Associate Strategy Director in London

VML is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and human-first, award-winning work for blue-chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports as a Leader among Marketing Creative and Content Service Providers, Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization.

Within VML Health is the Global Strategy Team (GST), home to a diverse set of strategic thinkers. It represents the highest level of strategic competency under an agile business model, working independently with clients or as part of an integrated agency team. The GST brings together four key disciplines to build brands and shape the health care environment from early pipeline development through to loss of exclusivity: Medical Strategy, Engagement Strategy, Brand Strategy, and Medical Consulting. This role sits with the Engagement Strategy team and our European Hub.

This role requires someone with experience either working within a dedicated health care agency or managing pharma clients.

What you’ll shine at

As a Strategy Director, you will quarterback a human-centered approach to translating human empathy and understanding of the world into meaningful and impactful experiences. You will help anticipate emerging opportunities at the intersection of people, culture, technology and business, identifying where to play and how to win for our clients. You will lead by understanding the root of client business challenges, framing problems in unexpected ways, and providing inspiration and clarity through thought leadership. Engagement strategy is core to the VML Health strategy capability, providing leadership across strategy and innovation in customer engagement practices.

The Strategy Director operates independently, leveraging a team of junior engagement strategists to help drive projects, organic growth and new business. The Senior Engagement Strategist is expected to manage the discovery, synthesis, development and business impact of engagement strategies. Like all strategists on our team, you’ll be expected to inspire change through innate curiosity, a drive for impact, and an orientation that puts strategy into immediate action.

Your responsibilities

• Develop a deep understanding of our clients’ customers’ wants, needs, and behaviours across the full customer journey.
• Oversee the development and orchestration of engagement and omnichannel strategy – connecting strategic goals to engagement priorities to channel-specific strategies (e.g., social, CRM, website, paid media, apps, field-delivered, and more).
• Set expectations for how the segment/audience profile fits into the project and how it helps set the stage.
• Strong understanding of various analytical frameworks and methodologies, and the ability to analyze and translate data into a concise story.
• Lead workshop planning and proposals, development of measurement strategy and analytics approaches, execution of engagement planning and tactical exercises, and content generation and presentation strategies.

Your role with clients

• Oversee strategic development on at least one major client and/or oversee multiple clients.
• Engage with and help manage senior client relationships as a key strategic and business partner.
• Lead and support engagement strategy development on new business pitches.
• Constantly seek to improve client work and actively analyze client challenges and opportunities.
• Provide key support and partnership in leading key strategy deliverables by guiding the strategic direction in relation to our clients’ brand development and marketing approach.

Your Role in Team Growth

• Provide guidance and support to Junior and Mid-level Engagement Strategists in strategy development.
• Recognize how to motivate junior strategists – what they need to learn and where they can contribute.
• Challenge the team to uncover innovative tools and ideas, and to pursue growth opportunities.
• Demonstrate and inspire the team to take risks and challenge convention.
• Collaborate effectively with other strategists, Client Engagement, Medical and Creative disciplines on business, brand and communications strategies.

Who you are and what you bring

• 7–13 years of experience in overall research and strategic planning, ideally within a digital/engagement function.
• Substantial health care agency experience, ideally within a global environment.
• HCP and DTC marketing agency experience.
• Critical and analytical thinker, innovator and visionary that inspires creativity.
• Demonstrates passion, familiarity, and curiosity with the practice.
• Deep understanding of global, regional and local communication context, and strong experience in developing communication plans across these levels.
• A genuine passion for driving innovation within engagement strategy practices.
• Excellent collaboration skills across various business functions, from tech enablement, data, and digital and hybrid production.
• Able to develop strong client relationships and trust based on deep immersion in the client’s business.
• Highly collaborative and able to work effectively across internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree and a multidisciplinary background, including developing business strategy, marketing strategy, consumer insight, and/or.