Who We Are:
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, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work.
Who we’re looking for:
You will be the Data Strategy lead at VML, championing the discipline with clients, across the agency and industry. VML has world-class data capabilities across marketing technology, operations, insights, analytics & AI. You will be a trusted partner to our clients, navigating their businesses, understanding their challenges, connecting across VML to deliver world-class data strategies that inspire our clients and drive growth.
What you’ll be doing:
- Data leadership
- Act as strategic data partner and advisor, helping clients to leverage the power of data to achieve their goals and drive effectiveness and efficiency.
- Develop proposals and methodologies for data collection, insight, targeting, personalisation, measurement and direct the delivery through the team and in collaboration with other disciplines
- Inspire our clients and all of VML with thought-leadership and best practice
- Work closely with our clients to help diagnose and solve their challenges, support their data vision and make it happen
- Drive client success and satisfaction in all you do
- Business Development
- New business – be the go-to data lead for pitches to deliver winning proposals and presentations
- Organic business – be relentless at bringing new ideas and opportunities to grow our existing clients and bring our data offer to clients who work with us in other disciplines
- Marketing & PR – promote VML’s data capabilities through thought leadership and PR
- Team leadership & management
- Lead and manage a team of data strategists, overseeing resourcing and managing team workload
- Direct, motivate and nurture your people to help them achieve their career goals and deliver brilliant work for VML’s clients
- Develop the skills and knowledge of your team and wider agency colleagues, creating and sustaining a learning culture.
Our data practice sits across multiple teams (Data Strategy, Consulting, Analytics & Data Science, Insights and Enablement). As one of the senior data leads, this role is often the entry-point to all data disciplines and works closely with Strategy, CX, Account Management, Project Management and Commercial teams. As such, you will need to organise, motivate and inspire to connect all (data and non-data) disciplines in delivering success for our clients. Gravitas and strong collaboration are essential.
What you’ll need:
- Exceptional experience leading across data for new business and then driving opportunities across a myriad of clients
- A belief in the value of data-driven marketing to deliver exceptional results
- Track-record of growing sizeable data business and developing thought leadership for PR and marketing
- Experience of building relationships with clients from junior to C-suite and dealing with the different and complex personalities involved
- Someone who can unify groups from across a wide skill-set and unify them behind a clear brief or goal and deliver excellent work for clients
- A candidate with the ability to engage people with their presentation skills but show excellent active listening to create clear actions which meet client needs
- A person with a love for data-driven marketing and is constantly following trends to develop impactful and significant work for our clients.
- Significant experience at scoping, resourcing and developing commercial proposals.
- Knowledge of all data across the marketing and digital ecosystem including media, commerce, social and digital platforms, CRM & loyalty and an appreciation of how this can be enriched (e.g. 3rd party data, research)
- Must have knowledge (you need not be a deep practitioner in all these areas, but do need have a good appreciation across them):
- Data & analytics – data strategy, analytics modelling, targeting, personalisation, measurement
- Marketing technologies – data cloud solutions, analytics and reporting tools, CDPs, CRM / marketing automation
- Marketing operations – data-driven operating models, process design, data governance
At VML, we are committed to fostering an all-inclusive work environment that is both rewarding and career-forward. Our Inclusion, Equity & Belonging initiatives, alongside the VML Foundation, reflect our dedication to giving back and making a positive impact in our communities and beyond. Our people are the heartbeat of our organization—creators, doers, innovators, makers, and thinkers—who drive not just marketing, but meaningful experiences that resonate in every action and interaction.
VML is a WPP Agency. For more information, please visit our website, and follow VML on our social channels via Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
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