Strategy Lead

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art, science, and artificial intelligence to create beautiful ideas, products and services.

With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design intelligent, adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

As a Strategy Lead, you will lead the strategic vision across key client engagements—connecting business ambition with cultural relevance and creative excellence. You will operate as a senior partner to clients and internal leadership, driving transformational thinking that unlocks growth and long-term value.

This is a leadership role that requires commercial acumen, strategic depth, and the ability to inspire multidisciplinary teams to deliver work that is both innovative and impactful.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Lead and define end-to-end strategic direction across key client engagements, ensuring alignment with business objectives and growth ambitions
• Translate complex business challenges into clear, actionable, and inspiring strategic frameworks
• Drive development of brand, experience, and communication strategies across multiple touchpoints
• Act as a senior strategic partner to clients, influencing decision-making at leadership levels
• Lead strategic conversations, workshops, and presentations with confidence and clarity
• Identify and unlock new growth opportunities across existing and prospective clients
• Collaborate closely with Creative, Experience Design, Technology, and Client Services to deliver integrated, high-impact solutions
• Ensure all work is grounded in insight, data, and cultural understanding, while pushing for innovative thinking
• Oversee development of measurement frameworks and KPIs to track effectiveness and impact
• Lead strategy on new business pitches, shaping compelling narratives and differentiated propositions
• Mentor and guide strategists, elevating overall strategy craft, thinking, and output quality
• Contribute to AKQA’s thought leadership, tools, and strategic methodologies

 

QUALITIES & CHARACTERISTICS

• Bring in more than 10 years of seasoned & proven experience within Big 4 consulting environments, with demonstrated exposure to or collaboration with leading global strategy firms like Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Company
• Commercially driven, with a strong understanding of business, growth, and value creation
• Strategically rigorous, able to bring structure and clarity to ambiguity
• Creatively ambitious, with the ability to inspire bold and differentiated thinking
• Influential communicator, confident engaging with senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams
• Culturally attuned, with a deep understanding of consumer behaviour and emerging trends
• Collaborative leader, able to bring together diverse teams and perspectives
• Proactive and future-focused, consistently identifying opportunities beyond the immediate brief
• Decisive and accountable, with strong ownership of outcomes and impact
• Mentor and team builder, committed to developing talent and strengthening capability
• Balances data, insight, and intuition to drive meaningful and effective strategies