New Business Platformer (entry level) in London

YOU MUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN YOUR APPLICATION, FOR YOUR APPLICATION TO BE ACCEPTED. PLEASE PLACE THE ANSWERS AS THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR CV, LIKE A COVER LETTER. YOU’LL BE SCORED OUT OF 5 FOR EACH ANSWER, THE HIGHEST AVERAGE SCORING CANDIDATES WILL BE INVITED TO THE FIRST STAGE OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS. Good luck, and do not use AI to generate these answers (we’ll know), and you’ll sound the same as everyone else who does it. This is about you representing you, we care more about your ideas more than what AI thinks you should say.

1. In your first month, you’ve been asked to help plan the agency’s Christmas party. There will be 200 people attending and you have a budget of £20,000 to spend, please let us know where you’re taking us and a plan of what we’ll be getting up to. It’s very important that you tell us how you’ll use the budget, as we need the Finance team to approve it. (This is obviously not a real scenario, but we want to see your ability to plan, present and sell an idea, plus demonstrate how you plan with a budget. We’re not judging the idea itself so go wild, but we are judging how you communicate it and how you manage budgets and resources.)

2. You’re assisting on a photoshoot - it’s meant to look like a beach, but the sand has not arrived because someone hasn’t ordered it, and your manager isn’t at the set yet. Various people are looking to you for an answer and a solution, most importantly the clients, the photographer and the influencers. You need to think on your feet, please provide us a bullet point breakdown (in order) of what you’ll do. (We want to see your people skills, how you think on your feet, and your ability to respond to a crisis and find a solution.)

3. Tell us about the most interesting thing you’ve seen about Havas, and ask us a question which you’d be too nervous to ask in a formal interview setting. (We want to see your engagement and interest in what you’re doing. Hundreds of people apply to Platform roles, and our aim is to find the people being the most intentional about what they are applying for. The hiring managers will not see the question unless you want them to, so go as in depth as you like based on what you can find out about them through your research.)

About Havas: Havas is one of the world’s largest global communication networks - employing over 27,000 people, in more than 700 agencies, across 120 countries around the globe. The Havas Group is made up of five main agency networks: Havas Creative; Havas Media, Havas Health, Havas CX and Prose on Pixels – and together we have created the most exciting integrated agency model, designed to give clients a new kind of agility, cultural connectivity and access to the best industry talent. At Havas, our goal is to make a meaningful difference to the brands, the businesses, and the lives of the people we work with.

The Global Growth Team works across Global New Business and Growth initiatives for the Havas Creative Network (HCN). The team operates with a fluid and collaborative structure, where everyone supports one another. You’ll be part of a fast-paced, ambitious environment where no two days are the same! Working closely with the Creative, Strategy, and Leadership teams, you’ll also gain valuable exposure to the thinking, processes, and impactful work led by surrounding teams. As a New Business Platformer, you’ll be gaining hands-on experience, working across high-value live global and local pitches and will contribute to wider growth efforts across the 72 villages to help win and grow business across the network.

PRIMARY FOCUS: Support the Havas Creative Network Global Growth team to:

• Drive business growth and delivery against key Global KPIs
• Support with global, multi-market and multi-capability pitches
• Help deliver against growth initiatives for agencies within Havas Creative Network
• Maintain and uphold global new business processes and best practices
• Connect with and help support local markets with knowledge sharing
• Provide accurate pipeline and performance reports to leadership and support on training and ELT decks

