Strategy Director

At AKQA (part of WPP) we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and applications that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients.

Our Strategy team helps organisations find new pathways for growth by bringing together customer insight, commercial thinking, creativity and technology. Working across disciplines, we turn complex business challenges into clear strategies, connected experiences and tangible outcomes.

The Strategy Director, CRM and Loyalty will lead and grow AKQA Australia’s CRM, loyalty and customer data strategy offering. You will advise senior client leaders, shape customer value propositions and create CRM and loyalty programmes that strengthen customer relationships and commercial performance. Your work will span programme design, lifecycle strategy, personalisation, data, measurement and transformation.

Beyond client work, you will shape the future of AKQA’s CRM and loyalty capability. You will develop new methods and points of view, guide the quality of our strategic work, grow our people and help convert new opportunities into commercially viable solutions.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Lead complex CRM, loyalty and customer growth engagements from strategy through to implementation
• Design customer value propositions, loyalty programmes, lifecycle journeys and transformation roadmaps
• Turn customer insight and behavioural data into clear strategies and measurable commercial outcomes
• Define approaches to segmentation, personalisation, measurement and test-and-learn
• Advise clients on first-party data, consent, governance and activation
• Guide CRM, loyalty, customer data and marketing automation platform strategy, working with specialists to turn strategic ambition into implementable solutions
• Bring together multidisciplinary teams to create coherent, executable solutions
• Influence senior marketing, customer, digital, data and technology stakeholders
• Identify opportunities to grow client relationships, shape commercially viable proposals and lead or contribute to pitches
• Mentor strategists and build capability across the wider team

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Extensive experience leading CRM, loyalty or customer growth strategy in an agency, consultancy or in-house environment
• Deep expertise in loyalty programme design, CRM, lifecycle strategy, personalisation and measurement
• Commercially minded, with the ability to connect customer value to business performance
• Clear and compelling when presenting complex ideas to senior audiences
• Curious about emerging technology, platforms and the responsible use of AI
• Comfortable working through ambiguity and creating direction
• Collaborative, generous and committed to developing others
• Rigorous in thinking, practical in execution and attentive to craft
• Experience with a major CRM or marketing automation platform, with Braze experience highly regarded

We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.