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UM places a particular emphasis on strategy as a key business driver. The Chief Strategy Officer is a crucial leadership role responsible for innovation, positioning, and new business across the region. Reporting to the President of UM EMEA, the CSO will lead a high-performing strategy department.
This role requires a future-facing strategist with a passion for business and consumer strategy in the media space, a progressive thinker, and a proven leader. The CSO will oversee UM’s strategy product and capability roadmap, partnering with the leadership team to understand client needs and market opportunities, and to develop capabilities. The CSO will lead UM EMEA’s strategic offerings, driving growth with existing clients and building a top-tier strategy team. A successful candidate will have a track record of establishing and maintaining client relationships, contributing to client strategies and propositions for both existing and new clients.
Key Responsibilities
External/Client
* Identify key business challenges and opportunities for clients, quantifying outcomes needed to meet their goals, while maintaining positive relationships.
* Set challenges and foster a regional culture of award-winning work.
* Present confidently to C-level clients on a variety of topics, both within and outside the traditional media agency scope.
* Develop the next iteration of our thought leadership agenda.
* Proactively identify strategic issues early and demonstrate analytical and strategic skills to address them.
* Oversee strategic responses for critical clients from briefing to final delivery.
* Collaborate with clients and the agency to transform media needs and operationalize multi-market structures.
Internal
o Represent the strategy function within the UM EMEA regional leadership team.
o Develop a high-performing strategy team.
o Set examples of effective ways of working, motivating the team to produce innovative and creative strategies across platforms.
o Ensure the strategy team remains a pioneer and develops world-class talent.
o Recruit and motivate team resources.
o Create a compelling UM EMEA story, look, and feel with a disruptive edge.
o Deliver strategies with insights, audience targeting, and a clear POV on strategic platforms and communication architecture.
o Refine and embed UM’s processes and capabilities to maintain industry leadership.
o Work with research and analytics to define measurement and optimization plans.
Commercial
o Collaborate with Business Development to craft winning strategies for pitches.
o Contribute to agency and client revenue by enhancing strategic output and driving new products/services.
o Lead strategy in new business pitches.
o Partner with clients to pilot and sell new strategy capabilities, positioning strategy as a growth driver.
Desired Skills & Experience
o Strategic, critical thinker with a passion for client engagement and insight-driven solutions, knowledgeable in media operations and trends.
o Understanding of the evolving media and digital landscape, with insights into behavioral motivations.
o Passion for leadership and team management.
o Excellent attention to detail and delivery focus.
o Strong communication and storytelling skills, capable of aligning diverse groups around solutions.
o Business acumen with strategic and analytical skills.
o Tenacious, problem solver, innovative, curious, and comfortable with ambiguity and experimentation.
o Multi-market experience is desirable but not essential.
UM values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to an inclusive culture. For accommodations during the recruitment process, please contact our Talent Inclusion Specialist Jess.
UM is a global media agency focused on future-proofing clients’ businesses through analytics and real-time intelligence, maximizing growth and engagement across content and connections, rooted in culture.
We are committed to diversity, equity, and sustainability, investing in responsible media partners to deliver authentic messaging. Operating in over 100 countries with a team of 3,000+ professionals, UM UK works with leading brands like Accenture, American Express, and Spotify, providing tailored regional solutions and integrating strategies with local insights.
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