SVP, Strategy Director

MRM is seeking talented SVP, Strategy Director to join our team in New York City, NY. This is a role with dual responsibilities: 1) lead multi-disciplinary Strategy on an iconic brand 2) grow MRM’s integrated Social practice. This individual will report to the MRM NY Chief Strategy Officer and sit on both NY Strategy leadership as well as the NY Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

This is T-shaped leadership at its best. This person needs to possess multi-disciplinary Strategy capabilities – with expertise and experience across brand strategy, digital strategy, experience strategy, social strategy, content strategy, CRM & loyalty strategy. In addition, they must also have depth in the Social space – not only able to lead Social strategy but grow an integrated Social practice working with disciplines from Social Commerce to social-centered Creative and beyond.

This is a true iconic brand - it’s famous, it’s fun, and it’s beloved by families around the globe. We need a Strategy leader who:

• Is visionary – to help clients not only fulfill their goals but to transform their businesses in breakthrough ways
• Drives the intellectual agenda, from understanding the landscape and identifying the problem to developing solutions and recommending strategic courses of action
• Achieves mutual inspiration with Creative teams, looking to Creative for Strategic input and informing and inspiring Creative with insights, research and ideas. Must be a master of the brand strategy craft, including best-in-class idea, brief and story development
• Is a trusted go-to for senior clients, understanding their strategic goals, drivers and barriers, and solutions
• Is an audience expert, digging deep to understand them and the relationships they have with brands, ideas, and stakeholders. Must be expert in understanding segments and personas, conducting research (from qual to quant, from social listening to user testing, etc.), working with Data and Media teams to support our audience understanding, and relentless in developing revelatory insights
• Has strong experience in consumer journeys and understands that go-to-market and comms planning go well beyond the where (though we need you to understand paid/earned/shared/owned channels and platforms, too!), when and how to the why (e.g., motivations, drivers and barriers, behaviors)
• Can activate the strategic and creative ideas in an end-to-end experience, from the beginning of a person’s relationship to their fandom, across all of the moments and touchpoints in the ecosystem that matter
• Partner across disciplines with Creative, Media, Technology, Data, Business Leadership, others as well as other agencies in the McCann Worldgroup and IPG networks, including representing MRM in IAT environments
• Present to the highest level of an organization and effectively persuade others, making the complex simple and the simple compelling
• Lead strategy on new business pitches
• Provide leadership and support to Strategy team members to ensure they deliver successfully
• Be an outstanding communicator – clear, charismatic and compelling

MRM’S Social practice is growing, and we need a leader who can drive that growth and in the right directions. We need a leader with depth of Social expertise who:

• Has deep expertise in the Social space – you’ve developed social strategies, you’ve maybe won awards inspiring social-centered creative, you’re passionate about the different platforms and channels (existing and emerging), and you get the different roles that social can play (from culture driver to commerce driver)
• You understand Social not just from a Strategy perspective but as a source of information and a tool for understanding (e.g., you can use social listening tools like Netbase, you can direct a team on what social insights matter)
• You get Social implementation, and can work with MRM offices around the globe to determine the right social operational models for each situation, including but not limited to Influencer Strategy and Management, Community Management, Social Reporting (working with Data teams)
• You can work with clients and MRM Technology teams to help determine a bespoke social stack
• Has launched or grown a practice or discipline previously – you know how to productize offerings, are able to talk with clients at the highest levels to understand needs and opportunities, are skilled at navigating organizations to identify funding, resourcing and skills needs
• Are entrepreneurial and understand how to run a practice like a business, setting and monitoring and adjusting revenue and other goals
• Has outstanding partnership and collaboration skills – within MRM across disciplines as well as with clients ranging from Social to Digital to Marketing and Brand, from social managers to CMOs and CEO

THOUGHT & CAPABILITY LEADER

• Develop and introduce new Strategic methods to nurture relationships
• Understand the future of Social
• Introduce imaginative ways to do research, data collection, analysis, insights & idea development
• Develop and evolve the strategy process in a significant way
• Expand the overall profile of Strategy and Social at the agency and network
• Represent MRM in the industry (e.g., deliver talks on Social, develop thought leadership, judge industry awards)

TEAM LEADER

• Role model and mentor and provide guidance to continue upskilling our team
• Support the MRM NY Chief Strategy Officer in leading, nurturing and managing the NY Strategy team
• Lead the development of methods that inspire and engage staff, and provide an environment that encourages great ideas to flourish
• Provide input into scoping and staffing to ensure understanding of the need and matching to Strategy resource capability and availability
• Manage the career development of team members, including coaching and mentoring and identifying team competency goals and gaps and plan
• Attract the best talent
• Represent the team to the rest of the agency and network
• Nurture a culture oriented towards positivity, problem-solving, and resourcefulness
• Foster a sense of community on the Strategy team
• Establish the integrated Social team as a multi-disciplinary center of gravity at the agency

THE REQUIREMENTS

• 12+ years directly-related total experience – with at least 10 years of Strategy and at least 5 years of Social (e.g., you were a Brand strategist for 5 years, a Social strategist for 5 years, and have been in Experience Strategy for the last 2)
• 7+ years supervisory and management experience
• Experience running (preferred: launching) a discipline or practice at an agency
• Experience in kids/family brands
• Expertise in Brand Strategy, Digital Strategy, Experience Strategy, CRM Strategy, Content Strategy, Social Strategy
• Deep experience with consumer insights, personas, segmentation and journeys, understanding of how to grow relationships with people
• Experience building go-to-market plans across omnichannel ecosystem
• Ability to inspire Creative teams
• Comfort and confidence with technology required to enable brand relationships, including up-to-date knowledge of mar-tech
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant area
• Strong collaboration skills and flexibility with different ways to work is required
• Exceptional communication skills — on the page and in presentation
• Curiosity, passion, collaborative spirit, optimism to find the answer, and work ethic to deliver

About MRM

MRM is a modern relationship marketing agency that delivers transformative creative solutions at the intersection of business, culture, and technology. MRM operates in a borderless, integrated way, to allow for greater collaboration and velocity—all to the service of helping businesses grow meaningful relationships with people. MRM is part of McCann Worldgroup and the Interpublic Group of companies (NYSE: IPG), and spans 35 offices across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.mrm.com.

We love our diverse workplace! MRM is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria.

The salary range for this position is $125,000 to $300,000. Where an employee or prospective employee is paid within this range will depend on, among other factors, actual ranges for current/former employees in the subject position; the associated discipline; market considerations; budgetary considerations; tenure and standing with the company (applicable to current employees); as well as the employee’s/applicant’s background, pertinent experience, and qualifications.

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