Group Director Strategy

About the Role

We are looking for a Group Director, Martech Consulting to lead VML's Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (RTCDP) practice as its most senior strategic and technical authority. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role at the forefront of one of the fastest-growing capability areas in enterprise marketing technology.

As Group Director, you will own the end-to-end strategic vision and technical governance of RTCDP engagements — spanning identity resolution, audience architecture, data ingestion, destination activation, and privacy compliance. You will bring the data engineering acumen to govern complex CDP implementations and the leadership presence to shape how clients invest in and scale their customer data capabilities.

This role sits at the intersection of data architecture, marketing strategy, and enterprise consulting — and represents a genuine opportunity to define how VML delivers one of the most in-demand capabilities in the market.

This position requires a minimum of 4 days per week in-office to support team collaboration and development, with travel to client sites as required.

The Impact You'll Make

• Define and lead VML's strategic approach to Adobe RTCDP across enterprise client engagements
• Serve as the most senior RTCDP voice at VML — advising clients, leading pitches, and shaping practice direction
• Architect and govern enterprise-scale customer data platforms that drive measurable business outcomes
• Build and develop a specialist team of CDP consultants and data-focused architects
• Contribute directly to business growth — identifying new opportunities, leading proposals, and deepening existing client relationships
• Establish VML as a recognised leader in Adobe RTCDP delivery and thought leadership

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Client Advisory

• Define and own the strategic vision for RTCDP engagements across VML's enterprise client portfolio
• Act as the primary senior advisor to VP, Director, and C-suite client stakeholders on CDP strategy, data investment priorities, and platform roadmap
• Lead executive-level workshops and strategy sessions — translating complex data challenges into clear, actionable technology recommendations
• Develop compelling business cases and ROI frameworks that articulate the value of RTCDP investment to senior client decision-makers
• Build and maintain trusted, long-term client relationships that position VML as a strategic partner in customer data capability

CDP Architecture & Technical Governance

• Lead the end-to-end architecture and governance of Adobe RTCDP implementations at enterprise scale
• Define standards and best practices for identity resolution strategy — including identity graph design, namespace management, and profile stitching across known and unknown customers
• Own the data ingestion architecture — designing and overseeing batch and streaming pipelines that bring together first-party, second-party, and third-party data sources into unified customer profiles
• Lead the design and governance of XDM schema frameworks aligned to enterprise data strategy and downstream activation requirements
• Define audience segmentation architecture — including segment taxonomy, profile attribute strategy, and real-time vs. batch segmentation approaches
• Govern destination activation strategy — overseeing the configuration of paid media, owned channel, and partner destinations to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant audience delivery
• Establish and enforce technical governance standards across all RTCDP environments — covering data quality, profile hygiene, consent management, and platform configuration

Identity Resolution & Data Engineering

• Lead the strategic design of enterprise identity resolution frameworks — defining how customer identities are collected, resolved, and maintained across touchpoints and channels
• Oversee the development of data ingestion pipelines — ensuring proper data transformation, mapping, and validation prior to profile ingestion
• Provide senior technical direction on data modelling and schema design, ensuring architectures are scalable, extensible, and aligned to business requirements
• Collaborate with client data engineering and enterprise architecture teams to ensure seamless integration between RTCDP and broader data infrastructure — including data warehouses, data lakes, and cloud platforms
• Drive the resolution of complex profile inconsistency and identity collision issues at scale

Privacy Governance & Compliance

• Define and lead privacy governance frameworks for RTCDP environments — ensuring implementations are compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable data protection regulations
• Oversee the implementation of consent management strategies within AEP, ensuring data usage labels, consent policies, and data governance policies are correctly configured and enforced
• Advise clients on the strategic implications of privacy regulation for customer data architecture — including data minimisation, purpose limitation, and the right to erasure
• Stay ahead of regulatory developments and translate emerging requirements into practical platform governance recommendations

Audience Activation & Performance

• Lead the strategy for cross-channel audience activation — defining how RTCDP-built audiences are deployed across paid media, owned channels, and partner platforms
• Define audience measurement and performance frameworks — establishing KPIs, monitoring activation outcomes, and driving continuous optimisation
• Advise on data collaboration strategies — including data clean room integration, second-party data partnerships, and privacy-preserving audience sharing
• Identify opportunities to expand activation use cases and unlock incremental value from existing RTCDP investments

