Job Description:

Chief Strategy Officer

About Carat

As a global media buying agency, we put people at the centre of everything we do, identifying and optimising audiences to deliver client outcomes.

We are experience designers, not simply media planners. We build winning experiences by going deeper into consumer empathy and further into the possibilities of what's next in media and beyond. We don't sit back. We pioneer in media, positively advocating for people, business and society in everything that we do.

The Role

Location: London | Working arrangement: Hybrid

• You'll set, champion and evolve the strategy and planning vision for Carat UK, translating our global vision into a Growth Planning approach. Leading a blended team of Growth Planners and Analysts, you'll move our strategic output beyond campaign responses to transformational Growth Blueprints that identify new routes to growth and deliver step-change commercial outcomes for clients.
• This is a shift towards commercially driven, quantitative strategy: bringing strategy, planning and analytics together to model growth levers and customer penetration, then connect that analysis to technology roadmaps and clients' platform maturity. You'll embed this approach across the team, coordinating specialist expertise rather than personally delivering every discipline.
• You'll define how media, customer experience, data, creative and dynamic creative optimisation, analytics, technology and AI work together as a connected growth operating system. Bringing together capabilities across Dentsu, you'll connect teams around one client agenda and identify opportunities to introduce new services.
• You'll own the direction, quality and modernisation of the Strategy & Planning practice, from strategic craft standards and capability development to future talent needs. Working with Carat leadership, you'll ensure your team has access to the tools and training it needs, while building Carat's external profile through client work and industry thought leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Growth Strategy & Planning

• Own Carat UK's Growth Planning proposition and Growth Blueprint, setting a clear vision and process for the practice.

• Build a deep understanding of clients' business objectives and growth goals, translating these into integrated strategies and compelling client narratives.

• Put quantitative analysis at the centre of Growth Planning, using analytics to model routes to commercial growth and increased customer penetration. Combine this evidence with creativity and consumer insight, with a greater emphasis on numerical growth planning than on creative platform writing.

Measurement, Experimentation & Innovation

• Connect strategy, measurement, experimentation and AI into one approach, owning Growth Planning and measurement throughout the campaign lifecycle rather than ending at the initial response to brief.

• Lead the agency's innovation agenda and champion Dentsu processes, tools and technology, taking accountability for your team's development in evolving areas.

• Role-model analytics and platform literacy, guiding the development of measurement frameworks, experimentation and future capabilities.

Strategic Leadership & Industry Profile

• Own and champion Carat's strategic market position and agency story, representing the agency through industry events and published thought leadership.

• Build trusted executive client relationships that drive advocacy for Carat's partnership, and own the strategic narrative across key clients, setting the Growth Blueprint and best practice for integrated communications with teams and partners.

• Lead major strategic pitches and act as a "pitch doctor", providing senior strategic counsel across all major strategic output.

• Champion award-winning work, identifying relevant categories and encouraging teams to deliver against Carat's ambitions.

Integrated Growth Leadership

• Bring together Dentsu's specialist and technology capabilities, including partnerships, retail and DC4.0, to create new growth opportunities for clients.

• Set the operating model and expectations for integrated strategy across media, customer experience management, creative, analytics, platform execution and technology maturity, aligning teams around one agenda.

People, Capability & Partnership Development

• Lead and develop Strategic Growth Planners and Growth Diagnostics teams, raising ambition and the quality of strategic work.

• Shape the future practice, developing strategic capabilities, introducing new services and identifying future talent needs.

• Support Dentsu's commercial priorities and develop joint business plans with key partners to ensure strategic alignment for Carat.

• Build relationships and mutually beneficial collaborations with existing and new market intelligence partners to strengthen Carat's capabilities.

Qualifications & Skills

• A track record of success in an agency or media partner at Head of Strategy/Planning, Chief Strategy Officer or C-suite level.

• Strong quantitative strategy experience: using analytics and client data to identify growth levers and model numerical pathways to commercial growth. Alongside platform and technology experience, this is a core requirement for the role.

• The ability to translate complex concepts and data into clear recommendations and compelling client stories, building trust with senior stakeholders.

• Substantial exposure to major media platforms and their technologies, including Meta and Google, grounded in strategy or closely related work. You'll be able to assess clients' platform maturity and shape technology roadmaps that support growth.

• A deep understanding of the media market, with relationships across key suppliers and intermediaries and strong connections to media platform leaders that help Carat understand what's coming next and maximise client return.

• Commercial acumen and a proven ability to grow revenue.

• Experience leading significant media pitches from strategy through to completion, and contributing to integrated services pitches beyond media.

• Experience leading teams across multiple locations and developing their strategic capabilities.

• A clear perspective on the future of media services and the opportunities it creates for capability development.

What We Offer

This is a permanent role. The team is based from our London office on a hybrid working basis.

At dentsu, we've built a benefits package that supports every chapter of your life. From company-funded Private Medical Insurance, a 24/7 Virtual GP and a generous sick-pay policy, to wellbeing days, volunteering time, flexible bank-holiday swaps and great everyday perks like retail discounts, gym access and tech schemes - we make it easier to live well, not just work well.

Our employee-led resource groups have helped shape policies that genuinely matter: enhanced maternity, paternity and carers leave, extended sick leave, menopause and baby-loss support, plus 10 fertility treatment days. Combined with life assurance, income protection, financial education tools and flexible savings options, you'll find a workplace that invests in you - your health, your family, your future.

About Dentsu

Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world's leading organisations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and now operating in approximately 120 countries and regions, we bring together the power of a global network of leadership brands to deliver impactful, end-to-end growth solutions.

Through our client promise, Innovating to Impact, we drive growth through integrated services across Media, Customer Experience Management (CXM), and Creative. Our business transformation (BX) mindset, combined with a focus on experience transformation (EX), drives sustainable growth for brands, people, and society.

Our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and diversity enables us to continuously evolve, pushing boundaries while delivering measurable impact in a fast-changing world.

Inclusion and Diversity

At Dentsu, we embrace diversity and inclusion, valuing the unique perspectives and contributions of every individual. We believe that diversity fuels creativity and innovation, benefiting our employees, partners, and communities.

We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic. Beyond recruitment, we strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work.

We recognize the importance of work-life balance and are open to discussing flexible working arrangements for all roles. If you need reasonable adjustments due to a disability or medical condition during our recruitment process, please contact us at [email protected], quoting the reference number of the role that you are applying for. Your needs will be handled with respect and confidentiality to ensure an inclusive and accessible experience.

We are a Disability Confident scheme user. If you consider yourself to have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, you will be guaranteed an interview.

#LI-CARAT #LI-VW2

Location:

London

Brand:

Carat

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent