Starcom is the Human Experience Company; we believe that our clients’ competitive advantage lies in understanding people better, and acting on that understanding faster than the competition.

The future lies in bringing together media, creativity and data to create powerful experiences that will drive faster growth. We are the flagship Publicis Media agency to do this through our Power of One client teams that span clients such as Stellantis, P&G, Samsung, P&O and Visa.

We work differently to most agencies and base many of our models on consultancy ways of working to build a more agile workforce in this hybrid world. We complement our account teams with Squads – small teams that work for a short period to solve a specific brief. We hold cross discipline Sprints to crack client briefs at speed. These processes are designed to fuel high performance and fast results through collaboration.

Even in this most challenging period, Starcom has had an exceptional 12 months. We have welcomed brilliant clients such as Stellantis, Ferrero, Axa, KP Snacks and E.ON into the fold. Our client satisfaction scores are among the highest in the market, significantly above agency norms. We place a huge focus on our team and have driven flagship DEI and L&D programmes within Publicis Media; our goal is to help every individual reach their fullest potential and we encourage everyone to make “Brave Plays” in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign’s Best Places to Work in 2021.

Starcom operates in over 100 markets across the world. We have very close ties to our global HQ in Chicago who encourage learning and sharing best practice with our colleagues around the world. We are part of Publicis Groupe.

Here at Starcom, we’re looking for a senior Strategy Director to lead the strategic offering for the media planning element of One Publicis Team Samsung. In this role, you’ll work with one of our most exciting clients, Samsung, in an exciting, varied role on a really innovative client.  This role would be perfect for an existing Strategy Director looking for more responsibility, or a Business Director looking to move into Strategy. 

What will I be doing? 

In this role you will lead the team responsible for the strategic element of all responses to communications briefs from one of our biggest clients. This will include helping senior marketeers identify their overall marketing goals, the role for communication and developing a clear vision for how those goals will come to life in media execution. 

The exact responsibilities will vary, but this year alone sees a huge number of Samsung Galaxy ecosystem products, and the continuation of their work in the technology sector. 

In addition, you’ll also: 

• Be responsible for guiding and managing 2 Associate Strategy Directors 

• Develop, own and spearhead strong relationships with senior UK clients 

• Encourage use of our planning frameworks with your team to deliver exceptional, award-winning work 

• Contribute to our team efforts to grow the strategic ability of all media practitioners at Starcom 

• Build strong media owner integration based on better insight, innovation and ideas 

• Represent your work at board level 

• Have the opportunity to represent the agency in new business pitches 

What are we looking for? 

At Starcom, we’re all about growth: for our clients, for the team and for you as an individual.  For this reason, we’re not asking for someone to have a specific strategy role experience, but we are looking for someone who can demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of strategy and a strong understanding of the UK media marketplace. 

In addition, you’ll have 

• A vision for how a communications strategy can have a real effect on day to day media planning choices 

• A track-record of developing innovative and creative communication proposals in a planner or strategist role; 

• Experience creating actionable communication strategies and/or planning guidelines and working closely with colleagues, partners and clients to land this globally or locally 

• Experience working on new business pitches and feel comfortable delivering strategy with senior clients at pace. 

We are also looking for someone who has the bravery to question the status quo. We know that there is no such thing as an “average consumer” and so our media solutions must be able to engage with a whole range of diverse audiences on their own terms in an truly inclusive way. This means no more vanilla planning. 

What’s in it for you? 

Our goal is to help every team member reach their fullest potential and we encourage everyone to make “Brave Plays” in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign’s Best Places to Work in 2021 and 2022.  In return for you bringing your experience, talent and full self to work, we’ll provide you with the opportunity to learn.  For this role, that means: 

• You will work in cross-functional Power of One teams where you will learn from, and the shape the work, of colleagues across the Groupe 

• You will have the opportunity to make significant contribution to new business, where you will learn about, and shape, the best the Groupe has to offer 

• You will have a senior leadership team who will get behind your Brave Plays – pushing them to be truly award winning work 

• You will join a growing team where you can help coach others and play a part in shaping Starcom’s strategy and planning solutions 

Please don't hesitate to submit an application if this role sounds like it could be a great next step for you. We have an open and inclusive recruitment process (which will be three stages for this role) so please let us know if you need any adjustments at all, have a particular pronoun you prefer to use or just want to talk to us about something. 

Starcom is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of society and does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation or gender identity. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities and for candidates in our application process.  If you need assistance or adjustment due to a disability, please contact us.