Strategy Director

IPG Mediabrands; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A global marketing firm seeks a strategic lead to oversee B2B investments across multiple EMEA markets from London. The role involves leading high-profile accounts and ensuring media investment is optimized for brand and demand growth. Responsibilities include delivering innovative strategies for leading brands, collaborating with various internal teams, and participating in new business pitches. This exciting position offers comprehensive benefits and the opportunity to impact major clients significantly.

Benefits

Flexi-leave and 25 days annual leave

Free breakfast and lunch

Early finish Fridays

Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme

Private Medical Insurance

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in integrated strategy and planning roles.
• Ability to think creatively and independently.
• Strong understanding of the strategic process.

Responsibilities

• Oversee strategic investment across multiple EMEA markets.
• Deliver innovative strategies to meet client objectives.
• Contribute to new business pitches.

Skills

Integrated strategy

Creative thinking

Cultural understanding

Media planning

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Media investment systems

Cultural analytical tools

Job description

Overview

We're looking for someone who finds the evolving B2B landscape fascinating and wants to play a pivotal role in shaping the next chapter of growth for some of the world’s most ambitious businesses. Whether you’re a seasoned B2B strategist or have deep experience working with B2B clients and are looking to move into strategy, this is an exciting opportunity to lead high-profile accounts and drive real impact. You’ll be at the centre of a major global B2B account, overseeing strategic investment across multiple EMEA markets from our London hub. With a significant media budget spanning 10–12 countries, where the UK and Germany are key priority markets, you’ll be responsible for ensuring investment is optimised to fuel both brand and demand growth. As the strategic lead, you’ll work closely with local market teams, performance specialists, and ABM experts to evolve the client’s media approach, balancing immediate lead generation with long-term brand positioning. You’ll also have the opportunity to shape high-profile partnerships, including pioneering work in AI-driven marketing innovation. Beyond this flagship account, you’ll also contribute to the broader B2B strategy across Initiative’s client portfolio, working on a mix of leading global brands across finance, tech, and professional services, in addition to a tourism client.

Client Responsibilities

• Demonstrate understanding of the clients’ key business and challenges
• Contribute to client meetings in a valuable way, demonstrating the ability to challenge others’ opinions in the right forum/manner
• Deliver innovative thinking that inspires leading edge solutions and award-winning breakthrough work – contributing the creation of best‑in‑class work as standard (both internally & externally)
• Translate complex concepts into simple, powerful narratives using complex data and information, presenting key strategic implications and recommendations to the team/client
• Provide the client team with knowledge and expertise to speak confidently about the strategic direction where required
• Deliver upon measurable client and strategy business KPIs

Internal Responsibilities

• Identify, develop & oversee the delivery of unique and innovative strategies to deliver the client’s desired objectives
• Demonstrate how strategy can contribute to client retention, delivering thought leadership as well as communications solutions
• Demonstrate a good understanding of consumers and their behaviours
• Clearly demonstrate how the strategy delivers on the business need and focus on results and measurement
• Lead the Velocity Planning (process and tools) for the team and client base, championing usage across the agency
• Bring fresh thinking & inspiration into the strategic process to help the team’s springboard to better strategic thinking
• Adoption, promotion & facilitation of the cultural analytical process/tools to help teams find new insights that unlock growth
• Deliver executable, relevant, on‑brand platforms with the potential for fame/award entry
• Write cohesive communications architectures that deliver on the platform and give guidance for how the brand will play in culture
• Train, guide & assist the strategists in development and packaging of ideas
• Work in constant partnership and positively collaborate with internal (CAM, Communications Design, Partnerships and SBUs) and external (media partners and other agency partners) partners to facilitate the delivery of best‑in‑class work
• Use qualitative and quantitative communications channel & cultural tool research to develop applicable insights into the consumer connection with the brand
• Partner with Analytics to develop new tools, inputting into the development of new & cutting edge proprietary planning, research and reporting models for Initiative
• Lead ideation team sessions in conjunction with the Communications Design team and relevant SBUs to generate creative & compelling communications ideas
• Actively collect, collate and foster best‑in‑class case studies of award‑winning and award‑worthy work from around the network
• Contribute to agency culture and conversation through active participation in meetings and media partner presentations
• Participate in industry competitions / learning and development opportunities appropriate to your level to enable you to network and challenge yourself to use your skills with new teams and in a new environment

Commercial Responsibilities

• Contribute to agency & client revenue opportunities through strategic output
• Work proactively with all partners (media, agency partners, academic institutions, creative consultancies), keeping up to date on their offer and using that information to help the strategy team unlock new growth opportunities for the client and/or the agency

New Business Responsibilities

• Actively contribute to business pitches (for new and/or existing clients) through the support and development of strategic work

Strategic Initiatives

• Demonstrable experience in integrated strategy and planning roles in media, creative, innovation or communications disciplines (digital, content, invention, social, activation)
• Excellent understanding of the strategic process that is channel agnostic and how to apply to a client challenge or brief to deliver optimal solutions
• Excellent understanding of media implementation planning and investment systems, processes and goals and how these connect to the communications platform and strategic process
• Ability to think differently: creative & adaptive, entrepreneurial, independently minded; deeply immersed in cultural understanding and driven by a desire to know more the world / to better understand people’s motivations & behaviours in the shifting landscape
• Investment Strategy: Recalibrating spend across markets to maximise impact and efficiency
• Brand vs. Demand: Creating a strategic roadmap to balance brand building with short‑term conversion, helping reposition the client as a leader in their field
• ABM & Lead Nurture: Collaborating with specialists to drive best‑in‑class demand generation and nurture activity
• Audience & Execution: Working within a sophisticated audience framework to ensure media is executed effectively and identifying opportunities for enhancement
• Innovative Partnerships: Leading on ambitious collaborations that bring cutting‑edge tech into the media approach, positioning the client at the forefront of AI‑driven marketing

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)
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice car scheme
• 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
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Free eye tests
• Flexible benefits including Dental, Travel insurance, Cycle to Work, Gym Discounts and many more!