OA
Strategist
full-time•Johannesburg
About this role
<div class="content-intro"><p><span data-contrast="auto">Established in 2004, </span><strong><span data-contrast="none">OLIVER</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> is the world’s first and only specialist in designing, building, and running bespoke in-house agencies and marketing ecosystems for brands. We partner with over 300 clients in 40+ countries and counting. Our unique model drives creativity and efficiency, allowing us to deliver tailored solutions that resonate deeply with audiences.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">As a part of </span><strong><span data-contrast="none">The Brandtech Group</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">, we're at the forefront of leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to revolutionise how we create and deliver work. Our </span><strong><span data-contrast="none">AI solutions</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> enhance efficiency, spark creativity, and drive insightful decision-making, empowering our teams to produce innovative and impactful results.</span> </p></div><p></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Role: </span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true}"> Strategist </span></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Location: </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">Johannesburg</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"335559739":240}">, South Africa </span></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">About the role:</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">We're looking for a Strategist, someone who thrives in the unique challenge of being both an insider and an agency partner. You'll provide end-to-end strategic guidance to senior clients across diverse categories, acting as a trusted advisor who can move seamlessly between brand strategy, creative strategy, and commercial problem solving. This isn't a role where you'll sit on the sidelines. You'll be expected to get your hands dirty, work at pace, and bring a point of view that challenges the status quo. You'll partner closely with Managing Partners, Business Directors, ECDs and CDs to drive both the quality of strategic thinking and the commercial growth of your accounts. And when opportunity knocks for new business, you'll be ready to open the door.</span></p>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">What you will be doing:</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Strategic Leadership</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Provide strategic direction that transforms business challenges into creative opportunities, with a track record of work that demonstrates commercial impact </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Write crystal-clear creative propositions and compelling briefs that consistently inspire high quality creative work </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Act as a trusted creative partner, actively involved in shaping ideas, providing strategic input throughout development, and championing work that delivers against both creative and commercial ambitions </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Guide creative development with confidence, knowing when to push for brave work and when to build a bridge to clients </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Lead the development of brand positioning, messaging frameworks, campaign strategies, and comms architectures that set brands up for long-term success </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Challenge clients when necessary, knowing when to push back and when to build bridges</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Day-to-Day Excellence </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Own the strategic quality bar across your accounts, ensuring every brief, deck, and presentation is clear, compelling, and commercially grounded </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Be disciplined in your approach to problem-solving, confidently using communications frameworks and bringing structured thinking to complex challenges </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Demonstrate the craft of strategy daily, from insight mining to brief writing to creative evaluation </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Stay immersed in what makes great work, continuously studying case studies and staying current with creative trends </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Deliver work that performs on the OLIVER creative scale and earns recognition at e ectiveness and creative awards </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Commercial Partnership </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Play an active role in the growth and financial success of your portfolio of accounts, acting as a commercial partner to Managing Partners and Business Directors </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Position OLIVER for upstream opportunities, broadening our scope beyond execution into strategic consulting </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Proactively identify opportunities for organic growth through cross-selling existing capabilities (Gen AI, Sustainability, B2B, Social, etc.) </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Be commercially savvy about your own time and team resources, ensuring e iciency without compromising quality </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Client & Stakeholder Management </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Build and maintain strong relationships with senior clients, earning your seat at the table for their biggest strategic challenges </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Work as a true insider; understanding the politics, pressures, and priorities of your client's business as well as they do </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Facilitate workshops and lead strategic conversations with C-suite stakeholders and cross functional teams </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Manage complexity well, especially in matrix organizations with multiple agency partners and internal stakeholders </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Proactively manage day-to-day client relationships, anticipating needs and bringing solutions before problems arise </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">New Business & Growth </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Support new business efforts with compelling strategic thinking and confident pitch presence </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Support Managing Partners and Business Directors when strategic firepower is needed </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Help build OLIVER's reputation for strategic excellence through the quality and effectiveness of your work </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Knowledge & Thought Leadership </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Build deep expertise in at least one sector, with strong working knowledge of 2-3 others – demonstrating you can adapt quickly to new categories </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Stay current with culture, consumers, commerce, and creativity through continuous learning </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Build a network across the industry that you can leverage for clients and OLIVER </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Begin establishing yourself as a voice in the industry through speaking, writing, or participation in trade bodies </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Contribute to OLIVER's Strategy Playbook and internal knowledge sharing </span></li>
