Earned Strategy Director (FTC)

About Havas SO

Havas SO exists to create meaningful solutions in health that earn real-world impact. We believe strategy is one of the most powerful tools we have to make that happen — uncovering the tensions that matter, connecting science with culture, and shaping ideas that influence behaviour, conversation and change. As communications undergoes the biggest structural reset in decades, we are building a next-generation earned strategy team: one driven by cultural intelligence, deep audience understanding, multidisciplinary thinking, and the belief that earned ideas can create lasting impact far beyond paid media.

Our strategists sit at the intersection of health, culture, reputation and creativity — identifying opportunities, spotting emerging behaviours, and helping brands earn relevance, trust and advocacy in the world.

Please note that this is FTC rather than permanent role and we operate a hybrid policy and come to the London King’s Cross office 3x times per week.

The Role

We're looking for an experienced earned-first strategist to develop culturally-led strategies for healthcare brands - creating ideas that travel organically without relying on paid media. This isn't traditional healthcare PR. We need someone who understands how ideas gain traction in today's social-first world, identifying cultural truths and trends that make healthcare brands relevant to conversations people are already having. You'll work with pharmaceutical clients translating complex health topics into compelling narratives that resonate across communities, social platforms, and media.

If you get excited about spotting trends, crafting insights, and developing ideas that earn attention rather than buy it, this could be perfect for you - what matters most is your earned media expertise and ability to think beyond traditional media relations.

How you make day to day impact

• Translate Culture into Strategy: You’ll dig up the cultural insights and earned truths that make people tick. You will build strategies that live and breathe organically across communities, social platforms, and media, driving conversation without relying on a paid-media safety net.
• Reimagine Health Communications: You’ll champion social-first strategies for healthcare brands, moving far beyond standard press releases to craft campaigns that spark genuine, real-world conversations across diverse audiences.
• Guide Ideas from Spark to Impact: You'll be the strategic anchor from initial insight to final execution, collaborating with creative and client services teams to ensure our ideas are as commercially smart as they are creatively daring.
• Put Brands at the Center of the Conversation: You’ll design earned communications plans that put healthcare brands in the driver’s seat of cultural trends—helping them lead, rather than follow, in their categories.
• Be a Trusted Strategic Partner: You'll deliver confident, sharp counsel directly to clients, showcasing your deep grasp of earned media dynamics.

You will bring

• An instinct for the intersection of earned media and health: A background in earned media, PR, or cultural strategy (whether from pharma, consumer health, or consumer brands) and a desire to make a meaningful difference in healthcare communications.
• A culture-first mindset: A self-confessed "culture vulture" attitude, fueled by what’s happening in the world right now and a knack for identifying how brands can authentically tap into cultural conversations to spark organic momentum.
• Social-first strategic thinking: A natural impulse to design ideas that travel organically through communities, creators, and digital spaces, rather than just landing a traditional press clipping.
• A collaborative, storytelling spirit: The ability to jump easily from brainstorming wild, brave ideas with creatives to confidently presenting robust strategic narratives to senior clients.
• A perfect balance of brave creativity and strategic rigor: A passion for pushing boundaries with culturally-grounded ideas, paired with the discipline and smarts needed to make them work in a regulated healthcare space.