Digital Lead in London

We're looking for a Digital Lead to join the7stars, taking ownership of digital strategy and planning across two major UK accounts spanning the retail and hospitality sectors. This is a senior, client-facing role for someone who knows digital media inside out, understands how different channels work together and can turn that expertise into commercially effective communications strategies.

You'll be the lead digital voice across both accounts, working closely with the Client Director and specialist teams to ensure digital thinking is central to the wider communications approach. It's a particularly interesting combination of clients. Both operate in fast-moving, commercially demanding environments, with significant opportunities to balance long-term brand building and short-term performance.

You'll need to be comfortable moving between the bigger strategic picture and the detail of channel planning, challenging recommendations, identifying opportunities and making sure everything connects. This isn't a role for someone who simply oversees digital specialists. We're looking for someone with the depth of knowledge to challenge them, the strategic thinking to connect their work and the commercial understanding to make confident recommendations to senior clients.

The Accounts

• Retail: A major UK retailer operating across multiple product categories, with a strong focus on both brand development and commercial performance. The challenge is to develop connected, full-funnel communications strategies that build consideration and drive sales, particularly around key trading periods. Activity spans a broad media mix, including AV, radio, partnerships, paid search, social and video.
• Hospitality: A major UK hospitality business with a diverse portfolio spanning pubs, restaurants and consumer drinks brands. The business is evolving its marketing approach, placing greater emphasis on brand building alongside its established performance activity. You'll work across a variety of audiences, objectives and campaigns, helping to balance immediate commercial priorities, such as driving footfall and sales, with longer-term brand growth.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own the digital strategy and planning output across both accounts, ensuring digital plays a central role in integrated communications.
• Develop connected, full-funnel approaches that balance brand building with performance and commercial objectives.
• Bring a strong understanding of digital channels, their individual strengths and how they complement the wider media mix.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, growth and competitive advantage through changes in the digital landscape.
• Ensure digital plans are underpinned by data, clear strategic thinking and robust effectiveness frameworks.

Driving Client Relationships

• Act as the senior digital voice in client conversations, building trusted relationships and providing confident, commercially grounded advice.
• Develop a deep understanding of each client's business, competitive environment, trading priorities and challenges.
• Translate complex digital subjects into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Bring proactive thinking to clients, identifying opportunities rather than simply responding to briefs.
• Work comfortably in fast-paced retail and hospitality environments where priorities can shift quickly and recommendations need to stand up to commercial scrutiny.

Connecting Teams and Delivering Great Work

• Partner closely with the Client Director and specialist teams to ensure channel strategies work together.
• Challenge specialist recommendations constructively, ensuring plans are strategically sound, connected and commercially focused.
• Maintain high standards across digital planning, implementation and measurement.
• Support and develop junior team members, building their digital knowledge, confidence and strategic thinking.
• Champion the adoption of new tools and technologies, including AI, to improve planning processes and the quality of work.
• Contribute to new business pitches and wider agency initiatives.

What We're Looking For

• We're looking for someone with strong digital planning experience from an integrated media agency, who can combine genuine channel expertise with strategic leadership and commercial understanding.
• Broad digital expertise: A strong understanding of the digital media landscape, including performance channels, digital video, paid social, search and the role of data in planning.
• Integrated planning experience: The ability to connect digital activity with wider communications strategies rather than approaching channels in isolation.
• Commercial awareness: Experience working with fast-moving, performance-focused clients, ideally in retail or similarly demanding consumer categories.
• Strategic confidence: The knowledge and judgement to challenge specialists, interrogate recommendations and make well-reasoned decisions.
• Client leadership: Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to build credibility and influence senior stakeholders.
• Team development: Experience coaching and developing junior colleagues, raising standards and encouraging better thinking.
• A hands-on approach: Someone who can lead strategically but is equally happy getting into the detail and helping the team deliver.

You'll be naturally curious about the changing digital landscape, interested in how technology and AI can improve the planning process, and motivated by delivering work that makes a genuine difference to clients' businesses. Importantly, you'll be someone who can think quickly, challenge confidently and get things done, without losing sight of the bigger strategic picture.

Why the7stars?

the7stars is one of the UK's leading independent media agencies, with around 300 people and a genuinely distinctive approach to agency life. Its philosophy is built around one word: Freedom. That means the freedom to challenge convention, develop new ideas, shape your career and do brilliant work without unnecessary hierarchy or bureaucracy. You’ll be joining an agency that encourages independent thinking, gives people genuine ownership and offers plenty of opportunities to work across different disciplines and develop your expertise.

There's also an extensive benefits package, including:

• Uncounted holiday allowance.
• Discretionary summer profit share and Christmas bonus.
• Private medical insurance.
• Free breakfast and company bar.
• New business bonus eligibility from your first year.
• Enhanced family leave policies.
• Pension, life assurance, critical illness cover and income protection.
• Employee wellbeing support and personal financial advice.
• Season ticket loans, cycle-to-work scheme and Techscheme.

Working pattern: Monday to Thursday in the Covent Garden office, with hybrid working on Fridays.