Location:London
Level:Director
About the Role
Lead Strategy from the Centre of Retail Media Innovation
We’re on the hunt for a Strategy Director to help shape the future of one of London’s most ambitious and forward-thinking Retail Media agencies. In this role, you’ll sit at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and innovation, working across a multidisciplinary team to develop and deliver strategic excellence for some of the UK's most iconic retailers. You’ll be the kind of thinker who connects dots others don’t see—translating vision into action, culture into commercial relevance, and ideas into impact.
You’ll lead and inspire best-in-class connected commerce strategies across our agencies, helping define the vision and output of our Strategy team. You'll mentor future strategic leaders, push boundaries with insight-led thinking, and drive meaningful outcomes for clients, colleagues, and the business alike.
If you love variety, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and embrace change with energy, this could be your right role.
Why SMG?
At SMG, we hire for the future, which is fast-moving and changing shape. Do you have the potential to help shape our business? We’re looking for brilliant, diverse talent who want to grow with us—people who are curious, ambitious, and eager to learn, whether as specialists or across teams.
Our culture is everything. If you’re someone who stays honest, stays hungry, stays foolish, and has fun, you’ll feel right at home here.
We value those who take ownership of their growth and bring fresh perspectives. That’s why we’re committed to equity, inclusion, and building a place where everyone feels empowered to grow. At SMG, it’s not just about filling a role but building the future together.
We’re proud to be ranked the #1 Best Marketing and Media Agency and to have received World-Class accreditation from Best Companies.
* 10% discretionary bonus
* £1,800 yearly wellbeing fund (on top of your salary!)
* Free Headspace subscription
* £500 yearly “Learning Fund” for learning
* 4 extra Wellbeing Days off per year
* Summer & Winter conferences + year-round celebrations
* 4pm finishes every Friday
* Flexible and hybrid working
Explore all our benefits here
Are We What You’re Looking For?
We move fast, adapt quickly, and like to challenge each other. We're looking for people who enjoy the buzz of change, the satisfaction of building something better, and the joy of working with a close-knit, values-driven team.
This isn’t for everyone, but if you thrive in this environment, we’d love to meet you!
A Little Bit About You
You’ll bring:
1. A seasoned background in media, brand, or retail planning/strategy
2. A unique blend of strategic vision and operational acumen
3. Confidence managing senior clients, guiding them with clarity and conviction
4. The ability to craft compelling, insight-led strategies across channels
5. Experience translating strategy into detailed, actionable plans
6. Familiarity with media tools and performance analytics
7. Strong integrated thinking across content, commerce, social, and media
8. Passion for connected commerce and retail innovation
9. The ability to simplify the complex and inspire through storytelling
10. A collaborative mindset and team leadership skills
11. Experience working across multifunctional teams to deliver outstanding results
Don’t meet every single requirement? We still want to hear from you. If you believe you’d thrive in this role, your unique perspective might be just what we’re looking for.
What You’ll Be Doing
Your days will be dynamic. You might find yourself:
12. Leading end-to-end strategy development across a portfolio of major UK retailers
13. Shaping go-to-market strategies, annual media plans, and campaign frameworks
14. Collaborating with teams across commerce, content, media, and social
15. Creating persuasive, insight-driven responses to briefs
16. Leveraging data, tools, and human insight to fuel innovation and effectiveness
17. Translating strategy into activation-ready plans
18. Supporting capability development across the Strategy function
19. Sharing future-facing industry trends and translating them into commercial relevance
20. Driving excellence and growth through client, team, and project leadership
21. Operating as a strategic partner across internal and external stakeholders
Our Values:
Stay honest. Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Have fun.
Explore what that means to us here
Useful Links Before You Apply:
* Learn about our agencies
* Our hiring process
* EDI at SMG
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