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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead strategic planning for iconic brands and drive innovative solutions across diverse markets.
- Company: Join Grey London, a creative powerhouse shaping influential brands for over a century.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, extensive training, and wellness perks in a vibrant studio environment.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on culture while collaborating with top talent in the industry.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in strategic planning with strong digital fluency and storytelling skills.
- Other info: Embrace diversity and inclusion in a supportive workplace that values unique perspectives.
The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 £ per year.
Grey London is on a mission to create the most influential brands of the next decade, through the power of Famously Effective ideas. Famously Effective ideas extend beyond advertising or marketing channels and influence wider culture by breaking norms, smashing stereotypes, saving lives, changing minds, writing history, shifting conversations, and transforming perspectives.
More than just our tagline, Famously Effective is a shared global philosophy guiding Grey for over 100 years. Today, more than 150 people work in our London office, with nearly 3,000 more throughout our global network.
THE ROLE
We have an exciting opportunity for an established Planning Director to join Grey London, driving Famously Effective Work across markets. You will be a key leader within our strategic team, providing critical insights and direction for one of our largest accounts. You will collaborate with the Chief Strategy Officer, Planning Directors, Senior Strategists, and other agency teams to ensure the delivery of innovative and impactful solutions for our clients. This role requires strong leadership skills, the ability to foster meaningful relationships with clients and teams, and the drive to inspire those around you.
THE ACCOUNT
Grey works with brands across health & wellness, tourism, automotive, FMCG, telecoms, energy, sports & active wear, alongside pro-bono projects for charity groups. This variety will keep you challenged and engaged, broadening your experience and impact on culture. Primarily, you’ll be the strategic lead on a large Haleon brand within Oral Health, in Team Vitale. The brand is highly strategic with complex business challenges that require digital‑first strategic thinking.
DAY TO DAY, YOU’LL BE TAKING ON:
- Client & Strategic Leadership
- Act as senior strategic partner to client stakeholders, bringing a clear point-of-view on brand and digital growth.
- Set the strategic agenda for the brand within the category: defining the role of brand, comms, channels and content ecosystems across markets.
- Build and maintain the brand’s digital planning system (playbooks, briefing frameworks, comms architecture, tone of voice, channel roles) to ensure consistent strategic quality globally.
- Orchestrate multi-market, multi-channel programmes - ensuring planning outputs are clear, actionable and aligned to timing, process and platform requirements.
- Track client sentiment and planning effectiveness; partner with Account Leadership to continuously improve client feedback and strategic impact.
- Represent the agency’s strategic and digital thinking externally (industry events, thought leadership, awards), showcasing planning craft and creative effectiveness.
- Provide senior strategic support on key pitches, creative accelerators and special projects - particularly where digital strategy, content ecosystems or customer experience are central.
- Strategic Excellence
- Partner with Creative, Insight & Technology and Production to develop integrated, full-funnel strategies - connecting brand building to performance outcomes.
- Lead insight development across brand: cultural, category, audience and platform insight; translate complexity into simple, provocative truths that unlock great work.
- Champion best-in-class digital craft from a planning perspective and set clear measures of success & impact.
- Define measurement and effectiveness frameworks that connect brand and performance (including experimentation where relevant), ensuring learning is captured and scaled across markets.
- Growth & New Business
- Bring a growth mindset to the brand and category: identify organic opportunities where better strategy and better digital experiences can unlock new scopes.
- Help shape the agency’s proposition for the brand - developing strategic narratives, credentials, case studies and award entries grounded in effectiveness.
- Support new business across the agency: lead or co-lead strategic responses to briefs, including proposition development, positioning, comms strategy and compelling storytelling.
- Ways of Working, Tools & Modern Planning
- Champion modern planning tools, data sources and AI-enabled workflows to improve insight quality, speed and collaboration (with clear governance and quality standards).
- Embed consistent planning processes across markets: briefing formats, comms architecture templates, learning loops and knowledge management.
- Ensure planning work aligns with privacy, platform policy and brand safety expectations, partnering with specialists where needed.
- Team Development & Culture
- Lead, mentor and grow planning talent - setting standards for strategic craft, clarity, curiosity and creative bravery.
