Brand Strategy Director

Singapore
Requisition ID: 12337
**ABOUT THE ROLE**
We are seeking a talented and energetic Brand Strategy Director who will play a fundamental role in helping set and guide several blue-chip organisation's brand and sponsorship strategy across Australia and the APAC region.
As a Brand Strategy Director, it is your job to understand what it takes to help a client's business succeed through a superior understanding of the business, the brand, the audience and the cultural context, of all combined.
A rich understanding of how brands grow is a mandatory; you will be the audience and brand expert in the agency working in close collaboration with the Executive Creative Director to shape award winning creative work, and with the -Client Services team to help unlock further commercial opportunities.
You will be largely working with Financial Service brands (Banks and payment companies) and FMCG brands therefore should have experience working in such sectors previously. While experience in the sports and entertainment sectors is not mandatory, what you must have is a belief in the power of partnership marketing to engage and earn attention. You also have proven experience working on smart, integrated campaigns of all scales.
You will be confident in leading briefs from their inception through to briefing and be comfortable working across borderless teams and multiple timezones - as is often the nature with our local, APAC and global clients.
**WHAT YOU'LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR**
- Demonstrating ownership and proactive leadership across strategic initiatives, guiding the team with vision and direction, and stepping in decisively when necessary.
- Establishing strong and trusting relationships with both clients and creative teams in your own right as a trusted advisor and collaborator.
- Brutally simple strategic thinking (unearthing razor-sharp insights and delivering inspiring strategies for our clients).
- Brand strategy and communications. This goes without saying, but you'll need to know what brilliant looks like and how to inspire local Creatives here and worldwide to make it happen.
- Global perspective. We're looking for someone who's had a global role previously, with a deep understanding of cultural and market nuances relative to our work, enabling effective strategy development and execution.
- Entrepreneurial drive. You are an individual with the capability to identify and cultivate new opportunities, driving both innovation and business growth across the region.
- Defining and implementing the 'Octagon Way' of planning and strategic thinking, developing clear guidelines and processes for the agency's approach to strategy.
- Offering regular strategic insights and leveraging team strengths to facilitate better resource allocation and upskilling the agency's overall strategic capabilities.
- Presenting your thinking to impress the most senior of clients and inspire the day-to-day teams. We need someone who impresses from the first meeting, who can sell creative work as well as smart strategy and keeps things super-simple yet deviously disruptive.
**WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?**
- Experienced in creating and crafting brand and business strategies, leading teams, inspiring Clients and Creatives alike and showing that you've been responsible for some great work
- An integrated thinker, able to work across multiple channels with a broad and open mind
- Global experience where you've led the thinking and the team
- The craft skills, the models, the know-how that comes from having a few years under your belt
- A broad understanding of and affinity for the full mix of media channels, from Social to Digital to Advertising to Experiences and an ambition to imbue a brand with a sense of purpose and pursuit of some ambitious sustainability goals.
- A passion and curiosity for sports and/or entertainment - whether you've worked in this space, or not
- Acute cultural awareness with knowledge of emerging trends
- An innately curious personality
- The ability to think creatively and conceptually
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Exceptional communication skills. You can write well, you speak with conviction, and can explain your thoughts and ideas succinctly
- The ability to build a strong and natural rapport with just about anyone at any level
If you see a fit, tell us about yourself, we'd love to hear from you.