Senior Global Program Director (London)

Established in 2004, OLIVER is the world’s first and only specialist in designing, building, and running bespoke in-house agencies and marketing ecosystems for brands. We partner with over 300 clients in 40+ countries and counting. Our unique model drives creativity and efficiency, allowing us to deliver tailored solutions that resonate deeply with audiences.

As a part of The Brandtech Group , we're at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise how we create and deliver work. Our AI solutions enhance efficiency, spark creativity, and drive insightful decision-making, empowering our teams to produce innovative and impactful results.

Role: Senior Global Program Director

Location: London (Occasional travel into client offices in London)

About the role:

We are a fast growing and ever evolving marketing services company harnessing the power and momentum of GenAI. We are reorganizing and launching several large global client engagements each requiring global coordination, high output, efficiency and scale.

As a part of The Brandtech Group, we're at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise how we create and deliver work. Our AI solutions enhance efficiency, spark creativity, and drive insightful decision-making, empowering our teams to produce innovative and impactful results.

We are looking for an experienced Global Program Director to help make this possible by ensuring we meet key KPIs as the engagement ramps.

What you will be doing:

• You will be working closely with our client teams around the world as well as with support personnel in our regional hubs. You will be the organizing force across the engagement to ensure everything runs smoothly, end to end across all studios from scoping and estimation, through contracting and work authorization, resourcing and development, all the way to acceptance, invoicing and collections. You will also own the operational and financial reporting to internal and client stakeholders and work very closely with the client’s Finance personnel to provide necessary data and reports.
• You must be very tactically minded with proven ability to work effectively with globally distributed creative and production teams, able to interpret client specifications and direct teams to deliver on time, on budget and with the highest quality. You must also be able to partner closely with and collaborate effectively with the client’s other vendors and suppliers. You will also ensure that new challenges and requirements from the client are fully understood by the team and you will participate in solution development as the engagement evolves.
• You will support the Account Lead in their pursuit of top line growth and the evolution of the relationship with the client(s) and you will be ultimately accountable for the gross profit of the entire global arrangement. As such, you will have the authority to make key decisions, adjust budgets and add resources and related project governance processes as you see fit.
• You will develop a deep understanding of the client’s business, their needs, expectations, and requirements and lead the team in determining the best approach, deliverables, schedule and tools to use within established constraints. You will develop processes to accurately estimate costs and timing for tasks and for project delivery, scope management and change control. You will also ensure that the team remains fully utilized and as efficient and effective as possible at all times.
• You will have the ability to act strategically to ensure that any spike in momentum initially is sustained throughout the course of the contract. Success here will be achieved by continuously reviewing and optimizing ways of working (WoW).
• You will be open and willing to attend sustainability training relevant to your role and soak up recommended research and reading about sustainability issues

Measures of Success

• Project profitability: Track the profitability of each project and the overall portfolio. This could be measured as a percentage of profit margin against budget or revenue generated per project.
• Budget adherence: Measure the accuracy of budget forecasting and the degree to which projects stay within approved budgets. Variance analysis would be a key component.
• Resource utilization: Monitor the efficiency of resource allocation, aiming for high utilization rates without overworking teams. Track billable hours vs. non-billable hours.
• Revenue growth: Contribute to the overall revenue growth of the studios by successfully delivering projects and winning new business. Track revenue against targets.

What you need to be great in this role:

• 15+ years of agency experience.
• 10+ years of global program/project management experience.
• Production experience.
• Creative, digitally and technically-minded in nature – we don’t expect you to know how to code or expect you to come up with the next big idea, but you must be comfortable understanding the world in which these disciplines operate.
• 8+ years of client facing experience where you are often the most senior member of the agency.
• Commercially astute with 8+ years of both contract and financial experience.
• 5+ years of Capacity Management and Resource Management / Casting experience.
• 3-5 years of people management experience.
• Clear and concise communicator, to all levels of stakeholders both with clients and with Oliver.
• Demonstrable experience delivering work within sold margins and developing solutions to margin challenges at the account and project levels.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate staff/project/account team, inspire teamwork and take a leadership role.
• Must be able to simultaneously focus on big picture, details and driving results.
• Demonstrable experience working with creative teams throughout the project lifecycle and of managing to often very tight timelines.
• Understanding of how the programme fits strategically for your client and for Oliver.
• Demonstrable experience of managing competing priorities at a local and global scale and the ability to manage stakeholders accordingly.
• Demonstrable experience in introducing, establishing and running globally distributed delivery to ensure that resources are available at the right time.
• Demonstrable experience of global capacity planning to allow teams to ramp up in suitable timescales.
• Self-motivated, driven, proactive, helpful and enthusiastic team player
• The ability to organise and prioritise workloads to maximise productivity
• Ability to think differently and come up with solutions to unique problems
• Collaborative team player, open minded and willing to learn and evolve
• Ability to build relationships with all levels within and outside the business
• Client-side or In-house agency experience
• CPG client experience
• You can be the change – you prioritise environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic viability and how that translates into your day-to-day role

Req ID: 13494
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Our values shape everything we do:

Be Ambitious to succeed

Be Imaginative to push the boundaries of what’s possible

Be Inspirational to do groundbreaking work

Be always learning and listening to understand

Be Results-focused to exceed expectations

Be actively pro-inclusive and anti-racist across our community, clients and creations

OLIVER, a part of the Brandtech Group, is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential, and individual differences are valued and respected. All applicants shall be considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, neurodivergence, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by local laws.

OLIVER has set ambitious environmental goals around sustainability, with science-based emissions reduction targets. Collectively, we work towards our mission, embedding sustainability into every department and through every stage of the project lifecycle.

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