Creative Strategy & New Projects Lead

We are looking for a strategic, creative, and results-oriented Creative Strategy & New Projects Lead to drive new business opportunities, lead tender and pitch processes, and develop innovative creative concepts and compelling proposals for prospective and existing clients.

The ideal candidate combines strong creative thinking, business development skills, strategic planning, and excellent proposal-writing abilities. This role requires someone who can identify new opportunities, transform client briefs into original ideas, develop competitive project proposals, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams to bring these ideas to life.

As a Creative Strategy & New Projects Lead, you will take ownership of new project development, from opportunity identification and creative concept development to tender preparation, client presentations, and successful project acquisition. You will also contribute to the agency's creative output by generating fresh ideas, developing campaign concepts, and supporting strategic communication initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

1. New Business Development & Project Acquisition

• Identify, research, and evaluate new business opportunities, potential clients, tenders, and strategic partnerships.
• Monitor relevant tender announcements, requests for proposals (RFPs), expressions of interest (EOIs), and other procurement opportunities.
• Assess potential projects based on strategic relevance, agency capabilities, commercial potential, and available resources.
• Lead the new business development process from opportunity identification through proposal submission and client follow-up.
• Build and maintain relationships with prospective clients, corporate partners, international organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Participate in introductory meetings, briefings, and discussions with prospective clients to understand their objectives and requirements.
• Develop tailored strategic and creative approaches to strengthen the agency's competitiveness in new business opportunities.
• Maintain an organized pipeline of business opportunities, tenders, pitches, and ongoing negotiations.

2. Tender Management & Proposal Writing

• Take ownership of the end-to-end tender preparation and submission process.
• Review and analyze tender documentation, terms of reference (ToRs), RFPs, and client briefs to identify key requirements, evaluation criteria, and deliverables.
• Prepare comprehensive, well-structured, and persuasive technical proposals that clearly communicate the agency's approach, methodology, expertise, and competitive advantages.
• Develop project concepts, implementation methodologies, work plans, timelines, and proposed deliverables in accordance with tender requirements.
• Integrate innovative creative ideas, communication strategies, and campaign concepts into technical and commercial proposals.
• Coordinate the preparation of financial proposals and project budgets in collaboration with relevant departments and management.
• Collect and organize supporting documentation, including company profiles, relevant experience, case studies, team credentials, and other required materials.
• Ensure all proposals meet tender specifications, submission guidelines, eligibility requirements, and deadlines.
• Manage clarification requests, proposal revisions, and additional documentation during the procurement process.
• Maintain and continuously improve tender templates, proposal materials, and the agency's credentials database.

3. Creative Ideation & Concept Development

• Generate original, engaging, and strategically relevant ideas for advertising campaigns, brand activations, communication projects, and new business proposals.
• Lead and actively participate in creative brainstorming sessions, contributing innovative approaches and fresh perspectives.
• Transform client briefs, business objectives, and consumer insights into compelling creative concepts and campaign platforms.
• Develop creative ideas for integrated marketing campaigns across digital, social media, traditional advertising, experiential marketing, events, and other communication channels.
• Create campaign concepts, key messages, brand storytelling approaches, and communication territories that resonate with target audiences.
• Collaborate closely with copywriters, art directors, designers, strategists, and other creative specialists to develop and refine ideas.
• Contribute to the development of campaign naming, slogans, taglines, creative narratives, and presentation concepts.
• Evaluate creative ideas based on originality, strategic relevance, feasibility, and potential impact.
• Identify innovative formats, cultural trends, emerging technologies, and consumer insights that can inspire new creative solutions.
• Ensure creative concepts are aligned with client objectives, brand positioning, project requirements, and available budgets.
• Support the creative development of selected projects for existing clients when strategic input or new conceptual approaches are required.

4. Pitch Development & Client Presentations

• Lead the preparation of new business pitches, strategic presentations, and project proposals.
• Develop clear, convincing pitch narratives that demonstrate a strong understanding of client challenges and communicate the agency's strategic and creative solutions.
• Structure presentations to highlight innovative concepts, strategic thinking, implementation approaches, and the agency's competitive advantages.
• Present proposals, strategic recommendations, and creative ideas to prospective clients and decision-makers.
• Participate in negotiations and follow-up discussions to support successful project acquisition.

5. Creative Strategy & Project Planning

• Analyze client objectives, business challenges, target audiences, and market environments to develop effective communication and project strategies.
• Translate client briefs and tender requirements into clear strategic directions, creative concepts, and implementation plans.
• Develop communication strategies, campaign frameworks, messaging approaches, and creative territories for new projects.
• Define project objectives, key activities, expected outcomes, timelines, and performance indicators.
• Conduct market research, competitor analysis, trend analysis, and audience research to strengthen creative strategies and project proposals.
• Identify opportunities to combine creative thinking with practical business solutions.
• Ensure that proposed strategies and creative concepts are original, relevant, feasible, and aligned with client expectations.
• Support the transition of successfully acquired projects to the relevant implementation teams while maintaining strategic and creative consistency.
• Ensure consistency between creative concepts, project strategies, proposed activities, budgets, and implementation timelines.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Proven professional experience in creative strategy, new business development, tender management, proposal writing, advertising, or a related role.
• Previous experience in an advertising, marketing, communications, or creative agency is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience preparing technical proposals, tender submissions, business pitches, and creative project presentations.
• Strong creative thinking and concept development skills, with the ability to generate original campaign ideas and communication solutions.
• Solid understanding of branding, advertising, integrated marketing communications, and consumer behavior.
• Experience developing campaign concepts, communication strategies, and creative approaches for different brands and industries.
• Strong understanding of RFPs, terms of reference, tender evaluation criteria, and procurement procedures.
• Excellent writing, analytical, storytelling, and presentation skills.
• Ability to develop structured, persuasive proposals as well as engaging creative concepts and pitch narratives.
• Experience preparing project methodologies, implementation plans, timelines, and deliverables.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple tenders, pitches, and creative projects under tight deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and client communication skills.
• Proactive, independent, collaborative, and solution-oriented approach to work.
• Excellent command of Armenian and English and Russian, both written and spoken.