Creative Strategy Manager

OA- Mastercard; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services organization in the United Arab Emirates is seeking a skilled Creative Strategy Manager. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of strategic experience within advertising agencies, with proven success in leading integrated marketing campaigns. This role involves developing brand, creative, and communication strategies, managing projects, and collaborating with stakeholders. A bachelor's degree is required; advanced qualifications are highly preferred. Proficiency in English is essential, with Arabic as a strong advantage.

Qualifications

• 10 years’ strategic experience within leading advertising agencies.
• Demonstrated success in leading integrated marketing campaigns.
• Proven expertise in developing comprehensive brand strategies.

Responsibilities

• Develop brand, creative, and communication strategies for clients.
• Co-lead creative ideation sessions for larger client projects.
• Manage multiple briefs and projects at one time.

Skills

Strategic experience in advertising agencies

Campaign planning

Consumer behavior analysis

Stakeholder management

Problem-solving skills

Conceptual thinking

Communication skills

Project management

Proficiency in English

Understanding of market trends

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree in Marketing, Creative Communications, or MBA

Job description

Our Purpose

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re helping build a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

Title and Summary

Creative Strategy Manager
Creative Strategy Manager, Advisors Creative Desk

Overview

The Services team is a key differentiator for Mastercard, providing cutting‑edge services that help our customers grow. Centered on data‑driven technologies and innovation, this team offers consulting, marketing, loyalty, and analytics to financial institutions and merchants globally. Marketing Services is the team within Services that develops and executes marketing programs that help clients achieve their marketing goals. The Advisors Creative Desk sits within Services and is responsible for ideating and creating engaging, forward‑thinking, on‑brand content solutions that connect our advertising partners, platforms, and our portfolio of brands.

Role

• Develop brand, creative and communication strategies for our clients that align to the brand and objectives, factoring in data‑informed insights.
• Ensure the smooth handover and understanding of the creative strategy to the respective Creative Managers, jointly briefing the creative development team to enable execution.
• Co‑lead creative ideation sessions with the Creative Managers for larger client projects of strategic importance, and be active and available to guide the creative team and interface with the client on such projects through to completion as needed.
• Support the Creative Managers with smaller client project creative ideation sessions as needed.
• Manage multiple briefs and projects at one time.
• Input to estimating, negotiating, and agreeing on budgets and timescales with Creative Project Managers.
• Work alongside the Creative Project Managers and Creative Solutioning vertical to align on business priorities to best utilize your skills.
• Liaise with Advisors Research Centre and local ACS team as needed to obtain market intel and client nuances.
• Continually keep abreast of marketing and in‑market trends regarding both consumer behaviours, creative and media trends.

All About You

• Minimum of 10 years’ strategic experience within leading advertising agencies, preferably within global network agencies, currently holding a role such as Strategy Director, Group Strategy Director or above.
• Demonstrated success in leading and delivering high‑impact, big‑budget integrated marketing campaigns.
• Proven expertise in developing comprehensive brand strategies, campaign planning, and managing full‑funnel customer journeys across diverse channels, including ATL, BTL, digital, and direct marketing.
• Proven experience managing senior‑level client and internal stakeholders.
• Track record of influencing award‑winning creative outcomes through strategic guidance.
• Strong understanding of consumer behavior, market research, and competitive analysis; proficient in engaging and briefing external research agencies, translating insights and data into actionable strategies.
• Adept at defining client briefs and presenting concepts back to clients, drawing on research and data.
• Strong conceptual thinking, problem‑solving skills, and the ability to communicate ideas effectively.
• Skilled at working under pressure.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced qualifications such as a Master’s degree in Marketing, Creative Communications, or MBA highly preferred.
• Must be open and available to travel as needed.
• Proficiency in English; additional languages are a plus, with Arabic considered a strong advantage.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices.
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed.
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach.
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.