Strategy Director - VW Brand in London

About The Role

Senior strategist, joining a vibrant strategic community, responsible for delivering thought leadership, best practice and campaign strategies delivered via the PHD Network. Today, we deliver transformative growth by helping our clients outthink, outpace and outgrow their competition — with intelligence connected across a next generation network — that brings everything and everyone together. To achieve transformative growth, we see clarity in complexity. We see the bigger picture. We cultivate and celebrate intelligence in all its forms. We are focused on attracting and developing the best minds in the business. It is coded in our DNA. Powered by our next-generation network, PHD’s advanced thinking – Intelligence. Connected. – combines data, technology, and human‑centric principles to drive measurable outcomes. That’s how we transform experiences. That’s how we move brands and businesses forward.

Volkswagen is the world's largest car manufacturer. It is the major brand within the Volkswagen Group which includes Bentley, Porsche, Audi, Skoda and Seat‑Crua. The auto industry is facing huge disruption with the transition to new power sources and an emerging D2C model which changes their relationship with customers and marketing. Volkswagen is one of the most respected engineering businesses in the world, their heritage models like the Golf continue to be the benchmark for quality, while they introduce an exciting new generation of electric mobility with the ID. range. This is the largest client in the OMG network and one of the flagship accounts within the group. You will have the opportunity to work at the forefront of the group's vision of how we service our leading global clients.

BACKGROUND TO THE ROLE

Your role will be to support the development and implementation of the global communication & media strategy at a brand level. You will lead the development of strategies for major global campaigns within the comms roadmap alongside other members of the team. You will also be responsible for helping develop best practice guidelines for media effectiveness, creating a data‑led approach to brand building and performance driving. You will also be responsible for advising and steering the local markets with any of their strategic planning they are doing at a local level. For each of these projects you will be supported by the Head of Strategy and the specialist area experts. You will work in an integrated team with Omnicom counterparts in creative (Omnicom), performance (OPMG/RAPP) and others to create 360 consumer journeys. It is a team of 3 experienced strategists who must be able to deliver “top-to-bottom” strategies that connect to asset development and campaign activation in market. You will report to the Group Strategy Director and the Global Business Lead.

Responsibilities & Scope

We’re looking for a highly experienced agency strategist that also has expertise and/or experience working in integrated or x‑agency teams with creative and other specialisms. An independent self-starter you will be able to quickly establish credible relationships with senior clients and creative agency counterparts to effectively position PHD (and Omnicom) as a valued strategic partner. Our role is to deliver consistent excellence of the Brand Strategy through all touchpoints and markets. The person will also need to have a strategic mindset to shape paid, owned and earned consumer journeys. Defining each of the different channels and audiences that will be recommended at a global level will also need suggestions on the message theme. So that the ad agency has a prompt on what to focus the creative teams to create.

About You

• Extensive experience in a strategic planning role.
• Strong on media strategy.
• You must have a clear understanding of evidence-based media planning and how this impacts on media guidelines/principles.
• An understanding of all marketing communication channels (including digital, data and content).
• A good understanding of marketing tech and how it is developing.
• A strong team leader who is able to deal confidently with clients and creative agency counterparts.
• A collaborative team player who can work with the PHD VW Group team on the other brands to help further develop our product and delivery.
• A clear and confident communicator.
• Automotive experience would be an advantage – more important is that you have worked with progressive and innovative brands.
• International experience would be an advantage but not a prerequisite.

About The Agency

PHD is a growth‑focused media agency driven by innovation and creativity. Founded in London in 1990, we were the first media agency to offer strategic and creative planning at a time when the industry was about buying cheaply and quickly. Our founders saw a bright future where smart thinking and clever planning could help brands grow faster than their competitors. Over the many years that have followed, we have continued to build on this defining ethic — with our evolution shaped by a continual investment in thought leadership. And we continue to ensure that our capability and approach evolve in line with changes in media, data, technology, commerce, society, and legislation. Today, with over 100 offices in 74 countries, we continue to create remarkable campaigns that lead to remarkable growth – using the extending canvas of data and technology.

Flexible Working

At Omnicom Media Group, we are committed to supporting flexibility for our people while fostering collaboration, innovation, and teamwork. We have a hybrid working model (three days in the office, two working remotely), to ensure that we meet the needs of both our people and our business, balancing the benefits of in‑person connections with the flexibility of remote working. Our standard working hours are 9:30 – 17:30, but we offer the ability to flex around core hours of 10:30 – 16:30 to give our people flexibility on how they manage their working day, whether that’s in the office or working remotely. For example, you could start work at 8:30 and finish at 16:30 or start at 10:30 and finish at 18:30. We encourage open conversations between our people and managers to help navigate high‑need periods and individual circumstances. Our goal is to create an environment where people feel genuinely supported to do their best - both in their careers and in their lives outside of work.

Be Your Best

We want everyone to make the most of the opportunity to shine and showcase your talents and we are happy to make adjustments in the recruitment process so you can be your best. Please discuss any specific requirements with your dedicated Talent Team member or if you would feel more comfortable, you can email us confidentially to let us know how we can support you.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at OMG

At OMG, our vision is to be an agency where difference is valued and everyone is able to thrive in a culture of equality, inclusion and belonging. We are committed to providing a truly inclusive environment that reflects today’s society, where everyone is able to bring their true selves to work, and where diverse voices and backgrounds are valued, heard, and well‑represented.