A T-shaped person with a strong background in brand strategy, and knowledge in employer branding, communications, content, data and insights, marketing technology, and media planning.Preferably a digital native with a CX-mindset, design thinking, and a passion for cross-cultural and international marketing.
And most of all, the drive to bring out the best in the people in their team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Client relations and collaboration

• Be the Strategy Lead for at least one major international client across several groups of stakeholders, on both B2C and B2B projects, primarily across Europe (from Ireland to Türkiye) but also including markets such as North America, Japan, Australia, Brazil, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
• That client is one of the biggest companies in the world and our scope of work is to help them meet their high recruitment goals across blue and white-collar employees, as well as to help them become a better employer.
• Understand client questions, identify the question behind the questions, turn them into a methodological approach and scope, and identify and onboard different experts to work on the project – throughout, among others, the Wunderman Thompson and WPP network.
• Stay up to date with our audience’s preferences and proactively suggest new strategies and campaigns.
• Inspire clients and colleagues with the latest trends (cultural, technological, case studies, market evolutions, etc.).

Team and people management

• Lead a team of strategists and lead team meetings. Be the point of contact for all issues regarding your team and the strategy projects you are responsible for. We are thriving on working together to stimulate inspiration and creation, hence why we have 4 days at the office working policy. The team is based in our Antwerp office. 
• Make sure your team has the right capabilities: evaluate, inspire, and grow capabilities.
• Collaborate with client leads and your team to find out what capabilities are necessary and need to be developed.
• Work together with other BeNeLux strategy teams to get your team inspired, to develop capabilities and decide on training plans. Tap into the knowledge and inspiration of the broader Strategy team across the region and the Wunderman Thompson and WPP network.
• Work together with client leads and your team to put the right person, with the right capabilities, on the right job. Reach out to the broader local strategy team if additional expertise is needed.
• Decide on staffing needs in agreement with the business leads and the BeNeLux strategy leadership.
• Report into the Executive Strategy Director who oversees the strategy work across all international clients.

Strategy

• Define the business challenge, human challenge, and jobs to be done, and keep the bigger picture in mind at every step of engagement with clients.
• Come up with research-driven compelling human and cultural insights.
• Develop brand, go-to-market, communication, experience (customer journey), campaign, content, and other strategies across online and offline touchpoints, including precise recommendations based on market opportunities which can be translated into localized action plans.
• Present and discuss key insights and innovative strategies in meetings with existing and potential clients.

Research

• Set up a market research approach, interpret market research while also hunting for additional (digital) data sources to generate extra relevant insights.
• Perform and/or interpret in-depth interviews and ethnographic research.
• Perform and/or interpret competitive research.
• Research products, services and current strategies to identify new opportunities.
• Keep an eye on cultural and social trends and tensions relevant to the business.

Creation, production, and implementation

• Work closely with Client Services, Production, Media, and Creative teams to brainstorm ideas and ensure each creative approach is on strategy.
• Guide the client and be the guardian of the strategy during the implementation of new go-to-market, brand, communication, content, or experience strategies.
• Ensure global/international campaigns can be localized and remain relevant to local markets.

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Fluent in English – speaking, writing, and understanding of Dutch and/or French is a plus but not required. Knowledge for other European languages is also a plus.
• Comprehensive understanding of brand strategy, branding, digital strategy, digital transformation, marketing, omnichannel (including offline touchpoints), media concepts, and service design.
• Experienced in developing go-to-market, marketing, brand, employer brand, experience, content, and creative strategies using both traditional and new channels.
• Possess strong analytical skills. You can understand and interpret the latest brand tracker as well as the most recent Google Analytics report. You have demonstrated experience in the use of measurement and tracking tools within all digital channels. You are able to incorporate these results into strategies, creative briefs, and localized cultural roadmaps.
• Strong client-facing and communications skills.
• Ability to present ideas clearly and concisely.
• Experience in working closely with account, production, media, and creative teams.
• Successful track-record of managing multiple client assignments simultaneously – ideally across industries and business models.
• Strong knowledge of primary and secondary research methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Thinks user/customer-centric and knows how to apply design-thinking to projects.
• Team management and coaching across various tasks and projects.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES:

• Straightforward and direct
• Clear communicator (especially in English written and oral communication)
• Focused on collaboration and idea sharing
• Builds to consensus
• Flexible and able to adapt quickly to new information and client requests
• Data-minded
• Fair and respectful
• Active listener
• Open to people and new ideas
• Pursues personal growth by embracing challenges

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• At least 3 years’ experience in a similar role on international projects
• Over 10 years’ relevant experience in advertising or marketing
• Experience as strategist in market research, brand positioning, integrated brand communication, digital marketing & transformation, content marketing, and social media

WE OFFER:

• A competitive salary with fringe benefits.
• Focus on one key highly ambitious client with projects spanning across disciplines, regions, countries, and continents, as well as some involvement in other clients within the agency.
• An inclusive team of international colleagues from at least four continents (and growing).
• A team of experienced advertising grandmasters and young prodigies.
• We offer opportunities for your further training and career, and access to an extensive catalogue of online trainings (e.g., LinkedIn Learning).
• The connection to an international pool of experts and agencies throughout the Wunderman Thompson and WPP networks.
• An ambitious agency. Wunderman Thompson's mission is not without reason: we inspire growth for ambitious brands.