Head of Partnerships

Head of Creative PartnershipsBackground:VCCP is the industry leader when it comes to big, memorable and loved brands that live in the hearts, minds and living rooms of consumers around the world. From EasyJet to O2 to Cadburys to White Claw we have built brands designed to stand the test of time and delivered through emotive and distinct platforms. VCCP brings them to life through advertising, digital experiences, PR, media and beyond. But… the media landscape is ever changing, and the route to relevancy with consumers is evolving faster and faster, blurring the lines between content, creative and editorial output. As media fragments, and technology determines the delivery of assets into an increasingly digital mix of environments - maintaining the consistency of the brand idea is a challenge. Delivering this narrative through curated content via publisher partners and platforms - especially in the social space - is an area we need to develop.More and more decisioning over which partners we engage with & the management of the partnership sits with media agencies - taking revenue opportunities and creative consistency away from VCCP and the brilliant brands we work with.With the relaunch of VCCP Media and a renewed focus on our VCCP Social offering, we are well positioned to take a more leadership role in the selection, engagement and management of Creative Partnerships by leaning into the data & technology smarts from our media team as well as the creative translation and curation skills of our social team. We have the opportunity to redefine what creativity looks like for the next era of VCCP - as an integrated creative powerhouse across the whole sweep on the media landscape.We need a person to help forge a new offering that sits at the intersection of media and creative - especially in emerging digital platforms. Creating revenue streams and output via a carefully curated and numerically validated set of partners. As this department grows, there is potential to complement this role with additional skillsets & hires.The Role: What we are looking for:A rare breed. A creative media expert. Someone who understands the rhyme and rhythm of the creative process - as well as being able to read the shifting sands of the media landscape. They are the translators into and out of the creative teams that bring new partners, platforms and people into the process to extend and extrapolate the brand world into new and more relevant content, events & experiences. VCCP’s current business strategy is one of growth - through geographical expansion and capability extension at the top of the market. We are fully committed to our mission - we are ‘The world’s best agency’. We will win by growing our ability to make world class work into more and more parts of the media mix. This requires the wholesale adoption of new capabilities and routes to populate culture. To achieve this, we need to get ahead of a reality on most of our accounts - we are not in control of where our advertising goes. The reality being, the decisioning on where we place our advertising in media, who we target and with what budget level sits with, in most cases, our partner media agency. This often extends to the choice of partner to execute content creation, AFPs or events… and in many cases the briefing of the creative concepts sits far away from the brand planning and creative teams at VCCP. We need to build muscle in this space. With the relaunch of VCCP Media, we now have the skills and capabilities to challenge and build on our creative output in media. Coupled with the evolution of our social and community offering - we feel it is the right time to bring this all together.This role will connect these two teams; but will require a high degree of entrepreneurialism and hustle. We are looking for someone who can not only bring their own deep knowledge of potential partners that can build on a concentrated brand idea, but can work with senior craft leaders at VCCP to connect them into our specialist teams and into our methodology.You’ll work closely with VCCP’s Social and Content team, VCCP Media’s senior leadership and the VCCP Strategy community. The role reports to VCCP’s Chief Strategy Officer.Above all, it’s about creating World Class work - something we have done at VCCP from day one, for the biggest and most exciting brands across the world. To make good on that, we need to embrace the next generation of creative partners… and that’s where you come in! Your attributes:Outlaw SpiritBring the right people in, cross state lines, protect the idea but fight for where it can live best in culture and who might be the most powerful partner to achieve it. Be comfortable bringing the uncomfortable in - you know where and how the work can be made better and you are ok to speak up to be sure it is considered.Challenging ConventionsYou understand what good work looks like - but you also understand that we cannot stay still. You are comfortable with pushing the people around you to consider the new.You get excited about the potential that partners can bring to the party and you want to share that with those around you.A translatorYou speak two languages - media and creative. You are able to translate the complexity of media into actionable creative briefs - and you are able to bottle & protect the essence of the creative idea into publisher partners and platforms. You are able to numerically back up your creative partnership choices to prove the impact.You simplify the complex.A connectorYou bring the outside in. Especially in relatively unchartered territories like gaming, streaming and beyond.You are comfortable being in many conversations at once and connecting the dots between conversations. Commercial acumenYou are able to create a commercial case for partnerships as well as understand the interplay between media buy money, project management fees & production.People Inspiration You are up for educating the wider agency on the potential of certain partners and the solutions they offer.You are the embodiment of VCCPs values and bring energy in everything you do.You are unprecious - the work is all.VCCP DE&I StatementWe believe that DE&I is about creating a strong culture of inclusion within our agency, where everyone can thrive and be their authentic self. VCCP is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or ethnicity. If you require any adjustments during the application or interview process, please let us know via #####.