Senior Social Creative

VML; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life Assurance

Permanent Health Insurance

BUPA

Flexible hybrid‑working schedule

Enhanced family friendly policies

Well‑being Programme

Employee Assistance Support

Cycle to Work Scheme

Eye Care and Glasses Vouchers

Season Ticket Loans

WPP Discounts

Job summary

VML is seeking a Senior Social Creative who can shape social language and voice for flagship accounts. You will lead copy development across campaigns, always‑on content, reactive moments and creator‑led work, while mentoring junior writers and maintaining high craft standards across platforms.

You’ll collaborate with Creative Directors, Strategists and producers to deliver culturally relevant, platform‑native ideas that drive brand growth in a fast‑moving social landscape.

Qualifications

• Be a writer first with strong verbal craft.
• Significant experience in a creative, social or digital agency.
• Exceptional ideas person with leadership to influence stakeholders.
• Ability to express ideas in one frame or opening hook.
• Strong editorial and cultural judgement for brand voice.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of original social ideas born in social itself.
• Translate insights into breakthrough social‑first creative.
• Originate platforms, recurring formats and reactive ideas.
• Collaborate with designers, producers and account teams to realise concepts.
• Maintain a high standard of craft across scripts, captions and posts.
• Present ideas clearly and defend creative choices with rationale.

Skills

Writer first

Social-first thinking

Platform-native storytelling

Creative leadership

Editorial judgement

Mentoring juniors

Cultural sensitivity

Job description

About VML

VML, part of WPP, is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative, 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. 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.

Senior Social Creative

We are looking for a Senior Social Creative who doesn’t just understand social—he/she helps define what great social creativity looks like. This is a copy‑led creative role for a writer who can turn cultural insight into compelling language, distinctive brand voices and original social‑first ideas. The ideal candidate is comfortable writing a six‑word hook or reactive comment as well as developing a campaign platform, creator script or global social narrative.

This role is for someone who lives and breathes social culture, has exceptional creative instincts, and knows how to develop ideas that genuinely earn attention in today’s fast‑moving social landscape. The strongest social ideas aren’t adapted from bigger campaign thinking—they are born from culture, communities, creators and platform behaviours. As a senior member of the creative team, you’ll lead the development of bold, social‑first concepts across always‑on content, campaigns and reactive moments, helping shape the creative direction for one of our flagship client accounts.

You’ll partner closely with Creative Directors, Strategists, Designers, Producers and Account teams to create work that is culturally relevant, platform‑native and commercially effective. You will originate ideas through language, lead copy development from concept to execution, and help define how the brand sounds across platforms, audiences and cultural moments.

In addition, you’ll elevate the creative output of the wider team by bringing fresh thinking, inspiring those around you, and maintaining a consistently high creative standard across everything we produce.

Key Responsibilities

Social‑First Ideation

• Lead the development of original ideas that are born in social, not adapted into it
• Translate strategic insight and audience understanding into breakthrough social‑first creative
• Originate campaign platforms, recurring formats and reactive ideas through strong conceptual and verbal thinking
• Drive creative thinking within brainstorms, workshops and concept development
• Push creative ambition whilst ensuring ideas remain executable across platforms
• Express ideas simply and persuasively, from a single‑line proposition through to a fully developed creative narrative

Copywriting & Verbal Craft

• Lead copy development across social campaigns, always‑on content, reactive moments and creator‑led work
• Write compelling hooks, headlines, captions, scripts, supers, voiceovers, dialogue, comments and community responses
• Develop distinctive campaign platforms, naming systems, recurring formats and social series
• Define, evolve and protect a distinctive brand voice, adapting tone intelligently across platforms, audiences, markets and cultural moments
• Turn complex strategic, product or technical messages into simple, culturally relevant and highly shareable creative
• Write natural, believable language for creators and talent that feels platform‑native rather than overly scripted or advertising‑led
• Maintain exceptional standards of grammar, rhythm, clarity and verbal craft across every output
• Present and defend copy choices with confidence, clearly explaining the strategic and creative thinking behind them

Platform‑Native Thinking

• Bring an expert understanding of how audiences behave across TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube and emerging platforms
• Understand how language behaves differently across platforms, from immediate hooks and on‑screen copy to captions, comments, scripts and community responses
• Stay ahead of trends, creators, platform innovations and cultural shifts, identifying opportunities before they become mainstream
• Champion ideas that enable brands to participate authentically in culture rather than simply reacting to it
• Recognise the difference between following a trend and creating something distinctive and ownable for the brand

