Group Director Strategy

Who We Are

VML, part of WPP, 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. In addition, VML’s specialist health network, VML Health, is one of the world’s largest and most awarded health agencies. VML’s global network is powered by 26,000 talented people across 55+ markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

About VML Health:

 VML HEALTH is a global healthcare agency that partners with healthcare clients across a broad definition of health, from high science to wellness and everything in between. It operates fluidly within the VML agency, as a core group of health specialists (a ‘vertical’) that has the benefit of autonomy in management, but with support of non-health expertise. 

At the heart of health is the story of life – all the highs and lows, ambitions, and possibilities. But facing a health challenge can suddenly pull people away from these stories, knocking them off course.

Our purpose is to bridge this gap, bringing people closer to life and all its meaning. We gain a deeper understanding of Healthcare Professionals’ and patients’ needs, behaviors and lived experiences through what we call ‘radical empathy’.

VML Health creates connected brands that get to the heart, bringing people closer to the lives they want to live.  Get to the heart. Connect for life.

What We're Looking For:

A Group Director, Brand Strategy, to manage a team of strategists and cross-functional teams, driving projects and collaborating closely with creative teams. This role requires a strategic leader with extensive experience in brand launches and client relationship management.

What you’ll do:

•  Collaborate with clients to understand business needs, identify problems, and propose solutions.
• Analyze research results, uncover insights, draw conclusions, and make recommendations.
• Create research briefs and assist the team in identifying implications and recommending actions.
• Supervise junior strategists in research design and implementation.
• Determine assessment needs and set expectations for junior strategists.
• Guide the team in developing customer journeys and identifying pain points.
• Craft insights that inform strategy and guide junior strategists in identifying impactful insights.
• Guide and refine positioning statements, ensuring they are thoughtful and evidence-based.
• Participate in and lead positioning workshops with clients.
• Draft and review creative briefs and background briefing documents.
• Partner with creatives to ensure alignment with the brief and optimize creative options.
• Interface with clients to understand needs, design workshop approaches, and develop proposals. Supervise logistics and materials.
• Lead background analyses and research for pitches, developing customer insights and story arcs. Prepare critical sections of pitch decks.

Who You Are:

• A critical and analytical thinker, innovator, and visionary who inspires creativity.
• Extensive experience in brand launches and adept at building strong client relationships.
• Highly collaborative and effective across internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communicator.

What You'll Need:

• 8-10 years of experience in market research and strategic planning, with a demonstrated track record of success in the healthcare industry.
• Proven experience in managing and mentoring teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.
• Deep understanding of brand strategy and the a