Job Title: Senior Strategy & Creative Director Level & Responsibility: This is a senior leadership role reporting to the UK Centre of Excellence Director. You will lead two critical shared-services functions within SMG – the Strategy Centre of Excellence (Marketing/Comms Planning & Media Strategy) and the Creative Centre of Excellence. The role includes managing a team of 3 direct reports and additional indirect reports while setting the strategic direction for these departments and ensuring they support the broader needs of our three agencies Location & Hybrid Working: This role is ideally based in London but we're open to candidates located near our Northern hubs, Manchester or Leeds, on a hybrid basis (min 2 days per week) The role We are looking for a Senior Strategy & Creative Director to join SMG. In this role, you will be a senior leader responsible for driving innovative thinking, developing best practices, and elevating the quality of our marketing and creative outputs across the business. You will oversee two vital shared-services functions – Strategy and Creative – ensuring they deliver market-leading solutions that meet our clients' business needs. You will also take a hands-on approach to high-value briefs, helping us push boundaries to deliver breakthrough work, while designing scalable processes to maintain excellence as we continue to grow. Your ambition will be to collect and disseminate ideas, champion innovative thinking, and act as the guardian of SMG’s output, ensuring we consistently meet and exceed client expectations. Why SMG? We are dedicated to supporting our employees to be the best version of themselves both inside and outside of work. We have an extraordinary culture built by exceptional people and it’s because of this that we’ve been recognised by Best Companies within the top 5 best Marketing & Media agencies to work for, with a World Class and Outstanding accreditation across the past 2 years. We are also dedicated to continuously reviewing and improving our benefits package to offer the best that we can for our people. We have a whole page dedicated to our benefits here, but here's some of our favourites Generous discretionary bonus scheme ♂️ £1,800 yearly wellbeing fund (on top of your salary) towards your personal wellbeing and passions 4 additional Wellbeing Days - one to be taken each quarter, dedicated to focusing on your wellbeing £500 yearly “Uni Fund” towards learning and development Free headspace subscription 4pm Friday finishes all year round Two fully paid conferences a year at Summer & Winter, as well as a dedicated team that put on activities and celebrations throughout the year Why you? In line with our company values, you’ll be honest, hungry, and ready to embrace challenges while having fun along the way. Specifically, you’ll bring: Extensive experience in a senior marketing position, ideally with exposure to commerce marketing (shopper, retail, or e-commerce). Strong strategic skills with the ability to synthesise insights and identify opportunities for brands and retailers. Proven experience in leading and developing cross-functional teams. A polished communicator and presenter, with gravitas to influence clients and senior stakeholders. The ability to deliver innovative, effective, and high-quality work quickly across diverse briefs. A commercial mindset with a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. P.s. we try really hard to make sure that we list only essential criteria here, BUT if you think you can do an amazing job, yet don't have every single thing on this list, we'd still love to hear from you. What you'll be doing We pride ourselves on creating challenging and exciting opportunities, meaning no two days are the same. However, here’s an idea of what your responsibilities will look like: Department and People Leadership: You’ll lead two key departments, managing a team of three direct reports and additional indirect reports. You’ll define the strategy and goals for these teams, ensuring they align with the company’s vision while effectively supporting the needs of our three agencies Setting Standards for Output: You’ll ensure the work delivered by your teams consistently meets or exceeds client expectations, whether it’s a marketing strategy, creative response, or consultancy project. Leading High-Value Briefs: You’ll develop insight-led, impactful strategies and campaigns that address our clients’ business and communication needs, translating strategic thinking into creative marketing actions. Building Marketing Capability: You’ll enhance marketing capability across the business by defining best practices, delivering in-house training, and coaching teams on core marketing skills. Contributing to Business Growth: As part of a fast-growing company, you’ll get involved in a variety of initiatives, from leading training efforts to managing PR and marketing activities, all while maintaining our entrepreneurial spirit. More information and resources to support you & your application To find out more about our agencies and departments, click here. To find out more about our application & interview process and supporting you through this, click here. To find out more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at SMG, click here. To take a look at our FAQ's, click here. 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