Strategy Director

Who We Are

VML, part of WPP, is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and human first, award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports, as a Leader among Marketing Creative and Content Service Providers, Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. In addition, VML’s specialist health network, VML Health, is one of the world’s largest and most awarded health agencies. VML’s global network is powered by 26,000 talented people across 55+ markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

What you’ll do:

• Be the Strategy Lead for at least one major client

• Understand client questions, identify the question behind the questions, turn them into a methodological approach and scope, and identify and onboard different experts to work on the project – throughout, among others, the VML and WPP network.

• Stay up to date with our audience’s preferences and proactively suggest new strategies and campaigns.

• Inspire clients and colleagues with the latest trends (cultural, technological, case studies, market evolutions, etc.).

• Lead a team of strategists and lead team meetings. Be the point of contact for all issues regarding your team and the strategy projects you are responsible for. We are thriving on working together to stimulate inspiration and creation

• Make sure your team has the right capabilities: evaluate, inspire, and grow capabilities.

• Collaborate with client leads and your team to find out what capabilities are necessary and need to be developed.

• Work together with strategy teams to get your team inspired, to develop capabilities and decide on training plans. Tap into the knowledge and inspiration of the broader Strategy team across the region and the VML and WPP network.

• Work together with client leads and your team to put the right person, with the right capabilities, on the right job. Reach out to the broader local strategy team if additional expertise is needed.

• Decide on staffing needs in agreement with the business leads and strategy leadership.

• Report into the Executive Strategy Director who oversees the strategy work across all clients.

• Define the business challenge, human challenge, and jobs to be done, and keep the bigger picture in mind at every step of engagement with clients.

• Come up with research-driven compelling human and cultural insights.

• Develop brand, go-to-market, communication, experience (customer journey), campaign, content, and other strategies across online and offline touch-points, including precise recommendations based on market opportunities which can be translated into localised action plans.

• Present and discuss key insights and innovative strategies in meetings with existing and potential clients.

What you’ll need:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in an agency/digital agency, specifically in a Planning/Strategist position

• Fluent in English – speaking and writing

• Comprehensive understanding of brand strategy, branding, digital strategy, digital transformation, marketing, omni-channel (including offline touch-points), media concepts, and service design.

• Experience developing go-to-market, marketing, brand, employer brand, experience, content, and creative strategies using both traditional and new channels.

• Possess strong analytical skills. You can understand and interpret the latest brand tracker as well as the most recent Google Analytics report. You have demonstrated experience in the use of measurement and tracking tools within all digital channels. You are able to incorporate these results into strategies, creative briefs, and localised cultural roadmaps.

• Strong client-facing and communications skills.

• Ability to present ideas clearly and concisely.

• Experience in working closely with account, production, media, and creative teams.

• Successful track-record of managing multiple client assignments simultaneously – ideally across industries and business models.

• Strong knowledge of primary and secondary research methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Thinks user/customer-centric and knows how to apply design-thinking to projects.

• Team management and coaching across various tasks and projects.

• Experience as strategist in market research, brand positioning, integrated brand communication, digital marketing & transformation, content marketing, and social media.

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

WPP (VML) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

VML is a WPP agency (NYSE: WPP). For more information, please visit  www.vml.com, and follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

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