Content Creation & Craft

• Lead the development of compelling creative concepts across copy, visual direction, storytelling and content formats
• Collaborate closely with designers, motion creatives, editors and producers to bring ideas to life with exceptional craft
• Write sharp, natural scripts for creators, talent, social films and platform‑native entertainment
• Shape the relationship between words, visuals, sound and edit so every element strengthens the core idea
• Ensure every piece of work feels platform‑native, culturally relevant and creatively distinctive
• Be ruthless in the edit, making work shorter, clearer, sharper and more memorable without losing meaning

Reactive, Community & Editorial Creativity

• Identify creative opportunities within comments, community conversations, creator interactions and live cultural moments
• Write with the speed, judgement and confidence required for reactive social, without compromising brand voice or quality
• Bring strong editorial judgement, identifying which ideas should become posts, formats, recurring series or larger campaign platforms
• Exercise sound cultural judgement, understanding when a brand has a credible role in a conversation and when it should remain silent
• Help build a brand presence that feels consistent, human and recognisable across both planned and unplanned moments

Collaboration & Leadership

• Partner with multidisciplinary teams to develop integrated creative solutions
• Work confidently with Creative Directors and senior stakeholders to shape and refine ideas
• Present and sell creative ideas clearly to internal teams and clients, responding constructively to feedback while protecting the strength of the work
• Provide guidance, inspiration and constructive feedback to more junior creatives where appropriate
• Support the development of junior writers by raising standards of concept, copy and presentation craft
• Thrive in a fast‑paced environment, balancing multiple projects while maintaining creative excellence

Executional Standards

• Set a consistently high standard of creative quality across all social outputs
• Ensure ideas are strategically sound, creatively ambitious and flawlessly executed
• Help shape content calendars, campaign rollouts and reactive opportunities with creative leadership
• Use audience response, platform signals and performance data to sharpen creative thinking without allowing optimisation to flatten originality or brand distinctiveness
• Champion innovation, experimentation and continuous improvement across the team
• Take ownership from first thought through to final delivery, maintaining the integrity of the idea across scripts, decks, production and publishing

The Ideal Candidate Will

• Be a writer first, with a sharp eye for visual storytelling and an instinct for how words and images work together in social
• Live and breathe social media, internet culture and digital creativity
• Have significant experience in a creative, social or digital agency environment developing social‑first campaigns
• Be an exceptional ideas person with the confidence to lead creative conversations and influence stakeholders
• Be able to express a strong idea in one line, one frame or one compelling opening hook
• Have an instinctive understanding of platform‑native storytelling and audience behaviour
• Be deeply connected to creators, trends, internet culture and emerging social behaviours
• Be equally comfortable writing polished campaign language, natural creator dialogue and fast, culturally fluent reactive copy
• Be able to shift tone confidently across humour, entertainment, utility, emotion and more elevated brand worlds
• Have an outstanding portfolio demonstrating exceptional social‑first copy, original campaign thinking, distinctive brand voices, scripts, reactive work and creator‑led ideas across multiple platforms
• Be comfortable leading projects from concept through to execution in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams
• Be comfortable originating ideas independently rather than waiting for a visual route or format to define the concept
• Be passionate about mentoring others, raising creative standards and continuously pushing the quality of the work
• Have strong editorial and cultural judgement, with a clear point of view on what a brand should say, make or leave alone

Desirable (but Not Essential)

• Experience leading creative development for global or large‑scale brands
• Experience presenting and selling creative ideas to senior clients and internal stakeholders
• Strong understanding of content production, motion, design and creator‑led workflows
• Experience working across integrated campaigns where social is the lead creative channel
• Experience defining or evolving brand tone of voice across multiple platforms and markets
• Experience writing for creators, talent, entertainment formats or real‑time social environments

Benefits

• Life Assurance
• Permanent Health Insurance
• BUPA
• Flexible hybrid‑working schedule
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Well‑being Programme
• Employee Assistance Support
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Eye Care and Glasses Vouchers
• Season Ticket Loans
• WPP Discounts

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

VML is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, colour, religion or belief, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, military/veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability. We believe in creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion and strive to recruit a diverse slate of candidates to help us achieve that goal.

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.