Senior Social Strategist

Company: VML

Hybrid working: Working from home / Sea Containers office, London, SE1

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse.

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey building connected brands that drive growth for our clients. We do this by leveraging our 3 core practices; Brand experience, Customer experience and Commerce. Within these practices we offer expertise across communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.

The Role: Senior Social Strategist

We are seeking an experienced social strategist who will ideate, create, and deliver comprehensive innovative social strategies for a leading brand. You'll be keen to understand what the client needs and match that with how we can create and engage, tailored to different social platforms, and always rooted in social audience behaviours.

You will become one of the 'go-to' social guardians, helping brands take bold steps to embrace the very best of what social has to offer with our guidance. You'll have the opportunity to own workstreams and really get under the skin of what makes audiences tick. If you're passionate about social media, have a keen eye for trends & platform updates, and possess exceptional communication skills, we want to hear from you!

The VML Social team is growing and this opportunity is primed for someone that's looking to deliver best in class social, whilst learning and upskilling themselves with a team of specialists. We're very fortunate to offer our clients the full range of social expertise, from influencer managers, content creators, social account management, social data scientists, and of course…social strategists.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Lead the development and execution of comprehensive social brand, content, and campaign strategies for [our client / client portfolio]. Leverage experience to develop broader POVs on specific audiences, trends, or best practices.
• Collaboration: Foster strong collaborative relationships with the wider VML team outside of social, including strategy & planning, data & insights, client engagement, and creative. Integrate social-specific knowledge and align with their diverse expertise, including briefing work and working where social is part of an integrated plan.
• Client Engagement: Steer clients through social strategies, providing guidance, challenging assumptions, and ensuring the best possible outcomes. Proactively uncover new opportunities for the brand's social execution.
• Insights: Identify and leverage cultural and social insights relevant to the client and the social space as a whole, to inform strategic recommendations and ensure relevance for brands in social.
• Presentation Skills: Present strategic recommendations to senior clients and internal teams in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner. Respond spontaneously to issues or questions that arise.
• Channel Understanding: Demonstrate a truly native and broad understanding of everything social from LinkedIn to TikTok; content and trends, platform and functionality updates, and what the brand's competitors/comparators are doing in social. Share this knowledge proactively with colleagues and clients.
• Brand Guardianship: Understand and embody the needs of the brand, matched with social, and how different aspects of the brand need to show up (from personal to business, and from more serious to more fun).

The ideal candidate will:

• Have a proven track record of developing and implementing successful social strategies for big brands.
• Ideally have experience of social within a related sector.
• Be a highly collaborative team player, capable of building strong relationships with clients, internal teams, and external partners.
• Be a strategic thinker with the ability to 'translate' and communicate complex social data and insights into actionable recommendations.
• Be a compelling storyteller with excellent presentation and communication skills.
• Be comfortable working in a dynamic environment and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Be passionate about 'what's next' in social, to stay ahead of the curve.
• Be adept at using data and analytics to measure the effectiveness of social campaigns and optimise performance.
• Be a proactive and results-oriented individual with a strong work ethic and a commitment to excellence.
• Have a nuanced perspective on social marketing built from wide-ranging experience and continuous learning, including specific insights into consumer trends, brand storytelling, and platform innovations.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Proven experience in a social strategy role within an advertising/marketing agency or client team.
• Strong understanding of social media, with a variety of social platforms, and emerging technologies.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong client relationships.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience of working on major clients is highly beneficial although not essential.
• A degree of some sort will help us understand your background and point of view.
• Experience in high-value brands is a major plus!

Sound like you? Then we'd love to talk to you about this super exciting opportunity!

What's in it for you?

Aside from a generous annual leave allowance and pension allowances, you will have access to a whole host of other benefits and activities such as

• Life Assurance
• Permanent Health Insurance
• BUPA
• Flexible hybrid-working schedule
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Well-being Programme
• Employee Assistance Support
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Eye Care and Glasses Vouchers
• Season Ticket Loans
• WPP Discounts

You will also have a clear long-term career development plan and access to our learning and development activities and online learning platforms.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

VML is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, colour, religion or belief, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, military/veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability. We believe in creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion and strives to recruit a diverse slate of candidates to help us achieve that goal.

If you are unable or limited in your ability to access our career site as a result of a disability, we will be happy to assist you. Please contact our People Team at [email protected] to request an alternate accommodation. Please note that only requests for an employment application accommodation will be returned.