Strategy Lead

About WPP Media

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.
WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.

Role Summary and Impact:

As a Growth Partner, you will be a strategic powerhouse, blending deep analytical expertise with visionary leadership. You will lead the charge in defining strategic direction, developing innovative, data-driven plans that significantly boost client ROI and accelerate agency growth. Your core mission will be to uncover hidden truths within complex data, translating them into boardroom-ready insights and compelling narratives that reshape how brands think about their business and drive new opportunities. You will serve as a senior expert, overseeing strategic initiatives across various teams and integrating cutting-edge technology and consumer data into our approach.

Key Responsibilities:
1. Strategic Vision & Leadership:

• Define and articulate the strategic vision for key clients and the agency, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, innovative, and creative media and business solutions.
• Lead the analytical development on multi-market pitches, sourcing and synthesizing data from a diverse range of conventional and unconventional sources.
• Drive the strategic "red thread" that anchors pitch narratives, connecting disparate data points into compelling stories that demonstrate deep market understanding and reveal opportunities competitors might miss.
• Challenge pitch teams with provocative insights and intelligent assumptions, clearly articulating reasoning and confidence levels when complete data is unavailable.

2. Client & Business Growth:

• Lead new business pitches, acting as a senior strategic advisor to key clients to foster retention, expansion, and long-term partnerships.
• Craft narratives that transform complex analyses into clear, actionable insights, easily understood and acted upon at the C-suite level.
• Support the wider marketing team and planning with thought leadership rooted in data-driven insights, helping to refine group and agency propositions.

3. Data & Insight Excellence:

• Pioneer creative approaches to combining disparate data sources, from consumer behavior and cultural trends to macroeconomic indicators, to unlock strategic advantages.
• Utilize analytics and consumer data to identify market trends, emerging opportunities, and competitive advantages.
• Build robust analytical frameworks that can be replicated across pitches while maintaining the flexibility to address unique client challenges.
• Partner closely with Choreograph and internal data teams to access and leverage WPP's full data ecosystem, including WPP Open capabilities.
• Identify gaps in our data partnerships and proactively source new data streams in anticipation of client and pitch needs.
• Develop methodologies for rapid insight generation to meet demanding pitch timelines.

4. Innovation & Best Practice:

• Drive the adoption and integration of WPP tools, non-WPP new media tools, and cutting-edge technologies (including AI) and best practices across the agency.
• Create scalable frameworks for insight development across the growth community.
• Maintain a dynamic repository of timeless insights, analytical approaches, and data sources for pitch teams, documenting and sharing breakthrough insights that have changed pitch outcomes.
• Anticipate future client needs by analyzing market trends and emerging data sources.

5. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Leadership:

• Brief and guide planning teams on analytical approaches and insight development, ensuring strategic alignment.
• Partner with agency brand strategic leadership to ensure insights effectively inform creative and media strategies.
• Work closely with product teams to understand platform capabilities and how they enhance our analytical offerings.
• Build productive relationships across WPP operating companies to access diverse data and insights, fostering a collaborative ecosystem.Proven ability to work effectively with all teams and senior stakeholders, influencing outcomes without direct authority.

Skills and Experience

• Experience: A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience is required in strategic planning within a media, digital, or growth-focused agency environment, with a proven track record as a seasoned analyst and strategist. We welcome qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds. Prior experience with WPP proprietary internal network tools is not required, as comprehensive training will be provided.
• Analytical Prowess: Exceptional proficiency in analyzing audience data, performance analytics, market research, and complex quantitative and qualitative data to derive actionable insights and uncover hidden truths. Ability to make intelligent assumptions and projections when complete data is unavailable.
• Strategic & Critical Thinking: Demonstrated ability to define strategic direction, challenge conventional thinking, anticipate future client needs, and translate complex data into clear, actionable C-suite insights.
• Communication & Storytelling: Exceptional storytelling, presentation, and negotiation skills, capable of crafting compelling narratives and selling sophisticated strategies to C-suite clients and internal stakeholders.
• Leadership & Collaboration: Proven ability to lead, mentor, and inspire teams, work effectively with senior stakeholders, and foster cross-functional collaboration across diverse internal and external groups (WPP OCs, data teams, creative/media teams).
• Technical Savvy: Familiarity with industry media tools (e.g. Nielsen), new media tools, AI applications, and various data ecosystems relevant to media and marketing.

Life at WPP Media
Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular 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. 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 around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

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While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.