Description:
Havas Play is on the lookout for a bold and visionary Senior Strategy Partner to join its rapidly growing team. This is a unique opportunity to become part of a creative and culturally-driven agency that connects brands to fans through the power of passions and purpose, spanning music, sport, gaming, TV, film, fashion, and more.
At Havas Play, we craft branded entertainment and experiences that people actively want to spend time with – working with some of the most iconic global brands and rights holders across the sports and entertainment industries. This includes household names like Arsenal, Adobe, BBC, Bethesda, Aston Martin F1, Commonwealth Games England, EE (BAFTA, Team Excel & Wembley), Jaguar Land Rover, JBL, Major League Baseball, The FA, and World Rugby.
As Senior Strategy Partner, you will play a critical role in shaping the strategic quality and creative direction of Havas Play’s work, driving growth opportunities for both clients and the agency itself. You will report directly to the Group Head of Strategy for Havas Media Network and work across a wide portfolio of brands, ensuring strategies are bold, culturally relevant, creatively powerful, and commercially impactful.
Key Responsibilities:
- Own and drive the strategic quality across all Havas Play work, ensuring every campaign is rooted in meaningful insight and cultural relevance.
- Act as the key strategic consultant for at least two major Havas Play clients, delivering strategic leadership and hands-on creative strategy development.
- Identify and unlock new opportunities for existing clients, proactively uncovering cultural, creative, and commercial growth areas.
- Lead the strategic narrative in new business pitches, crafting compelling pitch stories that provide clear and exciting springboards for creative teams.
- Develop thought leadership pieces for both Havas Play and industry publications, ensuring Havas Play is seen as a leader in cultural and partnership strategy.
- Represent Havas Play at industry panels, judge awards and author award entries that showcase the agency’s creative and strategic prowess.
- Foster a culture of curiosity, creativity, and innovation, inspiring both the Havas Play team and the wider Havas Media Network to embrace meaningfully daring strategies.
- Continually evolve and innovate the agency’s strategic processes, introducing new tools, methodologies, and approaches to solving clients’ challenges.
- Collaborate closely with Creative, Activation, Content & Media Partnerships, Production, and Measurement teams to ensure integrated campaign delivery.
Core Skills Required:
- Exceptional problem-solving ability in creative and cultural strategy.
- A lateral thinker who instinctively challenges traditional approaches and seeks unexpected, impactful solutions.
- Expert in storytelling, with the ability to craft compelling strategic narratives that sell both internally and to clients.
- Strong foundation in marketing theory, combining insights from advertising, media, and brand strategy.
- Master of brevity, able to distil complex problems into clear, sharp, and distinctive strategic propositions.
- Highly skilled in language and narrative crafting, capable of making strategic thinking simple, powerful, and memorable.
- Deep understanding of the wider communications ecosystem, including media partnerships, sponsorship activation, branded content, and influencer marketing.
- Familiarity with measurement frameworks, ensuring all strategies are designed to drive and prove effectiveness.
- A doer as much as a thinker – ensuring strategies aren’t just clever on paper but are brought to life powerfully in activation.
Essential Requirements:
- Minimum 7 years’ experience in creative agencies (advertising or brand strategy) with hands-on experience in partnership and sponsorship strategy.
Preferred Experience:
- Sport and entertainment marketing experience is a significant advantage.
- Previous exposure to media agencies, brand strategy, or broader communications planning will be beneficial.
What’s in it for you:
- Be part of a culture-first creative agency working at the cutting edge of branded entertainment and cultural strategy.
- Work with some of the biggest brands and rights holders across sport, music, gaming, film, and fashion.
- Join an agency within the global Havas network, offering both local creative freedom and global influence.
- Competitive salary and benefits, with hybrid working and career development opportunities.
- Be empowered to shape the future of Havas Play’s strategic output and cement its reputation as a leader in cultural strategy and partnerships.