Vice President, Strategy

Who we are:

GCI Health, part of WPP, is the leading global health impact agency built to realize the future of health. We turn client innovation into health impact through engagements that transcend traditional communications. From molecules to the masses, we embrace the entire healthcare spectrum in every corner of the world, spanning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Our services include pipeline and product communications, brand marketing, corporate and enterprise communications, medical affairs and clinical trial marketing.

GCI Health is a celebrated, highly respected healthcare agency with industry honors that include PRWeek Best Place to Work, PRWeek Global International Agency of the Year, MM+M PR Agency of the Year, PRovoke Media Global Healthcare PR Agency of the Year and PRovoke Media Agency of the Decade. 

WPP (LSE/NYSE: WPP) is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com. 

More about the role:

GCI Health is looking for a VP, Strategy to help us do the kind of work that challenges expectations and reimagines what’s possible in corporate health and wellness.

You’ll be focused on solving brand and business problems for existing and prospective clients with a strategic approach that’s driven by research + analytics and results in actionable, people-centric insights. We’re looking for someone who can work quickly and collaboratively, at times taking minimal information and filling in the gaps with insight and structure. From initial research to final decks, the ideal candidate can craft a strategy that inspires creative teams and excites clients.

Your primary role will be supporting corporate strategies for clients across the pharmaceutical, biotech, and consumer healthcare sectors. However, you may be asked to support non-corporate projects including developing brand and product strategies, so an interest in and ability to be flexible is critical.

The VP, Strategy will collaborate with agency team members to produce unexpected, powerful work that shifts audience mindsets and behaviors. You’ll manage multiple projects simultaneously, including an active new business pipeline. You are a problem solver who can mine the human story and cultural tension from data and guide internal teams and clients to effective solutions; a self-starter prepared to manage multiple client engagements simultaneously as the day-to-day strategist.

The VP, Strategy reports into our GSVP of Strategy and collaborates closely with Market Leaders, Practice Leaders, Account Leads and Specialty Leads (Digital, Earned, Creative, Design Analytics)

What you'll do:

Agency Growth

• Supports GCIH’s strategic plan with a vision for driving growth, innovation, and excellence
• Embeds in and grow a high-functioning Strategy team in partnership with the GSVP
• Participates in the development of processes and best practices for the strategy offerings at GCI Health
• Leads the definition, planning, and implementation of strategies across a portfolio of corporate business for both on and offline experiences
• Supports training for the broader organization (e.g., account staff) so they can be productive participants and supporters of the strategic process
• Participates in roll out of strategy offerings to internal audiences and clients

Business Growth

• Plays a key role in understanding Client business needs and the strategic competencies required to address them, and activating those competencies across multiple business units
• Supports optimization of GCIH strategic process for key clients and pitches, guiding teams from research to insight, to strategy and optimization
• Contributes to the new business process -- from kickoff and discovery to research and synthesis of findings into actionable, people-centric insights
• Works collaboratively to conduct ecosystem audits, mapping customer experience touchpoints, identifying opportunities and gaps
• Contributes to the development of customer segmentation, customer profiles, and journey maps to better understand current and prospective customers
• Helps teams to develop the “big idea” and creative executions across multiple channels
• Partners with account leads and GSVP of Strategy to identify and win opportunities for growth with current clients

Day-to-Day business

• Serves as lead strategist for key pieces of business: corporate positioning and architecture, white space identification, message mapping, competitive tracking, emerging trend identification
• Deeply analyzes research and analytics to develop communications strategies for clients
• Mines provocative insights that form the basis for creative strategies and develops inspiring creative briefs and briefings
• Achieves financial and operational excellence

KPIS

• Successful integration onto account teams
• “Sales” of strategy offerings
• Roll out of strategy training for account teams (aka Healthy Tensions)
• Team growth
• New business win rate

Experience that contributes to success:

• 8+ years of experience; PR agency experience strongly preferred to bring a communications and earned-plus mindset to the work
• Familiarity with modern research, strategy and planning techniques
• Genuine passion and ability to understand people, culture and connection points for brands
• Strong business/financial acumen
• Experience supporting a team through times of transformation
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills along with strong attention to detail
• Desire to work in a diverse and inclusive organization as an active participant in culture initiatives, training opportunities and employee resource groups

#LI-AB1

GCI Group is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. 

You belong at GCI Health:

Our vision is for GCI, a Burson Group company, to be the leading ‘academy company’ for creative communications professionals and emerging leaders. We provide a dynamic environment where ambitious colleagues come to elevate their skills, expand their networks, and ultimately, produce the best solutions for today’s leading brands. Our commitment to your growth is reflected in our robust benefits and people programs, which include professional development opportunities, mentorship programs with industry leaders, a vibrant and inclusive company culture fostering collaboration and innovation and packages designed to reward and retain top talent. We invest in our people because we believe their success is our success.

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

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