Strategy Associate

The Opportunity

This is not a traditional associate role.

This is a right-hand operator role designed to extend the output and impact of a highly cross-functional leader working across both PUSH Media and STRATIS.

You will operate at the center of strategy, execution, AI, and platform development. The role is focused on turning direction into output, maintaining structured visibility across priorities, and ensuring momentum across multiple concurrent initiatives.

You will be accountable for outputs, not task coordination. This role is about ownership, follow-through, and building systems that scale.

This is designed for someone who wants accelerated growth, direct exposure to real decision-making, and the opportunity to operate inside both a scaled agency and a rapidly evolving AI platform.

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About PUSH Media

PUSH Media is an independent, performance-driven marketing agency with a team of approximately 70 people and four offices across North America.

We partner with national and international brands as Agency of Record across sectors including retail, CPG, travel, technology, and emerging categories.

PUSH is known for senior-led strategy, deep media expertise, and a culture built on accountability, speed, and execution. Decisions move quickly, teams stay close to the work, and ownership is expected at every level.

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About STRATIS

STRATIS is a next-generation marketing decision engine and operating layer built to fundamentally change how marketing organizations make decisions.

It sits above the execution stack, unifying creative, media, performance, and external signals into a structured, governed decision environment. The platform enables teams to allocate budget, interpret signals, and act in real time through human-led, AI-assisted decisioning.

STRATIS is being built in partnership with AXL Venture Labs at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre at the University of Toronto. The platform is shaped alongside globally recognized leaders in AI, human-computer interaction, and applied machine intelligence.

This creates a rare environment where academic research, advanced AI development, and real-world marketing execution are directly connected.

For the right candidate, this means exposure not only to how AI is applied, but how it is actually built, structured, and operationalized at a high level.

STRATIS is both a core strategic pillar of PUSH and a standalone platform with its own roadmap, product development cycle, and long-term ambition.

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Why This Role Exists

This role sits directly at the intersection of PUSH and STRATIS, supporting leadership that operates fluidly across both businesses.

The mandate is to:

• Multiply the impact of senior leadership across both organizations

• Own execution, follow-through, and structured visibility across workstreams

• Maintain clarity across fast-moving priorities so teams stay aligned

• Convert ideas into systems and systems into execution

• Act as a central point of continuity across projects, conversations, and outputs

This is a high-ownership role. You are expected to drive work forward, not observe or coordinate from the sidelines.

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Role Overview

The Strategy, Innovation & Platform Associate is responsible for execution, systems, and operational follow-through across strategy, marketing, AI, and platform initiatives.

You will function as a day-to-day extension of leadership, managing priorities, building materials, structuring workflows, and ensuring nothing drops across a fast-moving and complex environment.

A core part of the role is introducing structure. You will help define how work flows into and out of this function, how it is tracked, and how it is executed.

This role requires judgment, speed, and a high standard for quality.

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What Success Looks Like

First 90 Days

• Fully owns tracking and visibility across active workstreams

• Produces clear, decision-ready materials with minimal oversight

• Anticipates needs and proactively drives next steps

6 Months

• Independently drives select initiatives end-to-end

• Builds repeatable systems across at least one major workflow (AI, reporting, intake, or execution)

• Becomes a trusted operator to leadership and key stakeholders

12 Months

• Operating as a consistent force multiplier across functions

• Contributing to improvements in systems, workflows, or platform development

• Positioned to evolve into a more senior strategy, product, or operational role

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Core Responsibilities

1. Right-Hand Execution & Priority Ownership

• Act as a daily extension of leadership across PUSH and STRATIS

• Own structured tracking across workstreams, including priorities, timelines, and deliverables

• Maintain clear visibility on what is in progress, what is upcoming, and where decisions are required

• Proactively identify risks, gaps, and bottlenecks

• Ensure decisions translate into concrete outputs and follow-through

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2. Strategy, Innovation & Platform Support

• Translate high-level direction into first drafts, frameworks, and working materials

• Support development of strategy decks, platform narratives, POVs, and internal playbooks

• Prepare materials that are structured, concise, and decision-ready

• Connect strategic thinking to execution across both businesses

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3. AI & Systems Execution

• Use AI as a core working layer across research, writing, strategy, and operations

• Build and maintain prompt libraries, workflows, and documentation

• Test and evaluate tools that support marketing, strategy, and platform development

• Assist in prototyping, building, launching, and maintaining internal tools and product features

• Convert experimentation into repeatable, scalable systems

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4. Communication, Coordination & Operational Clarity

• Prepare clear updates, summaries, and documentation for cross-functional teams

• Support structured intake and prioritization of requests across the organization

• Coordinate across stakeholders, ensuring continuity across projects and conversations

• Reduce friction by ensuring the right people have the right information at the right time

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Who This Role Is For

This role is designed for a high-performing early-career operator, not a traditional coordinator.

The right candidate:

• Is highly ambitious and wants accelerated growth

• Thrives in high-expectation, fast-moving environments

• Is comfortable operating with ambiguity and shifting priorities

• Has strong judgment and attention to detail

• Takes ownership and follows through consistently

• Is motivated by proximity to real decision-making

• Prefers building and executing over observing

This role is not designed for someone seeking predictability or narrow scope.

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Ideal Candidate Profile

• 2–5 years experience in strategy, marketing, consulting, product, operations, or similar roles

• Track record of high performance and ownership in prior roles

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Highly organized and reliable under pressure

• Comfortable managing multiple priorities simultaneously

• Curious about AI, systems, and scalable ways of working

• Bias toward action over perfection

• High standards for quality and execution

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Working Style & Environment

• High trust, high accountability

• Direct access to senior leadership

• Fast feedback and iteration cycles

• Exposure to both agency and startup operating models

• Real involvement in business decisions, not simulated work

• Significant responsibility early

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Tools & Skills

You will operate across a modern, AI-forward toolkit. You are expected to learn quickly and work fluidly across tools.

Productivity & Communication

• Microsoft 365 (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, Teams)

• Slack for real-time communication

• Google Workspace as needed

Project Management & Operations

• Familiarity with tools such as Notion, Asana, ClickUp, or Jira

AI & Prototyping

• LLMs and AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) used daily

• AI-assisted design and prototyping tools (Figma, Framer, v0, Cursor, Replit, or similar)

• Comfort moving from idea to working prototype using a combination of tools

Design & Creative (Nice to Have)

• Figma or Canva for quick mockups and presentations

• Adobe Creative Suite is a bonus

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Growth Path

This role is designed as a launchpad into more senior roles across PUSH and STRATIS.

High performers in this role will have the opportunity to evolve into:

• Strategy and innovation leadership roles

• Product and platform roles within STRATIS

• Operational or cross-functional leadership positions

Growth is based on performance, ownership, and ability to drive impact.