Strategy Director in Manchester

A world where complexity is the only constant demands a new breed of company. Brave Bison is a different beast: a media, marketing and technology company purpose built for the digital era. Our universe is made up of award-winning business arms Brave Bison, Engage, SocialChain and MTM. We’re underpinned by leading marketing training practice, MiniMBA, as well as our very own social-first media network who deliver monthly views in the billions for some of the biggest channels in sport and entertainment across YouTube, Snap, Meta and TikTok.

We’re a global collective who live and breathe digital, working with some of the boldest brands in the world to capitalise on the complexity that defines the modern marketing landscape.

Our mission

New platforms, new behaviours, new audiences, new trends, new technologies, new regulations—our clients’ worlds get more complex daily. Their agency partnerships shouldn’t. It’s our job to cut through the chaos, make the complex simple and navigate a clear path to growth for them. That’s why we make it our mission to capitalise on complexity for our clients—by crafting dynamic digital solutions that outpace tomorrow’s challenges.

Our values

• Bold Curiosity. We run at change and challenge convention because we love to push the boundaries of what the world thinks is possible. We champion discovery, go deep into our clients’ worlds and are always hungry to learn more about them, our specialisms and each other.
• Connected Clarity. We are focused in our collaboration — joining the right dots between our clients, our partners and our herd of experts to deliver agile solutions at speed and scale. We set a shared ambition from the outset, are transparent at every stage and always strive to make the complex simple.
• Positive Encouragement. We want to make working with us the best part of someone’s day. We lift one another up, find the fun in the day to day and are committed to ensuring everyone belongs.
• Constant Impact. We believe in outcomes over outputs. We’re goal orientated, results driven and data-led. We show up with passion every day. And we’re always honing our craft.

SocialChain

We are a creator collective designed for a modern world. A team of content creators, community builders, platform natives, tech innovators, and trend starters – perfectly balanced with talented and experienced marketing strategists, comms planners, client leaders and data specialists. Together, we strengthen our clients’ SocialChain’s by building a stronger connection between people and their brand.

Position Summary

As the Strategy Director you will lead a team of strategists and oversee the strategic output of the agency, shaping the overarching strategic direction and ensuring a competitive edge in the marketplace. This role demands a high level of expertise in harnessing the power of social media and digital marketing, coupled with expertise in deploying strategic methodologies to align actions to the agency's broader objectives and client needs. The Strategy Director will have a significant impact on our clients' marketing effectiveness by providing rich audience insights, smart approaches to communication challenges and rigorous performance analysis. This role is ideal for a leader who thrives in high-stakes environments, displaying a remarkable blend of innovative thinking, strategic acumen, and analytical prowess.

Role Responsibilities

• Strategic Agency Leadership and Vision: Manage, develop and implement the agency’s strategic vision, aligning departmental goals with the agency’s overarching objectives. Lead the Strategy team, setting the direction and tone for all strategic initiatives and outputs. Represent the strategic interests of the agency in executive decisions. Drive the agency's competitive advantage through innovative and effective strategic approaches across all client engagements.
• Advanced Research and Strategic Insight: Elevate the agency’s research and insight capabilities, employing sophisticated audience segmentation and analysis to inform strategies that resonate with target audiences. Oversee audits of client and competitor social media presence, synthesising insights into actionable strategies. Stay at the forefront of industry trends, algorithm changes, and emerging platforms, integrating these insights into forward-thinking strategies for the agency and its clients.
• Holistic Strategic Planning and Execution: Lead the development of comprehensive, integrated social media and digital marketing strategies. Ensure that strategies are not only innovative but also cohesive across various platforms and align with clients' broader business goals. Spearhead the development of new strategic products, approaches, and intellectual property, enhancing the agency’s market positioning and value proposition.
• Agency-wide Measurement and Effectiveness: Oversee the analysis and reporting of campaign performances, setting benchmarks and refining strategies based on comprehensive agency-wide insights. Provide executive-level recommendations for enhancing social media and digital strategies, informed by data analytics and industry best practices.
• Leadership, Team Development, and Organisational Influence: Directly manage and mentor the strategy team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous learning. Drive the professional growth and development of team members, ensuring alignment with the agency’s strategic goals and individual career aspirations – with particular focus on using AI to enhance the impact of our output. Lead the strategic allocation of resources across the agency, optimising team capabilities and ensuring project success. Play a pivotal role in agency talent acquisition, shaping the team to meet future strategic needs.

Experience: Minimum of 5 years in a leadership role within strategy or a related field, with a proven track record in a senior management position, preferably in an agency setting. Demonstrated success in leading high-performing teams and delivering integrated social/digital campaigns and strategic projects.

Role Capabilities: Proven ability in strategic planning, team leadership, and executive decision-making. Audience segmentation, analysis, and profiling. Expertise in developing and presenting comprehensive 'category landscape' reports. Understanding of the digital media landscape, including social media platforms, analytics tools, digital marketing techniques and broader technology dynamics (including the development of AI).

General Capabilities: Organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to lead multiple initiatives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Communication skills, capable of articulating complex strategies to diverse stakeholders, including clients and team members. Leadership presence, with the ability to inspire, motivate, and guide a high-performing team.

What you’ll get: Our people make us who we are, so to make sure we attract and retain the best and brightest in the industry, we offer an attractive benefits package. We are the UK’s first carbon neutral agency (a status we have held since 2018), with a serious commitment to monitoring and reducing the impact our work has on the planet across three core sustainability pillars of Greenhouse Gases, Waste & Recycling and Sustainable Consumption.

Then there’s a whole host of benefits – from discounted gym memberships and free eye tests to an employee pension scheme and enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption package. Here’s a snapshot of just some of the benefits we think you might also like:

• Dynamic working: To keep that work-life harmony in check, we're flexible on where and when you work.
• Private medical insurance: To keep you fighting fit and give you and your family peace of mind.
• Income protection: We know it feels good to be covered, just in case.
• Calm Subscription: Now more than ever, it’s important to mind your mind!
• 25 days annual leave: This increases to 27 days after three years with us, and then increases every subsequent year up to a max. of 30 days.
• Christmas closure: No need to save holiday days for the Christmas closure period. It’s on us!
• Birthdays off: One extra day to celebrate your big day.
• Summer hours: Between June and Aug we finish at 15.00 every Friday.
• Online coaching and mental health support: Unlimited via OpenUp.
• Remote Working: Work abroad for up to one month a year.
• Performance & Salary: Reviewed twice a year for everyone.

Finally, we’re proud and committed to being an equal opportunity workplace, providing equal opportunities for all and treating all existing employees and all job applicants in the same way, regardless of their age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity status and marital & civil partnership status.