Career profile · live from the Careermash careers engine
Careermash
Leadership / organisationLeadership / organisation
Strategic Planner
Strategic planners help businesses figure out where they want to go and how to get there. They look at what's happening in the market, work out what customers need, and come up with plans to help the business grow.
No degree needed for many routes
AI impact: medium££££ payDirect entry route
52
AI impact
how much AI is reshaping it
Robin · your guide
Curious about being a strategic planner? Here's the honest picture - what you'd really do, what you'd earn, and every way in. No need to decide anything yet.
What you'd actually do
As a strategic planner, you help a company decide what it wants to do and how to do it. You'll look at information about customers, other companies and what's selling well. Then you work with people from different parts of the company - marketing, money, operations - to make a plan everyone agrees on.
Your job mixes detective work, teamwork and planning. You gather facts, spot what's working and what isn't, and suggest ways to do better. It takes focus and organisation, but you get to see your ideas actually happen and make a real difference to how the business does.
1Conduct in-depth market research to identify trends, opportunities, and competitive landscape.
2Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align strategic initiatives with company goals.
3Develop detailed strategic plans that outline objectives, key performance indicators, and timelines.
4Present findings and recommendations to senior management and stakeholders.
5Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented strategies, making adjustments as necessary.
6Facilitate workshops and brainstorming sessions to foster innovative thinking.
7Stay updated on industry developments and emerging technologies relevant to the business.
Career progression & pay
01
Getting in
Junior Strategic Planner
£30,000 - £40,000
BSc in Business, Marketing, or related field
In this entry-level role, you will assist in data collection and analysis, support senior planners in strategy development, and gain exposure to various aspects of strategic planning.
02
Building up
Mid-level Strategic Planner
£45,000 - £60,000
3-5 years experience in strategic planning or related field
At this stage, you will take on more responsibility, leading projects and collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop and implement strategies.
03
At the top
Senior Strategic Planner/Head of Strategy
£75,000+
10+ years experience, chartered status with a relevant professional body preferred
In this peak career role, you will lead the strategic planning function, oversee a team of planners, and drive the strategic direction of the organisation.
Degrees that lead here via Business and Management
Apprenticeships that lead here
Who hires - top UK employers
Deloitte
Deloitte is a leading global consulting firm known for its innovative approach to strategic planning and business transformation.
PwC
PwC offers a dynamic work environment where Strategic Planners can thrive, providing opportunities to work with top-tier clients across various industries.
KPMG
KPMG is renowned for its commitment to professional development and offers a range of strategic planning roles that challenge and inspire.
EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction, and advisory services, providing a vibrant environment for Strategic Planners.
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey is a prestigious management consulting firm that offers unparalleled opportunities for Strategic Planners to impact major organisations.
AI & the future of this job
Strategic planning sits in genuine middle ground: AI tools are already reshaping the research and analysis layers of the role, but the synthesis of ambiguous signals into organisational decisions remains stubbornly human. Market research, competitor benchmarking, and KPI modelling are all tasks where LLMs and analytics platforms now do heavy lifting that junior planners once spent weeks on. The risk is not replacement but compression, where fewer people are needed to produce the same volume of analytical output. The planners who thrive will be those who move upstream into judgement, stakeholder influence, and strategic narrative rather than staying in data assembly.
Within 5 Years
Significant workflow compression
By 2031, AI platforms will handle the bulk of environmental scanning, scenario modelling, and first-draft strategy documentation. Junior and graduate-level planning roles will contract noticeably as one experienced planner, well-tooled, can do what a team of three did in 2024. The role will not disappear, but the shape of entry will shift towards demonstrated judgement rather than analytical output. Graduates entering now should expect to use AI tools from day one and be assessed on their interpretation of outputs, not their ability to produce them.
Within 10 Years
Role restructured around judgement
By 2036, strategic planning as a distinct function will likely be smaller but more senior in profile across most organisations. AI agents will run continuous strategy monitoring, flagging deviations and updating models in near real time, making static annual planning cycles obsolete. Human planners will act more as strategic editors and decision architects, shaping the questions AI is asked rather than answering them manually. This is a genuinely meaningful role, but it will require a different skill profile than today's graduates are typically trained for.
Within 20 Years
Deeply transformed, smaller field
By 2046, the profession will look almost unrecognisable compared to its 2024 form. Organisations may employ very small strategy teams whose primary job is governance of AI-generated strategic recommendations and high-stakes human arbitration. The planners who remain will be operating closer to the boardroom and further from the spreadsheet, essentially functioning as strategic translators between machine intelligence and human leadership. This is still a career worth pursuing if you are genuinely drawn to it, but volume of opportunity will be significantly lower than today.
How to stay ahead
Build AI fluency as a core competency
Learn to work with strategy-adjacent AI tools including market intelligence platforms, scenario modelling software, and LLM-assisted research workflows. The planners who will be hired are those who can critically evaluate AI outputs rather than simply accept them. Treat this as a technical skill on par with financial modelling or presentation craft.
Develop stakeholder influence skills deliberately
The parts of strategic planning AI cannot replicate are the political and interpersonal ones: persuading a sceptical executive, managing conflicting departmental priorities, and reading organisational culture. Seek out opportunities during university, internships, or placements where you lead discussions, facilitate decisions, or present to real audiences. This is your long-term professional moat.
Specialise in a sector where complexity is high
Healthcare strategy, defence planning, climate transition advisory, and geopolitical risk are all areas where human contextual judgement remains central and AI has harder limits. Sector-specific knowledge compounds over time and is genuinely harder to automate than generalist analytical tasks. Picking a domain early and going deep will distinguish you from peers who stay broad.
Consider the consulting or policy route as an alternative pipeline
In-house junior strategy teams are the most exposed to headcount reduction, whereas management consulting firms and government policy units still need analytical throughput at volume and are structured differently. Starting your career in consulting or a think tank gives you diverse exposure, credibility, and transferable skills before moving into senior in-house roles. It also buys you time to assess how the landscape continues to shift before committing to one organisational context.
How to get in - your routes
Careermash · your kind of work, the careers in it, and every route in - all in one place.