Practice Development & Thought Leadership

• Develop proprietary frameworks, methodologies, and accelerators that strengthen VML's RTCDP delivery capability
• Contribute to external thought leadership — producing industry content, presenting at events, and shaping VML's market positioning in CDP and customer data strategy
• Define VML's RTCDP centre of excellence — establishing standards, toolkits, and knowledge assets that scale across the practice
• Stay ahead of Adobe RTCDP product developments and translate new capabilities into client opportunities and internal enablement
• Identify adjacent capability areas — including Open Intelligence, data collaboration, and AI-driven segmentation — and develop VML's ability to deliver in these spaces

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of RTCDP consultants, data architects, and CDP specialists
• Define clear career pathways and development plans that retain and grow specialist talent within the practice
• Set high standards for technical quality and delivery excellence — reviewing solution designs, governing implementations, and ensuring consistent output quality
• Foster a culture of curiosity, rigour, and continuous learning — keeping the team ahead of platform and market developments
• Collaborate cross-functionally with strategy, analytics, media, and experience design teams to deliver integrated, outcome-focused client programmes

Business Development & Growth

• Lead and contribute to new business pitches and proposals for RTCDP and broader customer data engagements
• Identify and develop organic growth opportunities within existing accounts — expanding scope, deepening relationships, and introducing new capability areas
• Contribute to commercial scoping and solution design, ensuring proposals are technically credible, commercially sound, and competitively differentiated
• Represent VML in Adobe partner conversations — maintaining a close working relationship with Adobe's RTCDP product and sales teams

What You'll Bring

Essential Experience

• 8+ years of experience in customer data platforms, data architecture, martech consulting, or related disciplines
• Demonstrated senior-level expertise in Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Experience Platform
• Deep, hands-on knowledge across:
• Identity resolution and identity graph architecture
• XDM schema design and data modelling
• Batch and streaming data ingestion pipelines
• Audience segmentation and profile architecture
• Destination configuration and audience activation
• Data governance, consent management, and privacy policy enforcement
• Strong data engineering acumen — with the ability to provide technical direction on data transformation, pipeline design, and platform integration
• Proven track record of leading enterprise CDP implementations and delivering measurable commercial outcomes
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a senior client advisor — with the presence, credibility, and communication skills to engage at VP and C-suite level
• Experience leading and developing specialist teams in a fast-paced consultancy or agency environment
• Strong understanding of data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and their implications for CDP architecture and governance

Technical Proficiency

• Proficiency in SQL and data query languages — with the ability to interrogate profile data, validate ingestion quality, and support data troubleshooting
• Working knowledge of JSON, APIs, and data interchange formats used in AEP ingestion and activation workflows
• Familiarity with cloud data platforms — including Snowflake, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and/or Azure — and how they integrate with AEP
• Understanding of data clean room technologies and privacy-enhancing techniques for data collaboration

Nice to Have

• Adobe Experience Platform or RTCDP Certification
• Experience across the broader Adobe Experience Cloud suite — including AJO, Analytics, Target, and Marketo
• Background in data engineering, data warehousing, or enterprise data architecture
• Experience with identity resolution platforms and third-party CDP technologies
• Familiarity with AI-driven segmentation and predictive audience modelling
• Track record in practice development, thought leadership, or business development at a senior level
• Previous experience at a leading consultancy, systems integrator, or digital agency serving enterprise clients

What Makes This Role Unique

This is a rare opportunity to lead at the forefront of one of the highest-demand capabilities in enterprise marketing technology. You will be:

• Defining the strategy for how enterprise clients build, govern, and activate their most valuable asset — their customer data
• Working at the cutting edge of identity, privacy, and AI-driven personalisation — where data architecture meets marketing performance
• Playing a central role in VML's growth as a leading Adobe RTCDP partner — with real influence over practice direction, team development, and market positioning
• Bringing together data engineering depth and marketing strategy in a way that few roles in the market demand or reward

Who You'll Work With

You will collaborate closely with:

• Senior client stakeholders — VP, Director, and C-suite technology, data, and marketing leads
• VML data, analytics, and media teams — ensuring customer data strategy connects to activation and measurement
• Adobe Experience Platform and RTCDP product teams — maintaining a close partnership and staying ahead of platform developments
• CDP consultants, data architects, and marketing automation specialists — providing leadership, direction, and quality oversight
• VML business development and growth teams — contributing to pitches, proposals, and client expansion