Senior Strategist (Social)

About Havas Play

At Havas Play, we build brands in culture. As an integrated culture marketing agency, we create culture-first 360 campaigns that sit in the space between traditional advertising and media - connected through culture, powered by partnerships, creators, talent, media and experiences.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Senior Strategist (Social) to support strategic social-first thinking across major client relationships and help shape Havas Play’s offer across the social and creator landscape

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a growing social strategy team: We’re looking for someone immersed in social innovation and culturally fluent, with a strong sense of strategic rigour to bring fresh thinking to the team.

Core Responsibilities

• Champion social-first thinking and audience-centred approaches across client work, new business and internal initiatives.

• Maintain a strong understanding of contemporary culture, communities, behaviours and social platforms.

• Unearth and apply social and cultural intelligence to strategy and creative help brands participate credibly and effectively in culture.

• Translate business challenges into clear strategic questions and opportunities.

• Lead and contribute to the development of strategic workstreams across a diverse range of brands and rights holders.

• Develop robust strategic recommendations grounded in audience understanding, cultural insight and platform behaviour.

• Produce clear, inspiring and actionable briefs for Play creative teams.

• Identify emerging trends, shifts and opportunities relevant to client categories and audiences.

• Demonstrate an understanding of client business challenges and commercial objectives.

• Support senior team members in managing strategic relationships and opportunities for growth.

• Work with cross-agency teams on new client and new business opportunities, leading on social workstreams.

• Contribute to agency thought-leadership, marketing initiatives and new business opportunities when required.

Expectations

Strategic Craft

• Produces strategic thinking that is insightful, clear and commercially relevant.

• Connects audience understanding, cultural insight and business objectives effectively.

• Frames problems and opportunities in ways that unlock creative and social solutions.

• Owns the development of a strategic point of view on social ecosystems.

Culture & Social Expertise

• Demonstrates strong judgement around brand participation in culture.

• Maintains a strong understanding of creator ecosystems, online communities and platform-native behaviour

• Uses social intelligence and audience signals to identify emerging cultural opportunities and shifts.

• Demonstrates strong judgement in how brands engage with creators, communities and culture in credible and relevant ways.

• Understands how subcultures, fandoms and interest-based communities shape conversation and influence behaviour.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Supports the wider agency in strengthening its social, influencer and culture-led strategy capabilities.

• Builds strong working relationships across disciplines and teams in Play and beyond.

• Manages workstreams with multiple collaborators and stakeholders.

• Supports and develops junior team members knowledge-sharing, upskilling and coaching.

Measurement & Effectiveness

• Define success frameworks and KPIs that connect activity to brand and commercial outcomes.

• Work with client, creative, data and insight teams to ensure delivery against strategic objectives.

• Use campaign performance and learning to continuously refine and evolve strategy.

Personal Qualities

• Strategic, curious and culturally engaged.

• Creatively ambitious with strong judgement.

• Collaborative, generous and team-oriented.

• Clear and persuasive communicator, able to simplify complexity.

• Passionate about creating effective work that earns attention and drives impact.

Working Arrangements

• Office presence: 3 days per week with the Havas Play team.

• Travel: Occasional travel for client meetings and events.

Why Join Havas Play?

This is an opportunity to join an agency built around creativity that drives impact, and to play a leading role in shaping how brands win in culture.

You will work with ambitious clients, talented collaborators and a team that values smart thinking, strong partnerships and exceptional work.

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