Svp, Group Director, Integrated Investment & Partnerships

JOB SUMMARY:

As the complexity of the media and investment landscape continues to evolve and impact both the agency and our clients, we’re creating a new Investment and Partnerships role.

The Group Director of Integrated Investment & Partnerships oversees all aspects of media investment, buying models and strategic partnerships across the diverse portfolio of SOLVE(D) and McCann Health Engagement clients. This position is a senior client contact and a media investment management (and strategy) thought leader and a subject matter expert in the media marketplace to provide current and future clients a clear and measurable market advantage. This position requires a highly motivated and collaborative person, who will work in concert with the Strategy, Analytics, and Business Operations leads, driving collaboration, innovation, efficiency, and operational excellence.

The Group Director of Integrated Investment & Partnerships is an integrated role requiring a cross channel POV but with a strong background in the Digital (inclusive of SEM, SEO, and Paid Social), Addressable, and Biddable landscape. This person will have clear involvement in major negotiations ensuring we are delivering best in class value for our clients including opportunities outside of paid media across channels. They also need to manage the specific team needs including staffing, training, career development and team morale. This role requires the person to partner with discipline leads to operationalize across SOLVE(D) and McCann Health Engagement teams’ strategic direction and guidance and ultimately ensure media activation executes with excellence.

This role will report into the EVP, Group Director of Business Operations. Managing several direct reports as the develop the discipline from the ground up. They are responsible for guiding and mentoring them in the ethos of Channel Activation, Innovation, and Collaboration.

This person will be forward-facing to the marketplace, representing SOLVE(D), McCann Health Engagement, and the Client in a highly professional manner across all Investment Partnerships.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Manages the day-to-day activities of the integrated Investment & Partnership Team

Create, evolve, and effectively deploy the department vision and goals.

Be the department point person for escalation and expansion with clients and across the IPG Health Network

Charged with the development and evolution of discipline SOW allocations

Understand the nuances across all biddable and non-biddable platforms

Understand the relationships between SEO and SEM campaigns, and how they work in conjunction with one another in a larger search marketing strategy (foundational training and execution of SEM campaigns ideal)

JOB DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

Client

• Drive innovation and thought leadership including a cross channel POVs both from an Agency industry perspective as well as a IPG outside pharma industry perspective

• Provide media marketplace, negotiation, and landscape guidance

• Elevate media partner relationships to drive business opportunities with best-in-class beta initiatives as well as thought leadership on new and emerging platforms (such as ecommerce, gaming, metaverse, OTT/CTV)

• Bring new ideas, innovation, opportunities and POVs to clients on a regular basis

• Provide counsel on marketplace trends and investment expertise for clients and client teams

Internal

• Develop Investment vision, strategy, and roadmap with clear KPIs and deliverables

• Work with Client Leads to understand the current and historical investment profile, commitments, risk, and requirements (pricing, quality, performance, additional value) of all key clients.

• Manage teams with other client leads to deliver best in class work, innovation, consistent use of tools/data/stewardship and follow the aligned upon Ways of Working process at the Agency

• Ensure operational excellence (process efficiencies, ways of working, effective tools & technologies, resource allocation, best practices & standards etc.).

• Maintain expert knowledge across all Investment channels, inclusive of linear/digital video, digital, SEM, paid social, SEO, audio, print, OOH, with pulse on emerging media trends

• Accountable for overall SOLVE(D)/McCann Health Engagement/Vendor Upfront/Joint Business Plan negotiations, marketplace relationships and technology platform contacts and resolution

• Oversee management of vendor negotiations KPIs, including benchmarks, deal pacing to drive business growth

• Identify and articulate current and future structure and responsibility of investment discipline to determine the right needs for client deliverables

• Accountable for LOB/campaign tactical strategies and activation resolution

• Partner with client leads to develop and inform investment strategy pillars to be used to guide tactical plans and develop proper rationale and research support for client buy-in

