VML APAC Catalyst Academy (Location: VML Singapore)

Are You Ready to Ignite Your Future?

At VML, we don’t just adapt to the future—we shape it.

And this is your opportunity to shape yours, with an 18-month, paid rotation across Account Management, Planning, Creative Technology and Customer Experience. The Catalyst Academy is VML's flagship early careers program, grooming our future leaders by creating opportunities for rotational learning, structured programming, development and exposure to clients and internal stakeholders and decision makers! Get ready to discover a career, where creativity merges seamlessly with technology, and your groundbreaking ideas find a home on the world’s stage.

Who we are: 

At VML you won’t just create ads, you’ll uncover disconnects in behaviour and culture and use your creativity to connect with consumers through the power of global brands. Our foundation is built on an unmatched creative legacy, combining over 300 years of expertise from iconic agencies like J. Walter Thompson, Y&R, Wunderman, and VML. This heritage gives us a deep well of creative excellence and a pioneering spirit of technological innovation from which to draw. This connected vision is powered by our 26,000 talented people across more than 50 markets. They are the soul of our company. Their varied perspectives, local expertise, and cultural insights are not just a competitive advantage but essential to understanding a complex world and creating work that resonates. Our culture is built on the belief that connecting these viewpoints is the most powerful driver of creativity and innovation.

This commitment to connection extends beyond our client work and into our communities. We’re proud to make a positive impact through initiatives like the VML Foundation, which has contributed over $3.2 million to charitable causes. Ultimately, VML is a partner in brand and business transformation. We bring creative vision and technical depth together, proving that when you connect every part of the brand experience around a human truth, you create brands that don’t just grow — they thrive.

At VML, we are unwavering in our commitment to hiring and inspiring the next generation of creative advertisers. And the 2026 Catalyst Academy is your opportunity to make your mark.

The Catalyst Academy, is an eighteen-month, fully paid, rotational program. During this period, you will work in and learn from four different departments and help to create meaningful experiences for consumers and customers in an all-inclusive work environment.

What You Will Do:

Core Responsibilities – Account Executive

• Collaborate with all the team and client, effectively deliver full agency capabilities and support our clients in meeting their business challenges and objectives.
• Understand the client brief, work alongside all departments within the agency such as Account Management, Creative, Experience (UIUX) and Strategy to ensure VML are always delivering the best solution, pulling in other members of the VML team as and when required.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and juggle multiple projects is a must.
• Support the respective teams to effectively deliver full agency capabilities and support our clients in meeting their business challenges and objectives.
• Day to day support across the team including shadowing the senior team members to assist with the delivery of campaigns and projects.
• Creating and managing campaign reports which document campaign creative and results.
• Coordinate the execution of projects and provide general support to the team.
• Opportunity to run smaller campaigns of your own (with team support and guidance).
• Service introduction, contract negotiation, assisting in communication and clarifying issues between both parties.
• Project Management: Overseeing the execution of advertising campaigns, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and meeting client expectations. Like planning/proposal and execution of product launches/promotion schedules and other events or websites maintenance.
• Creative Briefing: Briefing the creative team on client requirements, providing direction, and ensuring creative concepts meet client expectations and brand guidelines.
• Communication and Coordination: Facilitating communication between internal teams such as creative, strategy, and production, as well as coordinating with external vendors and partners.
• New Business Development: Identifying opportunities for upselling or expanding services to existing clients, as well as participating in pitches and proposals to secure new business.

Core Responsibilities – Junior Planner

• Strategic planning: contribute to brand positioning, brand communications and creative campaign strategies, based on research using different research methodologies.
• Experience and service design: contribute to persona and customer journeys for new services and new experiences, infused by the brand and based on different design research and design thinking methodologies.
• Market research and analysis: Conduct regular trend, consumer, and market observations, and provide insights to support proposals based on different project needs.
• Brand positioning and messaging strategy: Identify the media and consumer touchpoints for target demographics, enhance the consumer journey, and provide recommendations.
• Advertising strategy development: The strategy team formulates comprehensive advertising strategies, including media selection, advertising formats, promotional activities, etc. Based on market research and brand positioning, they design suitable advertising plans to achieve clients' business goals.
• Data analysis and performance evaluation: The strategy team evaluates advertising effectiveness through data analysis and provides improvement suggestions. Familiarize yourself with various digital communication platforms and tools and offer optimization suggestions based on client objectives and strategic directions.
• Client communication and management: The strategy team works closely with clients to understand their needs and communicates and negotiates advertising strategies with them.
• Data-drive communication: contribute to touch point planning, performance marketing planning and data-driven personalised communication journeys.
• Based in our brand strategy team you’ll also get exposure to Commerce, Experience and data strategy
• Contribute to brand positioning, competitor insights and creative strategy work
• Work closely with different teams to provide strategic inputs, market surveys, research etc.
• Understand and grow foundational skills across research, analysis and lateral thinking
• Support communication strategies
• Contribute to the campaign implementation and its positioning and messaging across different channels