- Create an inclusive, high-performing culture where Strategy is collaborative, commercially aware and creatively ambitious.
- Stay calm under pressure; bring clarity, positivity and momentum through ambiguity and pace.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:
- Proven experience as a senior planner (Planning Director / Senior Strategy Director level) on high-profile brands, ideally across multi-market and multi-channel ecosystems.
- Strong brand strategy fundamentals with deep digital fluency across social/content systems, creators/influencer, CRM/marketing automation, retail media and commerce.
- Track record of writing inspiring, actionable briefs that lead to distinctive, platform-native creative work.
- Data-literate and effectiveness-minded: comfortable with measurement frameworks, experimentation principles and connecting brand & performance outcomes.
- Excellent storytelling and presentation skills - able to simplify complexity and sell a strategic point of view to senior stakeholders.
- Confident collaborator across Creative, Insight & Tech and Client teams; able to orchestrate multi-disciplinary thinking.
- Able to set standards and governance without killing creativity - clear, pragmatic, solutions-led.
- Calm, resilient leadership style; can guide teams through fast timelines and evolving scopes.
- Willingness to travel as needed for key client engagements and multi-market alignment.
What can you expect from us?
At Grey, you’ll have the opportunity to work at an incredible studio, with some of the most creative and inspired people in the industry, all whilst growing and shaping your career with us. We offer a competitive salary, lots of training, plenty of benefits and wellbeing perks too.
Inclusion & Belonging
At Grey, we know that the more diverse the input, the more famous and effective the output. Different perspectives spark bigger ideas, braver creativity and better work - and that starts with how we welcome new talent. We embrace applications from people underrepresented in our industry and value the unique skills, experiences and viewpoints everyone brings. Our goal is simple: create a place where everyone can belong, and no one feels the need to hide any part of who they are.
That spirit runs through our application process too. If there’s anything - from neurodivergence, to a health condition, or any other circumstance - that might shape your experience, just let our People team know. We’ll work with you to make the adjustments you need to show your best, and we’ll treat whatever you share with respect.
Strategy Director employer: Grey London
Contact Detail:
Grey London Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Strategy Director
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend events, and engage with people on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their values and how they align with your own. This will help you showcase why you're the perfect fit for the role and how you can contribute to their mission.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your storytelling skills! Be ready to share your experiences in a way that highlights your strategic thinking and leadership abilities. Use examples that demonstrate your impact on previous projects and how you can bring that to Grey London.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining our team at Grey London.
We think you need these skills to ace Strategy Director
Some tips for your application 🫡
Be Authentic: When you're writing your application, let your personality shine through! We want to see the real you, so don’t be afraid to share your unique experiences and perspectives that make you a great fit for the Strategy Director role.
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your application to highlight how your skills and experiences align with the job description. We’re looking for someone who can drive Famously Effective Work, so show us how you’ve done that in the past!
Showcase Your Storytelling Skills: Since storytelling is key in this role, use your application to demonstrate your ability to simplify complex ideas. Craft your narrative in a way that captivates us and showcases your strategic thinking.
Follow the Application Process: Don’t forget to apply through our careers portal! It’s super important to follow the process we’ve set up, as it helps us keep everything organised and ensures your application gets the attention it deserves.
How to prepare for a job interview at Grey London
✨Know Your Brands
Before the interview, dive deep into the brands Grey works with, especially in health & wellness and oral health. Understand their challenges and how digital-first strategies can make a difference. This will show your genuine interest and help you speak confidently about potential strategies.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Strategy Director, you'll need to demonstrate strong leadership. Prepare examples of how you've led teams or projects in the past, particularly in multi-market environments. Highlight your ability to inspire and mentor others, as this is crucial for fostering a collaborative culture.
✨Master the Art of Storytelling
Since storytelling is key in strategy, practice simplifying complex ideas into compelling narratives. Be ready to share how you've crafted actionable briefs that led to successful campaigns. This will showcase your ability to connect brand strategy with creative execution.
✨Be Data-Driven
Familiarise yourself with measurement frameworks and effectiveness principles. Be prepared to discuss how you've used data to inform strategic decisions and improve client outcomes. This will demonstrate your analytical mindset and commitment to driving performance.
