Dentsu is a modern marketing solutions company. Our mission is to help clients navigate, progress and thrive in a world of change. Businesses rely on our integrated network of agencies and specialized practices to champion meaningful progress through creative, media, commerce, data and technology. Part of Dentsu Group, our global network comprises 66,000 diverse people in 143 countries, who are dedicated to teaming for growth and good. Some of our award-winning agencies include 360i, Carat, dentsumcgarrybowen, DEG, dentsuX, iProspect and Merkle. Follow us on Twitter @DentsuUSA and visit dentsu.com/us.

We are champions for meaningful progress and we strive to be a force for good—for our people, for our clients, for the industry and for our society. We keep our people at the center, creating space for growth, understanding and learning so they can thrive. We embed diversity, in our mindset, in our solutions and in our teams to empower an inclusive, equitable and culturally fluent environment. Building this culture within our teams makes us better collaborators with each other and with our clients, driving better outcomes for all.

The VP, Head of Diversity Equity and Inclusion will lead all efforts to further achieve diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies and programs within dentsu international for the Americas Creative Line of Business. You will accomplish this by working with the Creative CEO, HR Lead, executive team, and dentsu international Americas Chief Equity Officer, to shape and lead transformational DEI efforts and align them to our strategy. The DEI strategy includes all human capital practices associated with the workforce, culture, corporate social responsibility, marketing, supplier diversity and clients. It also includes promoting and managing relationships necessary to bring our Line of Business commitment to DEI both inside and outside the organization.

This Senior Executive will sit on our Americas Creative Executive Committees – and report to the Creative CEO from a business perspective. There will be additional functional reporting and supporting relationships to the Americas Chief Equity Officer and Creative HR team.

Strategy - You will help set the DEI vision by developing an organizational strategy which fosters a meaningful dialog and message. We are committed to building a diverse population, with a healthy, vibrant culture, enabling every employee to do great work, build a phenomenal career and feel they belong. The message will underscore the positive influence a culture of DEI can have by building excitement, creating momentum and guiding behaviors based on empirical data, research and metrics.

Execution – You will help transform operational approaches. You will work with the HR teams and with the Regional VP, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to manage development and adoption of a comprehensive DEI strategy that addresses our daily processes. You will help redesign 'how we do things' to weave the necessity and accommodation for increased diversity into our daily people processes.

Advocate – You will provide expertise and education to our organization by advocating for efforts to support a diverse workforce, creating methods of connection, integration, and seamless interaction across our businesses. You will counsel executive-level team members on DEI programs, while leading the Creative Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council chaired by the CEO.

Set the bar - We are looking for someone with a passion for building a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that's dedicated to improving our Line of Business and the broader organization. We want you to lead efforts that 'set the bar' for the business on how to reach excellence in diversity of its workforce.

You will:

• Create and communicate the future state vision and detailed plans of long and short-term achievable goals with expected outcomes – you will do this for Creative by focusing on each of the three regions in structurally consistent but culturally customized and aligned actions. Your priority for 2021 is the US and Canada, with an expanded focus on the other regions as and when you are able. We anticipate you spending more time on EMEA and APAC in 2022, but you will set the pace for this scope widening.
• Align and integrate DEI into a set of balanced scorecards, including establishing clearly defined measures of success, targets and a guide path to get there.
• Work with the Creative CEO, HR Lead and other leaders to shape their roles in supporting and building the DEI strategy and connecting DEI to the organizational strategy.
• Consult with and advise senior leadership to assess and implement DEI programs that support the strategy.
• Develop relationships with thought leaders at all levels of the organization to establish sponsorship and credibility for DEI programs.
• Partner with colleagues and business leaders regarding talent management, succession planning, leadership development and people development, and recruiting to ensure the DEI strategies and programs will contribute to the strengthening of our workforce needed to accomplish our vision, goals and strategies.
• Integrate the DEI strategy into the culture and employee engagement strategy. Use all elements of the culture to accelerate the DEI agenda.
• Understand our client population and assess where there are opportunities to strengthen and improve from a DEI lens. Partner with business leaders to ensure we are well positioned to serve our diverse populations.
• Provide strategic guidance to the regional diversity pillar teams and foster development of new pillars to suit the needs of our employees – with market specific cultural sensitivities.
• Establish external partnerships through participation on councils, conferences, task forces, and professional affiliations to strengthen internal DEI solutions, perceptions and influence within our organization and to external audiences.
• Promote sponsorship of selected conferences and events that enhance the dentsu brand and reputation as an industry leader who is committed to DEI and seek opportunities to present at identified DEI conferences on behalf of dentsu and our Creative Line of Business
• Work with Marketing and Communications to develop our communications and branding to influence participation and perceptions as an employer of choice, committed throughout all levels to DEI.
• Partner with Legal and Compliance to meet local market requirements (e.g. - EEO for U.S.) and ensure there are productive relationships with related regulatory and government agencies to support organization's efforts to attract under-represented groups.
• Analyze metrics and research on DEI best practices and benchmarks as input to developing programs and report on how well dentsu is performing.
• Manage the DEI budget allocated for the Creative Line of Business.
• In partnership with the Head of Supplier Diversity, manage a supplier development/strategic partnership and mentorship program to strengthen the diverse supplier pipeline, with a focus on assisting top performing suppliers in securing new business at denstu.
• Develop a performance reporting framework for the supplier diversity program aimed at assessing program effectiveness which will include increasing diverse supplier spend along with the number of diverse suppliers.

You have:

• Minimum 10+ years of professional experience; with relevant senior-level experience in a diversity related role or diversity consulting capacity.
• Experience with the value proposition of business-oriented diversity strategies program and practices.
• Experience building a strategy, programs, improving leadership capability and knowledge across the organization in ways that promote an authentic and equitable approach to diverse hiring, belonging and inclusivity.
• Understanding of relevant human capital functions – recruitment, talent management, compensation, leadership development, performance management – and how to integrate DEI into these functions.
• Comfortable reviewing DEI research and applying principles from relevant research in a business setting.
• Motivated and energized to represent dentsu and our Line of Business through public speaking engagements.
• Team leadership, coaching and group facilitation skills.
• Ability driving large-scale change efforts in well-regarded and admired companies; ability to work with important partners to gain their commitment and support.
• Unquestionable integrity and the ability to handle confidential employee relations matters.
• BS/BA degree or equivalent experience; MBA is a plus.

Our benefits:

• Comprehensive healthcare plans
• FTO and family leave
• Generous holiday schedule
• 401k

Employees from diverse or underrepresented backgrounds encouraged to apply.

Dentsu (the "Company") is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee of the Company, on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other legally-recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done that will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing an undue hardship on the Company. Please contact [email protected] if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process or to request or discuss an accommodation in connection with a job at the Company to which you are applying.