Social Business Director

Wpp Group
Department: PR & Influence / Social & Content

Location: London

Contract type: Fixed-Term (12 months)

Full Time/Part time: Full Time

About Ogilvy:

Ogilvy UK has been creating iconic ideas that deliver impact at scale for clients ever since David Ogilvy founded the company in 1948. Ogilvy UK specialises in bringing together brand advertising, customer experience marketing, PR, influence and consulting, all fuelled by Behavioural Science. Our world-class award-winning creative campaigns deliver solutions for clients including Sainsbury’s, Argos Mondelēz International, Unilever, TK Maxx and Pernod Ricard.

In 2023, Ogilvy UK celebrated their 75th anniversary and was the most awarded agency in Europe. Ogilvy is home to the largest influencer marketing practice globally, and hosts the world’s biggest festival of behavioural science and creativity, Nudgestock – now in its 12th year.

About this role:

Social and content has never been more important for clients. Showing up authentically, with intention, across social platforms helps brands connect with their audiences. It helps them to sell and serve better.

This role provides the opportunity to work on two really exciting clients in our portfolio. You will have the opportunity to manage key campaigns across the year that will involve working with our strategy, creative and production team to deliver best in class campaigns and content.

This role is perfect for someone that has a wide knowledge of social – they will have experience managing content and campaigns that build brand advocacy as well understanding how to create hard working assets that drive footfall and ultimately to purchase. The ideal candidate will know how to effectively lead an account, steering processes and ways of working internally, with agency partners and with our clients.

As the BD you will take on the day-to-day leadership position, working closely with the strategy, creative and programme leads across the Social, Influence and PR teams.

You will have the experience and confidence to hold your own in strategic conversations as well as the ability to inspire, spot and help push creative genius.

The candidate will work with an Account Manager, a Community Manager and Creative team to not only deliver best-in-class social content but ensure it is performing effectively on an on-going basis; leaning into our research and data team.

A bit about you

We are flexible on whether you have come from an agency or client background, but we think the following are really important for this role:

• You’ll be a strong relationship builder, knowing how to make friends and influence people.
• You will be excellent at managing up, knowing how to involve the client business lead so they are confident in the direction being taken, up to speed on any issues and have time to input.
• Organised and autonomous; you’ll be responsible for motivating the team to do great work, whilst anticipating any areas that may hinder the success of the campaign
• Whilst you will work with a Project Manager to support with budgets and timings, you will have an excellent understanding of processes and what it takes to deliver social campaigns on budget and on time
• Financially savvy; you’ll need to work with the rest of the agency team to deliver proposals that are within the client’s budgets and ensure successful delivery
• You will be an excellent communicator; providing clear succinct guidance to the internal teams as well as being able to present the work to clients
• You’ll be someone that loves to get stuck into a task, and collaborate with the client and agency teams, and make stuff happen!
• You know how to execute with digital, social, platform first thinking and how the brand needs to behave within these environments to drive engagement.
• Experience withing the retail sector is not essential but would be helpful

More about your role at Ogilvy

As a Business Director you lead large, more complex projects, armed with your experience and proven ability to think and do. You are able to problem solve and create highly effective and fruitful working relationships with clients and colleagues, collaborating with other Capabilities and Crafts instinctively. You will also have a solid understanding of strategy and always ensure that you and the team are working towards strategic objectives.

• Has a relationship with senior-level clients that is one of trusted partner, based on proven track record of delivery.
• Is able to confidently lead conversations and problem solve in the moment as required, and act as a point of escalation for mid-level clients.
• Has strong skills in paid and organic social and has worked across a wide variety of clients and projects from small response driven workstreams to larger more complex social experiences across multi platforms and touch points.
• Understands how to work and lead project delivery in a Social first environment, as well as part of an integrated team.
• You will have good commercial acumen understanding how resource requirements should be managed in order to ensure profitability as well as the need to drive growth.
• Is confident managing multi-level stakeholders in complex matrix organisations as well managing resources and teams, across all levels, with diverse skills and personalities.
• Understands the strategic, and business context the client is operating in and uses this knowledge to develop solutions and approach tasks in a way that is effective for the client
• Collaborates confidently with other capabilities and crafts in service of finding the best Social creative solution to the clients business problem. Is seen as a champion for the craft with all those they come in to contact with.
• Demonstrates their ability for creative problem solving in how they approach every task – whether that’s identifying a way to improve the internal process, ideating for an innovative social solution, or co-creating an inspiring way to sell in the work. Able to consider different angles on a brief – a non linear thinker.
• Takes responsibility for larger projects. And acts accountable for both the work, and the process.
• Understands that they are accountable for the actions of the account team reporting into them on projects; guiding them and intervening and managing up as required.
• Will manage client expectations when having to charge more for additional work in a manner which does not expose the agency to financial risk
• Is well informed about the commercials of all projects they are responsible for, managing those below them to meet agreed targets
• Able to maintain strong partnership with internal stakeholders across all crafts in and support cross functional agendas for the benefit of the company and the client.
• Has strong relationship with their days to day clients and wider client stakeholders, and uses these relationships to help protect the work, strengthen the relationships and activate new opportunities.
• Acts as an escalation point for the team in resolving issues. Supports the team in confidently navigating through problems
• You will be charismatic with an energy that’s infectious and inspires people to do their best.
• You’ll understand the importance of brand metrics and how to orientate the operation in service of driving them and delivering business success.
• You know how to have fun and how to build a culture that is happy to work hard in an enjoyable environment.

How we help you Thrive:

• 25 days annual leave + 1 Volunteer Day

• Bupa Healthcare

• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave

• We have a Flexible Working Model with core working hours: 10am – 4pm

• A 1.5:1 Matching Pension Structure

• Wellbeing and Health: Up to £25.00 per month towards physical or online exercise class membership, Unmind membership, LifeWorks tool and annual eye tests and development budgets and Wellbeing incentives and activities throughout the year

• Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work Scheme

• Life Assurance

Our ambition is to attract the very best diverse talent to Ogilvy, and to be the employer of choice in the UK. We want everyone to feel welcome when they join us, and once they’re here, for them to want to stay with us, grow their career, and to feel they belong with us.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we’re committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment for anyone who wants to work at Ogilvy. We believe that for creativity to flourish, everything about how we work must have diversity at its core. Your race, colour, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or veteran status have no bearing on our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know and we will do everything we can to accommodate.

At Ogilvy, our people are at the heart of what we do: a creative agency that sparks game-changing ideas across culture and business through collaboration, integrity, and a celebration of self-expression.

We believe in building powerful teams with purpose. This means hiring and nurturing talent across all races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, sexual orientation . click apply for full job details