Senior Strategist

MATTA believes sport can improve people and communities, and aims to make brands and campaigns matter to more people through bold creative work and strong execution. It is hiring a Senior Strategist to shape its thinking – someone curious, strategically sharp, digitally fluent and commercially minded.

The role

• Turn audience, cultural and commercial insight into strategies that inspire creative work, helping to define problems, spot opportunities and set strategic direction for campaigns and brands alongside clients, creatives and the wider team

• Help shape integrated campaigns, planning how social, digital, content, PR, experiential and other channels can deliver one coherent audience experience

• Lead strategy on major projects, from questioning the brief through to presenting recommendations and measuring results, and contribute to pitches, new business and the agency's strategic thinking

What you'll be doing

• Insight-led strategy: research audiences, markets, competitors and culture to find meaningful insights

• Brand and campaign direction: help clients define propositions, target audiences and strategic foundations

• Partnership strategy: identify how a sports partnership can serve wider marketing goals, and develop the thinking that turns it into strong creative work

• Integrated channel strategy: connect social, digital, content, experiential, PR and other channels around a clear audience journey and objective

• Social and digital insight: apply knowledge of platform behaviour, content and performance data to strategy, creative development and optimisation

• Creative briefing: turn complex business problems into clear, focused briefs that give creative teams a strong starting point

• Creative partnership: collaborate through the creative process, challenge ideas constructively and keep them strategically sound

• Sport and fitness audiences: explore how people take part in, watch and connect with sport, from grassroots to elite and from fitness to fan culture

• Client leadership: present recommendations, run workshops and build trust with senior clients

• Effectiveness measurement: help set objectives and success measures, and use research and results to guide future strategy

• Agency growth: support pitches and new business, share knowledge and help build the agency's strategic capabilities

What we're looking for

You're an experienced creative marketing strategist or planner who combines rigorous thinking, creativity and commercial awareness – someone who goes beyond interesting observations to find insights that improve the work. You bring:

• Proven experience in a strategy or planning role at a creative, advertising, brand or marketing agency

• Experience developing brand or campaign strategy, from research through to creative briefing

• An understanding of how brand partnerships and sponsorships support marketing goals, and how to make them meaningful through creative work

• Strong digital and social media literacy, including how platforms, formats and audience behaviour shape creative strategy

• Experience building integrated strategies that join social, digital, content and offline activity into one approach

• Strong analytical and research skills, and the ability to turn complex information into clear recommendations

• Creative judgement, and the ability to inspire, challenge and work with creative teams

• Confidence presenting strategic thinking and building client relationships

• A working understanding of marketing effectiveness and how strategy drives measurable results

• The ability to manage several projects, take ownership and work independently at senior level

• Genuine curiosity about sport, fitness and their surrounding cultures, and the ability to bring ideas from outside sport into the category

Experience with sport, fitness, lifestyle or consumer brands, or with sponsorship and partnership campaigns, is useful – but MATTA also welcomes fresh perspectives from people who can show they connect brands with different audiences.

What's on offer

• Annual leave: 23 days, rising by one day each year, plus three extra days at Christmas

• MATTA Sports Day: one extra day off each year to watch or play sport

• Sabbatical policy: options to travel, volunteer, study or take a break

• Health and financial wellbeing: health and dental insurance, 24/7 virtual GP access, life assurance, income protection and expert advice

• Social events: quarterly team events, Thursday drinks and monthly pizza

• Hybrid working: work from home or from the London Bridge office

• Discounts: a benefits platform with discounts on shopping, food, beauty, travel and more

• Dog-friendly office

How to apply

Apply with your CV (a cover letter is optional); you'll be asked "Why MATTA?", your salary expectation and whether you need UK visa sponsorship. MATTA promises to reply as soon as possible. It does not offer visa sponsorship for this role, and no agencies.