Senior Vice President, Strategy

Senior Vice President (SVP), Strategy

The Senior Vice President (SVP), Strategy is a senior leadership role responsible for guiding client relationships at the executive level, driving business development initiatives, and elevating the agency's strategy practice. This role bridges strategic vision with organizational execution, ensuring growth opportunities are identified, developed, and actualized for both client and agency success. The SVP, Strategy serves as a trusted advisor to C-suite clients and internal stakeholders, with responsibility for mentoring teams and advancing the agency's strategic capabilities.

Primary Responsibilities

Client Relationship Leadership

• Provide strategic counsel and guidance to senior client executives on marketing, brand, business, and media matters beyond traditional media scope
• Serve as a consistent, visible, trusted voice for day-to-day and executive clients
• Maintain regular 1:1 or 1:2 meetings with senior clients to understand needs and identify opportunities for strategic projects and thought leadership programs
• Act as a trusted partner ensuring stability and growth of client businesses
• Collaborate with other functional leads to ensure strategy work is pulled through to execution

Business Development & Growth

• Lead strategy and approach in pitch presentations to potential new clients
• Introduce and seed presentations with senior current clients
• Identify and develop growth opportunities for both client and agency businesses
• Actualize growth opportunities through strategic execution and partnership
• Manage new business strategy narratives and deliverables
• Work on new business pitches and lead strategic components

Strategy Practice Leadership

• Guide and elevate the quality of work on managed teams, improving client business and brand outcomes
• Mentor and develop team members, enabling career growth and promotion
• Establish and execute strategy practice processes and methodologies
• Manage and elevate POVs (Points of View) and thought leadership across the practice
• Develop strategic narratives that reframe situations and engage key stakeholders in big ideas
• Lead industry-facing thought leadership: publish POVs in trade publications, present at conferences, contribute to awards shows
• Organize and oversee POVs/thought leadership projects requested by clients

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work with internal and external stakeholders to maximize client growth and achieve key business objectives
• Facilitate strategic discussions with IAT (Integrated Agency Team) and clients
• Ensure strategy work is included in key meetings and projects, maintaining a seat at the table
• Connect media strategies across portfolio brands and lines of business, keeping focus on the bigger picture

Core Competencies & Skills Required

Research & Analysis

• Deep expertise in Brand Patterns 3V analysis and Full Color Media frameworks
• Ability to synthesize complex data into actionable strategic insights
• Knowledge of advanced methodologies (FCM, Favorables, etc.) and practical application
• Expertise with data sources including Acxiom, Interact OS, and research toolkit

Media & Channels Strategy

• Expert knowledge of audience strategy and media planning fundamentals
• Ability to develop overarching audience strategies that maximize short and long-term growth
• Understanding of YouGov-based Favorables audience work and application
• Capability to connect blueprint strategies with tactical plans and activations

Brand & Creative Strategy

• Clear partnership with creative IAT members
• Ability to connect brand strategies and platforms to media and channel strategies
• Comfort presenting expertise and opinion on brand and client matters
• Capability to identify work for industry award submissions

Marketing & Business Acumen

• Ability to engage senior and executive clients on business, marketing, brand, and media questions
• Confidence in contributing to transformation planning and execution
• Strong understanding of four Ps of marketing and how they impact client businesses
• Knowledge of business analytics relevant to clients and how they're reported

POV & Communication

• Ability to clearly envision and articulate implications of strategic points of view
• Skill in connecting specific projects to the larger future of the client's work and business
• Excellence in leading strategy in pitch presentations and seeding presentations with senior clients
• Expertise in tailoring presentation content to appropriate detail levels for specific audiences

Management & Leadership

• Demonstrated ability to build and develop high-performing teams
• Strong mentorship and coaching capabilities
• Ability to clearly improve direct reports and enable career growth
• Demonstrated organizational visibility and trusted advisor status

Operations & Business Management

• Deep understanding of agency business model, profitability, margins, and costs
• Ability to independently make business cases for staffing and annual account planning
• Capability to negotiate scopes, allocations, rates, and resourcing to hit business targets
• Experience managing P&L and organizational design for profitability

Experience & Qualifications

Required Experience

• 10+ years in strategic marketing/media consulting or agency environment
• 5+ years in senior leadership and management roles
• Demonstrated success building and managing high-performing strategy teams
• Proven track record of C-level client relationships and executive advisory
• Significant new business development experience with successful pitch outcomes
• Established thought leadership credentials in marketing, media, or advertising industry

Required Knowledge & Expertise

• Full Color Media (FCM) framework and Brand Patterns methodology
• Advanced data analytics and MMM/FFM interpretation
• Media planning and comms strategy fundamentals
• Marketing science principles (Sharp, Binet & Field, WARC, etc.)
• Commercial acumen and P&L management
• Industry trends and emerging methodologies

Preferred Qualifications

• Track record of publishing thought leadership in industry publications
• Experience speaking at industry conferences or contributing to awards submissions
• Background in integrated agency team leadership
• Expertise in transformation planning and execution
• Experience with advanced analytics tools and platforms

Key Performance Indicators

• Client satisfaction and retention on managed accounts
• New business pitch success rate and win ratio
• Team development and promotion rates
• Quality and impact of strategic deliverables
• Thought leadership publications and speaking engagements
• Account profitability and margin achievement
• Revenue growth on assigned accounts
• Strategic team output quality and client feedback

Reporting Relationship

Reports to: VP/SVP Strategy Leadership or Chief Strategy Officer

Senior leader

$234,000