Core Responsibilities – Junior Creative Technologist

• Learn how to have a strategic approach to brand design and can execute ideas with great attention to detail and creativity.
• Working across a diverse range of categories, on a wide variety of design projects
• Continually learning about people, design and technology, improving your design practice and growing as part of a team
• Developing and contributing to exceptional work that exceeds client expectations
• Getting involved in workshops and ideation sessions, developing relationships, and working towards good outcomes
• Support creation of innovative and imaginative art/copy content according to creative briefs and deadlines.
• Works with entire creative team to develop inspiring integrated campaign ideas.
• Perform ongoing research on current industry trends to maintain fresh and relevant perspective in all communications.
• Supports the team to bridge the gap between creativity and technology to digitally optimize creative output.
• Thriving on exploration and experimentation, they are at the heart of co-creating ideas and bringing them to life with a complimentary skill set spanning across all functions within the agency
• Creative ideation / process, and beyond
• In addition to coming up with and inspiring new ideas, they will also identify opportunities to enhance / reinforce existing ideas with the creative application of technology; drawing on a broad knowledge of tools and processes to determine how it can be brought to life. 

Core Responsibilities – Customer Experience Executive

• Experience and service design: Contribute to persona and customer journeys for new services and new experiences
• Assist in the creation and refinement of customer personas, using research and stakeholder inputs.
• Support the mapping of end-to-end customer journeys for new services, products, and experiences.
• Contribute to identifying significant touchpoints and opportunities across customer journeys
• Participate in workshops or brainstorming sessions to design improved or innovative service touchpoints.
• Document design outputs (journey maps, blueprints, experience flows) in a clear, structured manner
• Data-driven research: develop and interpret customer research and insights across the customer journey 
• Assist qualitative and quantitative data-driven research, including surveys, interviews, desk research, and social listening.
• Assist in analyzing data to uncover trends
• Translate research findings into actionable insights that guide experience improvements and communication strategies.
• Track customer satisfaction metrics and support reporting on CX performance and trends.
• Omnichannel, personalized journey thinking to deliver targeted messaging to audiences across the communication ecosystem
• Support the design and evaluation of customer experiences across multiple touchpoints—web, app, retail, CRM, social, media, and service channels.
• Work with internal teams to ensure consistent experience delivery across the full communication ecosystem.
• Help monitor customer interactions across channels to identify friction points or inconsistencies.

During this eighteen-month period, you will have the opportunity to complete the fully paid for IPA Global Certification.  This certification is made up of self-learning modules as well as a final exam.

Please apply if you have the legal right to work in Singapore (this is a fully on-site job in our office in Singapore). The program participants are not offered accommodation or local travel arrangements/allowances (we do not require previous work industry experience or knowledge)

Along with your online application/resume, you must submit your video profile to us on [email protected]. To be considered for the Catalyst Academy, we need both your resume and your video profile.

Video Profile Details:

At VML, being Human First is our guiding creative philosophy. We believe the most powerful ideas — the ones that truly move people and businesses forward — are born from a deep and empathetic understanding of human needs, desires, and motivations. Our Human First approach means we create value for people first, knowing that this is the most authentic and sustainable way to create value for the brands we serve. And we live by our Core Values, These are the guiding principals that drive all of our actions: Heart, Brains and Courage. Know more about VML's Core Values HERE

Create a compelling story as to who you are: how you resonate with VML's core values, why you decided to apply for the Catalyst Academy 2026, what really stood out for you and how that links to the future direction you want to head in (make the video a truly creative and authentic representation of who you are!)

What are we looking for?

* 90 seconds maximum

* Big ideas, not big budgets/productions, or big file sizes (record using only a mobile phone)

* We are looking for your ability to create a compelling story, demonstrate creativity and individuality, communication skills and outside the box thinking.

* We do not expect you to be an actor or seasoned speaker. If you struggle with presenting, you can be creative and think further than ‘piece to camera’ format. Be original and let your personality shine through.

* Submit the video in English (must)

Please complete your video and upload to a video streaming page of your choice (unlisted YouTube or Vimeo preferred). Once complete please submit the link of your video to [email protected].

We are working to ensure the process is as accessible as possible. If you require any accommodations, please let us know and we will work with you to ensure you’re comfortable and supported.

Thank you again for all the time and your interest in joining The APAC Catalyst Academy 2026!