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Pitch & Market Support: Help local teams connect with the right agencies and resources for pitches, manage global requests for pitch insights and information, assist with building pitch materials like RFI documents and credentials decks.
• Creative Intelligence: Keep our Global Case Study library on SharePoint up to date, help create and update tools like the Global Agencies Book and Agency Snapshots, share examples of great work and best practices across our internal platforms.
• Reporting & Growth Tracking: Support regular reporting on growth activity across the network, help prepare updates like the bi-weekly Hotsheet and weekly pipeline reports, keep track of industry news and updates to spot upcoming pitch opportunities, monitor changes in key contacts or roles at top brands we want to work with.
• Best Practice & Knowledge Sharing: Maintain and share toolkits, handbooks, and guidelines used across the network, help spread opportunities and tender information to relevant teams, support the use of AI tools and agents to improve team efficiency, knowledge sharing and day-to-day workflows.
• Culture & Collaboration: Be a positive force in the Global Growth community, help build a culture of energy, creativity, and teamwork.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES: A genuine passion for learning and being part of a collaborative global team, highly organised, able to manage multiple tasks and deadlines with ease, methodical and proactive, with strong prioritisation and problem-solving skills, excellent attention to detail and reliable time management, discreet and professional when handling sensitive information and working with senior leaders, a strong team player with a flexible, can-do attitude, friendly, respectful, and confident in building relationships across all levels, comfortable communicating with senior stakeholders and contributing to high-level conversations.

6-MONTH OUTLINE: This role is all about learning by doing and making a real impact from day one. Here's what you can expect throughout your placement:

• Months 1-2: Orientation & Immersion - Get familiar with Havas, including the Global Growth team, the different agencies within the Creative Network and how we work, onboard onto internal systems, tools and reporting platforms (e.g. SharePoint, Trackers), learn the ropes of global new business - from pitch processes to prospecting, case studies and agency credentials, start supporting with live pitch work and global requests, begin maintaining resources like the Global Case Study Library and Agency Book.
• Months 3-4: Active Ownership - Begin to take ownership of key weekly and bi-weekly reports (e.g. Hotsheet, pipeline updates), begin to own inbound requests for creds and pitch intelligence from local/global teams with support from the Global New Business Executive, support on RFI and creds submissions, contribute to internal knowledge sharing and best practice toolkits, support on the creation and gathering of material for the HCN’s annual Agency Book, and Agency Snapshots, corresponding with New Business leads across the network.
• Months 5-6: Deeper Involvement & Strategic Projects - Introduction to tenders and beginning to support the sharing of relevant opportunities with the network, mostly own network requests with minimal support from the Global New Business Executive, mostly take ownership of key weekly and bi-weekly reports (e.g. Hotsheet, pipeline updates), beginning to own creation and gathering of the annual Agency Book and Agency Snapshots and building relationships across the network, reflect on learnings and contribute ideas for improving global growth operations, including prospecting activities and ways of working.

Throughout your placement, you'll be working closely with senior global stakeholders, learning directly from Strategic, Creative and Business pitch leads, and developing critical business, communication and project management skills. You'll leave with real-world experience, a deeper understanding of the industry, and a strong sense of where your strengths and interests lie.

About Havas Platform: Havas Platform is our flagship six-month entry-level programme, designed for underrepresented talent who otherwise face higher barriers of entry into our industry. The programme is designed to provide you with meaningful paid work experience and tailored industry training. Everybody on the programme is part of a real team, working on real briefs, doing real work, for real clients.

Here’s what the 6 month programme consists of:

• CAREER DEVELOPMENT: Unlock your potential through personalised learning experiences and receiving training in the role.
• WORK: Develop your skills and expertise by working on role-specific activities and projects that will give you the experience you need to thrive in our industry and beyond.
• COLLABORATION: Work with talented colleagues to exchange creative ideas, spark innovation and win together.
• INDUSTRY INSIGHTS: Expand your industry knowledge by learning from multiple agencies and colleagues with a wealth of knowledge and diverse career journeys.
• WELLBEING & PASTORAL SUPPORT: A dedicated buddy and Platform programme manager and access to a range of wellness and mental health initiatives.
• NETWORK-BUILDING: Grow your professional networks and connect with industry leaders and peers.

Contract Type: Intern. Here at Havas across the group we pride ourselves on being committed to offering equal opportunities to all potential employees and have zero tolerance for discrimination. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, disability and other factors that have no bearing on an individual’s ability to perform their job.