Chief Strategy Officer (UK, Ireland & International Clients)

London
Permanent
Full-time

1 month ago

About UsThe home of full colour media, UM is a global media agency committed to empowering brands to their full potential of growth by leveraging the power of brand patterns. As the leading global media network in IPG Mediabrands, UM operates in over 100 countries, with more than 3,000 people serving a roster of global clients including american express, general mills, emirates, johnson & johnson, levi strauss & co, dyson, enterprise holdings, upfield, just eat takeaway.Com and mattel. For more information, please visitRole DescriptionUM places a particular emphasis on strategy as a key business driver. The Chief Strategy Officer is a crucial Leadership role responsible for innovation, positioning, and new business across the Region.As Chief Strategy Officer you will report to our CEO and will lead a high-performing, talented Strategy department. A future-facing strategist with an understanding and passion for business and consumer strategy in the media space, this person will be a progressive thinker and proven leader.Responsible for UM's strategy product and capability roadmap in partnership with the Leadership team, the Chief Strategy Officer will be the driving force in understanding client needs and marketplace opportunities to identify capabilities.The Chief Strategy Officer will lead UM London's strategic offering, driving organic growth with existing clients and developing a best-in-market strategy team. With a will to win and a proven track record in founding and cementing new client relationships, the Chief Strategy Officer will serve as a fundamental contributor to the agency's client relationships and new business efforts, developing winning strategies and propositions for existing and prospective clients.Key ResponsibilitiesExternal/Client

Identify the client's key business challenges or opportunities, and quantify the outcomes required to meet a client's business goals, maintaining positive client relationships
Set challenges and create a regional culture for exemplary award-winning work
Confident approach to presenting to C-level client contacts across a range of topics, both within the usual wheelhouse of a media agency & outside, if the opportunity arises
Developing the next iteration of our established thought leadership agenda
Proactively identify strategic issues before they become real client problems, and demonstrate strong analytical and strategic skills to help address them
Oversee strategic responses for UM's most critical clients from briefing to final document
Work closely with clients and the wider agency on helping to 'transform' their media needs and operationalize different multi-market structures and needs

Internal

Represent the strategy function in UM London's leadership Team
Development of the high-performing strategy team
Set examples of ways of working, motivating the team to produce smarter thinking across platforms and touchpoints to deliver more innovative and creative strategic thinking
Ensure UM London's Strategy team continues to pioneer and develop world-class talent and be a beacon for the agency
Recruit and motivate resources
Create a powerful UM London story, look, and feel with an edge to be more disruptive and provocative
Able to deliver a strategy with insight, audience & targeting info with first thoughts & a POV on the potential strategic platform and communications architecture
Work to continuously refine, train, and embed UM's process and capabilities to keep it best in class in the industry
Work with the audience, research, and analytics function to define a robust measurement and learning plan to measure and optimize media plans

Commercial

Working closely with the Business Development team to develop innovative pitch winning strategies
A key contributor to Agency & Client revenue opportunities by improving the teams' Strategic output and positioning the strategy team to drive new products and services
Lead the strategy function in new business pitches
Work with key client business partners to pilot, refine, productise, and sell in new or evolved strategy capabilities - positioning strategy as a growth driver to our clients and the agency

Desired Skills & Experience

You are a progressive, strategic, and critical thinker with a passion for client engagement, and identifying real solutions and insights that will make a difference to clients, well-versed in media operations and landscape
You possess a keen understanding of the ever-changing media and digital landscape with a point of view on the trends that are pushing the industry; understand and remain absorbed in understanding people's motivations and behaviors in the shifting landscape
You have a passion for people and experience in team management and leadership
You have good attention and focus on detail
You have a thorough approach to seeing through the delivery of products, projects, and services
You are a strong communicator and skilled storyteller, who sets the bar high for themselves and their team, with the ability to bring multiple, diverse groups of people together to define a single end-to-end solution
You have highly developed business acumen with solid commercial, strategic, and analytical skills
You are tenacious and relentless, never back down from a challenge; a superb problem solver who looks for the unexpected answer
You embrace new ideas and experimentation; are naturally curious, and are energized rather than intimidated by ambiguity and not afraid to fail
Ideally you will have multi-market experience, but this isn't essential

Employee TransparencyAt IPG Mediabrands, we celebrate differences and believe this makes us stronger. IPG Mediabrands are equal-opportunity employers committed to championing an inclusive culture that provides a sense of belonging for all our employees. We do not discriminate against any applicant based on age, disability, race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, belief, marital status or any other characteristic protected by law.Please reach out to our Talent Inclusion Specialist Jess at if you would like to have a confidential conversation regarding any adjustments that would ensure our recruitment process is accessible for you. Please note requesting a reasonable adjustment will not affect your application.The PerksWe aim to provide all our people with a supportive and fun work environment where you can develop your full potential and benefit from the broad range of opportunities within the agency. When you join us, we want to make sure you feel valued - and that you are rewarded for your fantastic work. So, we also offer a range of benefits:

Flexi-leave, with 25 days annual leave to be taken as minimum. In addition to your holiday entitlement, the office usually closes between Christmas & New Year
Free breakfast and free lunch
Early finish Fridays
Core Hours (Mon-Thurs, flexible start/finish times)
Retail discounts
Electric vehicle salary sacrifices car scheme
Wellbeing programme, including Headspace & flu jabs
Interest free season ticket loan
Paid time off for Volunteering
Group Income Protection
Life Assurance
Private Medical Insurance or Health Cash Plan (dependent on level)
Group Personal Pension Plan with matched contributions from 3-6%
Generous Parental Leave & Pay
Independent mortgage advice
Financial education
Employee Assistance Programme
Free eye tests
Flexible benefits including Dental, Travel insurance, Cycle to Work, Gym Discounts and many more!

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