Consultant, Strategy (Cape Town)

Rival is a marketing consultancy for challengers-and we're looking for a Consultant to join our Cape Town team.

This isn't a role for someone who wants to do "business as usual." Our clients come to us because they need breakthrough marketing strategies that cut through complexity, beat incumbents, and create disproportionate impact.

We're looking for a brand strategist who thrives on unconventional thinking and fresh ideas. You'll support senior leaders across brand and social strategy, and go-to-market work for challenger-minded brands. This isn't a role for those who prefer routine-but it is a role with real room to grow.

• Support senior strategists on brand positioning, messaging frameworks, and go-to-market strategies
• Assist with market research, competitive analysis, and audience insights
• Contribute to social-first strategies
• Coordinate project logistics-timelines, communications, and presentations-keeping clients and teams aligned
• Collaborate across creative, media, and analytics, building cross-functional skills along the way

• A consultancy built differently. We're four years in, growing fast, and proving there's a premium alternative to the bloated incumbents.
• Global perspective. Work with ambitious clients across North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
• Small team, big impact. With boutique sizing, every project is high visibility and high impact-no hiding in the back row.
• Direct influence. Work alongside Rival's founders, shaping the consultancy's future as much as our clients'.

We don't hire CVs, we hire people who think and act like challengers.

• 4+ years in brand, digital, or social strategy (agency, consultancy, or in-house)
• A natural problem-solver who finds non-obvious solutions
• Culturally plugged in-you don't just observe trends, you thrive on them
• Strong communicator, self-starter, and AI-native
• You're highly organized and deliver excellence without compromise.
• You think like an entrepreneur-curious, bold, and unafraid to get stuck in.
• You've helped scale a start-up, agency, or consultancy.
• You've lived the battle of challengers vs. incumbents.

We believe in rewarding excellence with premium upside, not average paychecks.

• Base Salary: Competitive within consultancy/agency benchmarks.
• Profit Share: Twice-yearly distributions (eligibility after 90 days), tied to performance.
• Employee Liquidity Plan ("shadow stock"): Share in Rival's long-term success-without the friction of traditional options (eligibility after 1 year)

• 20-days vacation days for South African employees + public holidays
• Discovery Health Medical Aid contribution
• Rival will contribute up to R3750 per month
• Retirement Annuity
• Rival will contribute a maximum of 3% of the employee's Cost to Company (CTC) to the RA fund.
• The employee must at a minimum match the company's contribution of 3%.

Rival is a marketing consultancy built for challengers.Incumbent best practices deliver average results-we don't do average. We apply challenger brand thinking to help CMOs achieve outsized impact with smarter, leaner, bolder marketing strategies.

We're building a consultancy that's both premium and progressive-a home for the world's best marketing talent and a model for diversity in our industry.

• Clarity and fairness in every process
• Respect for candidates' time (including paid tasks)
• Speed and transparency in communicationFeedback opportunities throughout
• You'll speak to a range of people in different roles, to give you a flavour of what it's like here

We know diverse perspectives drive better strategies. Rival is committed to building a consultancy where individuality fuels innovation. Authenticity isn't an initiative-it's a requirement.