Strategy Director

2268 -  Strategy Director [Estée Lauder Companies] - GCS

Reports to: SVP, Comms Strategy

The Role Summary & Impact

The Strategy Director works within the WPP Media GCS Strategy & Capabilities (S&C) Team. Our S&C team specialises in driving growth for our multinational clients looking for a unified brand presence across markets and continents that adapts to the cultural and human differences across these. Leveraging the power of media platforms to engage with audiences across cultures, countries & continents. The primary focus of the Strategy Director is on the development of new international media & connections strategies. From inception to sign off, overseeing strategic alignment of activation across local teams. Reporting to the SVP, Comms Strategy, the successful candidate will work with a team of people from a range of specialists in the agency to develop insightful, impactful strategies that help our clients to grow.

You are a unique strategist looking to find your new home amongst others who want to create new spaces for Media to engage humans & transform their experiences with brands. As an individual, you are:

· Curious: about humans, what makes them tick, what makes them connect. About channels, new, old and changing, always asking how we can break the mould of how things may have been.

· Creative: always looking for new and exciting ways to bring brands to audiences. For the extra ‘spark’ or stretch in the plan that may not be expected.

· Challenging: themselves and others to consider if there is a new way, a better way or an uncharted way to solve business challenges.

· Collaborative: a desire & ability to collaborate with different skills, personalities and ways of thinking. To bring people together to find new ways to design, deliver strategies and hold ourselves accountable to them.

About The Beauty Foundry:

The Beauty Foundry is WPP Media's bespoke, dedicated team built exclusively for The Estée Lauder Companies, one of the world's most iconic portfolios of prestige beauty brands. Spanning Heritage Prestige and Luxury Skincare, Derma and Active, Artistry and Makeup, Fragrance and Travel Retail, ELC operates across more than 50 markets with some of the most recognized and loved brands in beauty.

The Beauty Foundry exists to accelerate ELC's transformation agenda Growth Reimagined by connecting brand-building and demand generation across the full funnel, powered by WPP Open, our end-to-end AI-driven platform. This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to work at the intersection of prestige beauty, technology and global media transformation.

This role will be part of the regional team based in London who look after a newly formed region EUKEM which is made up of Europe, Middle East and Parts of Asia (India, Thailand and SE4).

The business is split into two business unit: Skincare and haircare; and Make up and Fragrance.

The role will sit alongside a second Strategy Director, each of whom will own their own set of brands and clients to manage including two Media Managers and Brand Managers for their top tier brands.

Both roles report into and work closely with the SVP, Comms Strategy who leads the media transformation at a regional level.

The role will be responsible for leading on annual strategies and Gold level campaign responses for their brands, as well as providing strategic direction for silver briefs, which are led by the planning team.

In addition to this, the role will be responsible for driving the media transformation on their brands.

The Strategy Director role is supported by an AD level planner (1 x 100FT per business unit) and a Planning Executive.

Responsibilities:

· Be the single point of contact for senior clients and lead media strategy development, media planning best practice, consumer engagement strategies and thought leadership,

· Design and deliver media strategies across multiple markets, understanding the influence and connection of central/global vs. local strategic requirements.

· Build a Trusted Advisor relationship with key ELC clients through strategic recommendations and proactive thinking.

· Identify and cultivate organic growth from existing clients with growth targets from agency senior management, in collaboration with SVP, Comms Strategy.

· Drive collaboration with specialist teams, e.g. Data Strategy + Insights, Digital Transformation, Innovation + Invention, Commerce etc., to continually elevate the solutions we bring to ELC and the impact of our work.

· Collaborate with ELC stakeholders in shaping the briefs, and create clear, accountable KPIs and success metrics for our work, ensuring we hold ourselves accountable to achieving them.

Skills and Experience

The Ideal Candidate

You are a unique strategist looking to find your new home amongst others who want to create new spaces for media to engage humans & transform their experiences with brands. As an individual, you are:

· Curious: about humans, what makes them tick, what makes them connect. About channels, new, old and changing, always asking how we can break the mould of how things may have been.

· Creative: always looking for new and exciting ways to bring brands to audiences. For the extra ‘spark’ or stretch in the plan that may not be expected.

· Challenging: themselves and others to consider if there is a new way, a better way or an uncharted way to solve business challenges.

· Collaborative: a desire & ability to collaborate with different skills, personalities and ways of thinking. To bring people together to find new ways to design, deliver strategies and hold ourselves accountable to them.

You are a confident communicator, experienced in advising and working with senior client, partner and agency stakeholders. A proactive, excellence-driven approach to delivering and exceeding client expectations is essential. You will always be looking for opportunities to drive the business forward, both from an agency and client perspective.

· Proven track record of leading data and insights-driven media & communication strategy particularly in agency environment.

· Strong understanding of the connection and impact of brand-building and performance-focused end-to-end media strategies.

· Strong experience with digital channels and social platforms including influencer and creator marketing.

· Independent self-starter with excellent communication & interpersonal skills including evidence of presentation design and delivery at a senior client level.

· Proven track record of collaborating with and supporting clients in distilling business challenges into concise media strategic briefs.

· Ability to be a leader in the creation of integrated strategy across multifunctional groups (internal / external).

· Strong storyteller with the ability to formulate clear, actionable recommendations on complex business problems.

· Ability to lead, manage and inspire teams across cultures, continents & capabilities.

· Experience in designing partnership & innovation roadmaps to support longer term needs for clients.

· Experience using syndicated research tools, consumer research methodologies & techniques e.g. TGI, eMarketer, WARC, etc.

· A passion for the beauty catgegory, including a finger on the pulse with recent trends and product launches.

Desirable Skills + Experience:

· Experience leading multi-market or global media & communication strategy ideal but not essential.

· Experience in advising on communication strategies encompassing: Consumer Experience, 360 Media environment (inc Digital, Social, PR, Events).

· Experience with beauty brands and cross-channel media planning experience would be a bonus but not essential.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media is powered by our commitment to Be Extraordinary, investing in our employees to inspire transformational creativity. We also Lead Optimistically, firmly believing in and Championing Growth and Development for every individual. This commitment allows WPP Media employees to leverage the extensive global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, build vital professional connections, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising.  

We Create an Open environment built on trust and respect, where everyone feels they belong and has opportunities to progress. This inclusive culture is fostered through a variety of employee resource groups and frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our comprehensive benefits package reflects this commitment, including competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.  

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection in this open and supportive environment. 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. Please note that while our philosophy is the same across WPP, benefits may vary by office/country. 

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location 

Please read our Privacy Notice (https://www.wppmedia.com/pages/privacy- policy) for more information on how we process the information you provide. 

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

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