Associate Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning | Irvine, CA or Remote

Team Name:

Marketing

Job Title:Associate Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning | Irvine, CA or Remote

Requisition ID:R027626

Job Description:

As an Associate Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning, you will be a strategic and analytical partner to Blizzard's International Marketing team. You will translate market, player, competitive, cultural, and performance data into decision-ready insights that guide international growth planning, investment priorities, and go-to-market decisions. Success in your first year means bringing structure to ambiguous questions, building rigorous models and business cases, and creating clear recommendations that improve the speed, quality, and confidence of global marketing decisions. 

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from- home. The potential home location for this role is Irvine, CA. However, we understand each person’s circumstances may be unique and will work with you to explore other possible options, including remote work arrangements.

What you bring to the table: 

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities: 

• Partner with International Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Analytics, Business Development, Product Marketing, and regional teams to evaluate growth priorities, investment options, partnerships, and market opportunities. 

• Frame ambiguous business questions, define analytical approaches, and synthesize findings into clear recommendations for leadership. 

• Develop executive-ready narratives and materials that communicate trade-offs, assumptions, risks, and recommended actions. 

• Assess global markets, audience segments, cultural dynamics, competitors, and ecosystem trends to identify international growth opportunities. 

• Size opportunities using TAM/SAM/SOM, segmentation, and scenario analysis to inform prioritization and resource allocation. 

• Build financial models, forecasts, and investment cases in partnership with the Director of International Growth, Finance, and relevant cross-functional stakeholders. 

• Translate financial and strategic analysis into actionable implications for marketing planning and investment decisions. 

• Create standardized frameworks for market prioritization, trade-offs, resource allocation, and investment decision-making. 

• Design global planning and reactive marketing frameworks that help teams act on real-time signals while balancing global consistency with local flexibility. 

• Build operating models that clarify what to scale, iterate, or stop across international markets. 

Minimum Requirements 

Experience 

• 10+ years of experience in strategy, analytics, marketing planning, business operations, finance, consulting, or related roles, with 3+ years of management experience. 

• Experience translating complex data and ambiguous business questions into structured recommendations for senior stakeholders. 

• Proven ability to collaborate across Marketing, Finance, Analytics, Business Development, Product, and regional teams. 

Knowledge & Skills 

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Marketing, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. 

• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, quantitative analysis, and business case development skills. 

• Strong executive communication, storytelling, and data visualization skills. 

Key Attributes 

• Structured problem solver who can bring clarity to ambiguous business questions. 

• Collaborative partner who builds trust across global, regional, and cross-functional teams. 

• Curious, player-focused thinker who connects data, culture, and market context to action. 

• Clear communicator who can influence senior stakeholders through concise recommendations. 

Extra Points 

• Experience in gaming, entertainment, technology, digital commerce, or management consulting. 

• Familiarity with international markets, regional consumer behavior, cultural insights, or global go-to-market planning. 

• Experience with marketing analytics, audience segmentation, campaign measurement, and performance learning. 

• Exposure to digital commerce, platform ecosystems, payments, or fintech models. 

• Advanced proficiency with Excel, Sheets, BI or data visualization tools, and presentation/storytelling tools. 

Your Platform 

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industrys most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. 

Our World 

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Candy Crush and Bubble Witch. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet! 

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for Every World - we have got our employees covered! 

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners. 

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply. 

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to [email protected]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics. 

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!  Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.  You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $126,800.00 - $234,580.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.