Strategy Director

Ogilvy UK; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days leave

Bupa Healthcare

Enhanced parental leave

Flexible working hours

Pension 1.5:1 matching

Wellbeing budget and activities

Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work

Job summary

Ogilvy UK is seeking a Global Strategy Director to lead strategic plans for beauty and wellness clients, translating insights into culturally resonant campaigns. You will steer social-first strategies, collaborate with global teams, and drive meaningful outcomes across markets.

The role demands staying ahead of trends, championing diversity of thought, and guiding internal and client teams to deliver transformational campaigns in a fast-paced agency environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in social and influencer marketing for consumer brands.
• Creative agency background with collaboration across creative teams.
• Proven track record of campaigns delivering business outcomes.
• Familiarity with global beauty and wellbeing brands and female-focused campaigns.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and tailored planning.
• Experience leading multi-country campaigns with cross-functional teams.
• Strong project management across multiple campaigns globally.
• Excellent interpersonal skills for client and team relations.
• Strong creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Understanding of paid media integration within influence campaigns.
• Strong presentation skills for senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of bespoke strategic plans aligned with client goals.
• Operate in a social-first, culture-forward manner to conceive big ideas.
• Collaborate with clients to understand business, audience and brand ethos.
• Conduct in-depth research to identify trends, influencers and topics.
• Partner with creative, account and media teams to ensure campaign alignment.
• Establish thought leadership within the agency and industry.
• Stay updated on trends and tools in influence and social marketing.
• Develop influential social strategies rooted in culture for high-profile clients.
• Collaborate with planners, creatives and creators to address challenges.
• Identify opportunities to amplify trends for clients.
• Enhance creative output through insightful recommendations.

Skills

Social marketing

Influencer marketing

Creative agency experience

Campaign strategy

Beauty industry

Strategic thinking

Project management

Client relationships

Creative thinking

Paid media integration

Presentation skills

Job description

About Ogilvy

Ogilvy UK has been creating iconic ideas that deliver impact at scale for clients ever since David Ogilvy founded the company in 1948. Ogilvy UK specialises in bringing together brand advertising, customer experience marketing, PR, influence and consulting, all fuelled by Behavioural Science. Our world‑class award‑winning creative campaigns deliver solutions for clients including Molson Coors (owner of Madrí beer), Valeo Foods UK (owner of Kettle Chips and Rowse Honey), Argos, Mondelēz International, Unilever, TK Maxx and Pernod Ricard.

In 2023, Ogilvy UK celebrated their 75th anniversary and was the most awarded agency in Europe. Ogilvy is home to the largest influencer marketing practice globally, and hosts the world’s biggest festival of behavioural science and creativity, Nudgestock – now in its 12th year.

The Role

As a Global Strategy Director focused on the dynamic and social‑forward beauty and wellness sector at Ogilvy, you will play a pivotal role in leading the development of strategic plans tailored to meet the client’s distinct objectives and needs. You'll stay at the forefront of the latest beauty and wellbeing trends, cultural insights, and best practices in the realm of creative strategy development while advocating for diversity of thought and championing inclusive approaches. Collaborating closely with clients, you'll gain a deep understanding of their global business, target audiences, and brand values, translating this knowledge into compelling culturally driven campaigns that resonate with their customers and drive tangible outcomes.

You will actively contribute to social and cultural insight mining to shape the agency’s creative output. Your recommendations and inventive solutions will pave the way for clients to amplify trends and topics effectively.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of bespoke strategic plans that align with clients’ unique goals, incorporating the latest trends and best practices.
• Work in a social‑first, culture‑forward way to build big campaign ideas.
• Collaborate closely with clients to grasp their business, target audience, and brand ethos, and formulate campaigns that resonate and yield results.
• Conduct in‑depth research and analysis, using social tools, to pinpoint emerging trends, influencers, and topics that can enhance compelling content and campaigns.
• Partner with internal teams—creative, account, and media—to ensure campaign integration aligns with overall brand strategy.
• Emerge as a thought leader both within the agency and the industry at large, sharing insights, trends, and best practices with teams and clients.
• Stay updated on the latest trends, technologies, and tools in influence and social marketing, applying this knowledge to enhance campaign performance.
• Develop influential and innovative social strategies for high‑profile clients, deeply rooted in culture and deserving of attention.
• Collaborate with planners, creatives, and creators to collaboratively address challenges and deliver exceptional work.
• Recognise opportunities for clients to harness and amplify trends and topics.
• Enhance the agency’s creative output through insightful recommendations and inventive problem‑solving.

Requirements / Experience We Value

• Good experience in social and influencer marketing, with a focus on formulating and executing strategic campaigns for notable consumer brands.
• Proficiency in working within a creative agency or similar setting, with a strong grasp of the creative process and effective collaboration with creative teams.
• Proven track record of driving successful campaigns that deliver tangible business outcomes for clients.
• Familiarity with the global beauty and wellbeing industry and experience working on female power brands.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and planning abilities, crafting tailored plans that cater to individual client needs and objectives.
• Experience in social‑first strategic planning, leading to big 360 campaigns that drive conversion through culture.
• Strong project management capabilities, managing multiple global campaigns and priorities concurrently.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, fostering strong relationships with clients and internal teams.
• Highly skilled in creative thinking and innovative problem‑solving.
• Understanding of paid media integration within influence and social campaigns.
• Strong presentation skills, effectively conveying intricate ideas and strategies to clients and internal teams.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave + 1 Volunteer Day
• Bupa Healthcare
• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave
• Flexible Working Model with core working hours: 10am – 4pm
• 1.5:1 Matching Pension Structure
• Wellbeing and Health: Up to £25.00 per month towards physical or online exercise class membership, Unmind membership, LifeWorks tool and annual eye tests and development budgets and wellbeing incentives and activities throughout the year
• Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work Scheme

Our ambition is to attract the very best diverse talent to Ogilvy, and to be the employer of choice in the UK. We want everyone to feel welcome when they join us, and once they’re here, for them to want to stay with us, grow their career, and to feel they belong with us.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we’re committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone who wants to work at Ogilvy. For us, diversity, equity and inclusion is integrated into everything that we do. We believe that for creativity to flourish, everything about how we work must have diversity at its core. Your race, colour, ethnic, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, have no bearing on our hiring decisions, but we encourage everyone to feel free to express their true selves in an environment we are consistently striving to make as inclusive as possible.

We aim to facilitate an accessible and positive application experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments from us to support you through the process or expect to require any adjustments to working conditions to be able to best perform in the role, please let us know. We are happy to consider all reasonable adjustments.

If you live with a disability and you would like to take advantage of our offer of a guaranteed interview under the Disability Confident Scheme, please ensure you fill out our voluntary Equal Opportunities Questionnaire when applying.