Strategy Director

VML HEALTH; England; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic healthcare agency is searching for a Strategy Director (Brand) to drive innovative brand strategies for clients. You will partner with brand teams, mentor junior strategists, and lead global strategy projects. The role requires extensive experience in strategic planning, data analysis, and strong communication skills. Candidates should possess a bachelor's degree in a relevant field, such as public health or marketing. This is an excellent opportunity to shape impactful strategies in the healthcare industry.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in strategic planning within a healthcare advertising or creative agency.
• Strong experience in leading global strategy projects.
• Excellent creative brief writing skills and development of clear insight stories.

Responsibilities

• Build persuasive and inspiring stories to present strategy.
• Mentor and support junior strategists.
• Lead client work with supervision from strategic leadership.

Skills

Strategic planning

Data and insight mining

Creative brief writing

Market analysis

Team collaboration

Persuasive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in public health, marketing, psychology, or related fields

Job description

Who we are

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse.

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.

VML HEALTH’s Global Strategy Team (GST) launched in 2020 and is now an established, thriving practice. Home to a diverse team of strategic thinkers, it represents the highest levels of strategic competency and is the fastest growing practice in our network. The GST is an incubator for new capabilities, creator of strategic best practices and a think tank for solving some of the world’s biggest health challenges. More than anything, we are a close, supportive, and entrepreneurial team that flourish on collaborating and growing together.

About the position

Title: Strategy Director (Brand)

Reports to: Global SVP Brand Strategy

POSITION SUMMARY

In this role you will partner with our brand teams as we develop compelling strategies for our clients’ business that unleash the potential of their brands.

EXPERIENCE

• Extensive experience in strategic planning within a healthcare advertising or creative agency
• Extensive data and insight mining: qualitative and quantitative research, primary and secondary
• Strong experience in leading global strategy projects (global pitches, global brand positioning, global brand planning, etc.)
• Excellent creative brief writing skills and development of clear insight stories and propositions
• Extensive experience briefing and collaborating creative teams
• Develop competitive analysis and audits, market and brand landscape reviews
• Proven reporting on important cultural / technology / health trends, and their potential application to and impact on client business
• Repeated experience of developing brand strategies across the product life cycle
• Strong pitch experience
• Research and development of customer experience mapping
• Regular workshop development and delivery excellence

Responsibilities

• Build persuasive and inspiring stories to present strategy and achieve successful outcomes
• Provide direction and guidance to junior strategists to identify data sources & analytical frameworks and formulate a POV
• Mentor and support junior strategists on their path to growth
• Ensure effective collaboration across teams by setting a positive tone, assigning roles as needed and ensuring accountability.
• Lead client work with supervision from strategic leadership
• Create and maintain authentic relationships with senior clients
• Work product
• Challenge the team to continually seek innovative solutions and growth opportunities
• Own the integration of innovative tools, methodologies and resources into strategic processes and documents
• Demonstrate leadership in pursuing growth opportunities and incorporating into daily work

REQUIREMENTS

• Clear communicator, good listener, agile thinker
• Curious and analytical
• Has an understanding of what is required to successfully achieve work objectives
• Able to be an individual contributor, willing and eager to work in a hands‑on, proactive capacity
• Strong persuasive communication skills to advocate for strategy both internally and externally
• Collaborative and driven
• Entrepreneurial spirit

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree, preferably in public health, science, marketing, sociology, psychology or communications or comparable degrees

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

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

At VML, we are committed to fostering an all-inclusive work environment that is both rewarding and career-forward. Our Inclusion, Equity & Belonging initiatives, alongside the VML Foundation, reflect our dedication to giving back and making a positive impact in our communities and beyond. Our people are the heartbeat of our organization—creators, doers, innovators, makers, and thinkers—who drive not just marketing, but meaningful experiences that resonate in every action and interaction.

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