overview:

The Advisors Client Services team is a key differentiator for Mastercard, providing the cutting-edge services that help our customers grow. Centered on data-driven technologies and innovation, this team provides consulting, marketing, loyalty and analytics to financial institutions and merchants globally.

Specialized Product Delivery (SPD) is a department within Advisors Client Services organization and focuses on the building out of new in-house capabilities to service our clients.

The Creative Strategy role within SPD is focused on supporting the strategy development process that fuels innovative client solutions. You’ll work closely with Senior strategists, Creatives, Data analysts to help craft compelling narratives and uncover insights that drive business impact. This is an ideal role for a curious, analytical, and collaborative thinker who wants to grow at the intersection of business strategy and creative execution.

With deep experience from leading or consolidated creative agencies, the Creative Strategist brings strong strategic judgment, cultural understanding, and creative sensitivity.

In this role candidate to provide strategic guidance and quality control, while remaining hands-on in research, briefing, and creative strategy development.

The position requires strategic rigor, strong writing skills, and the diplomacy to work effectively with creatives, clients, and account teams.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Development & Ownership:

1. Lead the development of creative strategies on key briefs, in close collaboration with Creative Strategy Manager
2. Translate business objectives, brand challenges, and insights into clear strategic directions and creative platforms
3. Own strategic thinking across assigned projects, ensuring consistency, clarity, and creative ambition

Insight & Research Excellence:

1. Conduct and guide desk research across markets, competitors, consumers, and cultural trends
2. Distill complex information into sharp, inspiring insights that unlock strong creative ideas
3. Push beyond surface-level findings to uncover meaningful and differentiated strategic perspectives

Creative Briefing & Writing:

• Write high-quality creative briefs that inspire creative teams while aligning internal and client stakeholders
• Shape strategic narratives, key messages, and presentation materials for client-facing deliverables

1. Participate in briefing sessions and creative handovers
2. Work closely with creatives, account managers, project managers, and clients to ensure smooth strategic delivery
3. Act as a strategic partner to creative teams throughout the development process, providing constructive feedback and guidance
4. Navigate differing viewpoints with confidence and diplomacy, balancing creative ambition with client and business realities
5. Contribute to the development of strategic best practices, frameworks, and internal tools

• All About You
• 6–10 years of experience in creative strategy, brand planning, or communications strategy within leading or consolidated creative agencies
• Experience working on top-tier brands and complex, multi-channel campaigns
• Strong background in full-funnel and brand-led creative strategy
• Excellent strategic writing skills, particularly in insight articulation and creative briefs
• Confident presenter and storyteller, comfortable in senior internal and client-facing settings
• Highly collaborative, with strong stakeholder management and interpersonal skills
• Fluent English is essential, with the ability to confidently write, present, and lead strategic conversations in an international environment
• Curious about culture, creativity, and how brands show up meaningfully in people’s lives

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices;

• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;

• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and

• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.