• Oversee SOLVE(D) and McCann Health Engagement alignment on platforms contract deals, terms, conditions in coordination with Client Finance / IPG Health Legal, as needed

• Manage business planning & support needs for planning team, as needed

• Skilled knowledge of audience channel consumption and consumer touchpoints via Marketing Intelligence Engine in collaboration with the EVP of Media Strategy and Innovation

• Define and achieve metrics for excellence around timeliness/accuracy, optimization

• Develop, maintain, steward ongoing training based on tactical executions required and facilitation of those tools required to activate

• Craft knowledgeable and relevant POVs that assess investment media opportunities and place appropriate value, with eye towards delivering best pricing & efficiencies

• Oversee and advise internal teams on all top platforms

• Leverage existing relationships at top platforms to ensure we get optimal value, strengthening client engagement.

• Develop the initial system and manage those who run the system that launches, runs, optimizes, and enables reporting on campaigns/month with high accuracy and success

• Development of best practices and collaboration on identifying and scaling innovation

• Engage with the broader investment community across IPG

• Create and foster an inclusiveness and cohesive environment & culture that (1) that cultivates trust, collaboration, and optimistic energy, (2) encourages open communication and discussion, (3) where people are empowered and enabled to be successful

Commercial

• Support and facilitate all new business, revenue, and industry initiatives

• Partner and contribute with Client leads on SOW and staff plans in current state

• Deliver on client efficiency goals either at Solve(d) or with other cross agency partners

• Supports and delivers on MAGNA/Matterkind partnership targets and ensure rates/value are being leveraged and delivered

• Ensures and advocates for agency partner relationships

• Work with finance teams to improve forecasting

• Develop relationship and key profile vendor partners (e.g., Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, The Trade desk, Twitter, etc.).

• Developed a profile with key industry bodies IAB etc.

New Business

• Provide support for new business pitches, from authoring RFP submissions to developing and presenting cross-channel solutions to prospective clients working with Strategy, Analytics, and Client leads

• Write and contribute to presentations and presenting in pitch meetings

• Write and contribute to RFPs

• Oversees cost/pricing exercises

• Articulate methodology for savings guarantees to be delivered to the client

• Ensure all media investment component of all new business pitches / defenses are hyper competitive (ex. story / value matrix, pricing competitiveness, etc.)

20% Client

50% Internal

15% Commercial

15% New Business

EDUCATION:

DEGREE/DIPLOMA AREA OF STUDY REQUIRED/PREFERRED

Bachelor’s Relevant Area of Study Preferred

LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS:

Google & Bing Ads Certified

EXPERIENCE:

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE AREA OF EXPERTISE REQUIRED/PREFERRED

15+ years (required) Pharma Preferred

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

•Strong operational capabilities

• Passion for and experience with instituting digital go to market structure and approach

• Experience developing digital solutions for clients with an understanding of the unique (and combined) roles played by different channels within an overall communications solution

• Strong media marketplace knowledge and understanding of what drives the most successful agreements between media partners, clients and agencies

• High level sales and marketing relationships with all major Digital media partners

•Understand the relationships between SEO and SEM campaigns, and how they work in conjunction with one another in a larger search marketing strategy.

•Experience developing business-driving Integrated Search & Social programs across multiple business lines.

• Ability to build strong, trust-based relationships with clients, to make an impact on their business, and to showcase the talent and accomplishments of your entire team(s)

• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills

COMPETENCIES:

• Account and Team Leadership, Accountability, and Professionalism

• Advanced knowledge of SA360, Google Ads, Bing Ads

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, specifically Excel and PowerPoint

Salary

$193,760 to $230,090 annually

The salary range for this position is noted within this job posting. Where an employee or prospective employee is paid within this range will depend on, among other factors, actual ranges for current/former employees in the subject position; market considerations; budgetary considerations; tenure and standing with the company (applicable to current employees); as well as the employee’s/applicant’s background, pertinent experience, and qualifications.