<li><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":240}">Mentor and develop junior strategists, helping raise the overall quality of strategic thinking</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">What you need to be great in this role:</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":true,"134233118":true}"> </span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Experience & Expertise </span></p>
<ul>
<li>7+ years of strategic planning/brand strategy experience, ideally across multiple sectors</li>
<li>Proven track record of developing strategies that have delivered both creative excellence and commercial results</li>
<li>Strong business acumen: you understand/know where growth comes from</li>
<li>Deep knowledge of consumer insights, brand building, and how creativity drives business outcomes</li>
<li>Confident with research (qual & quant): you know how to design it, interpret it, and use it to inform better decisions</li>
<li>Understanding of digital, social, CRM, and emerging channels and able to collaborate with specialists and brief across the marketing spectrum </li>
</ul>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Thinking & Craft </span></p>
<ul>
<li>You can distil complexity into clarity, finding the compelling angle that unlocks creative possibility</li>
<li>You bring imagination to problem-solving, not just analysis</li>
<li>You understand people, culture, and what makes ideas resonate emotionally</li>
<li>You're numerate and data-literate; able to tell stories with numbers as well as words but you also trust your intuition</li>
<li>You know how to write a brief that inspires great creative work </li>
<li>You can simplify the complex and communicate to inspire </li>
</ul>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Working Style </span></p>
<ul>
<li>Self-sufficient and autonomous, but you know when to seek input and collaborate </li>
<li>A natural team player who rolls up their sleeves and gets stuck in</li>
<li>Comfortable presenting to senior clients and holding your ground in challenging conversations</li>
<li>Growth mindset; always learning, always looking for the next opportunity fast, collaborative, and fearless (to borrow from our agency values)</li>
<li>Resourceful and proactive; you spot opportunities and make things happen </li>
</ul>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Communication & Influence </span></p>
<ul>
<li>Highly persuasive in both written and verbal communication</li>
<li>Confident presenting strategic rationale and selling ideas</li>
<li>Diplomatic but direct; you're not afraid to speak your mind, but you do so with intelligence and humility</li>
<li>An excellent collaborator who builds strong relationships with creatives, account teams, and clients</li>
<li>Able to influence and convince with clear, rational, evidence-based and inspiring arguments </li>
</ul>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Req ID:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> 15984</span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">#LI-MR1 #LI-HYBRID #LI-DIRECTOR</span></span></p><div class="content-conclusion"><p><span data-contrast="auto">Our values shape everything we do:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Be</span><strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Ambitious</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> to succeed </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Be </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Imaginative</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> to push the boundaries of what’s possible </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Be </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Inspirational</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> to do groundbreaking work </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Be </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">always learning and listening</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> to understand </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Be </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Results-focused </span></strong><strong> </strong><span data-contrast="auto">to exceed expectations </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Be </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">actively pro-inclusive and anti-racist</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> across our community, clients and creations </span> <br><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><em><span data-contrast="auto">OLIVER,</span></em><em> </em><em><span data-contrast="auto">a part of the Brandtech Group, is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive working environment where all employees are encouraged to reach their full potential, and individual differences are valued and respected. All applicants shall be considered for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, neurodivergence, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by local laws. </span></em><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
<p><em><span data-contrast="auto"> OLIVER has set ambitious environmental goals around sustainability, with science-based emissions reduction targets. Collectively, we work towards our mission, embedding sustainability into every department and through every stage of the project lifecycle.</span></em></p></div>
What you'll do
- The Strategist will provide end-to-end strategic guidance to senior clients, transforming business challenges into creative opportunities. They will partner closely with senior leadership to drive strategic thinking and commercial growth.
About OLIVER Agency
Established in 2004, we are the first and only company to exclusively design, build and run bespoke in-house agencies and ecosystems for brands. Today, we create work that delivers business growth, fame and purpose for over 300 clients in 48 countries and counting.
Our unique model moves at the speed of modern business to drive change from the inside out; working smarter to make our clients’ money go further, and helping them build better solutions, systems and brands. Client solutions include Unilever’s U-Studio (a platform used by almost three-quarters of Unilever's brands globally), and adidas’ off-shore hub.
We are part of the Inside Ideas Group (IIG), which combines specialisms from Adjust Your Set (content and culture), Dare (design, experience and engineering) and Aylesworth Fleming (property marketing). IIG joined marketing technology group, The Brandtech Group (formerly known as You & Mr Jones) in January 2019 to give their clients access to the latest marketing technology solutions. The group includes tech-driven marketing companies, 55, Mofilm, Collectively, Gravity Road, Blood and Mobkoi, and holds strategic investments in leading technology businesses including Pinterest, Niantic, AI Foundation, VidMob, Jivox, Zappar, EVRYTHNG, Automat, Blacktag and Beeswax.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Strategist do at OLIVER Agency?
As a Strategist at OLIVER Agency, you will: the Strategist will provide end-to-end strategic guidance to senior clients, transforming business challenges into creative opportunities. They will partner closely with senior leadership to drive strategic thinking and commercial growth..
Is the Strategist position at OLIVER Agency remote?
The Strategist position at OLIVER Agency is based in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Contact the company through Clera for specific work arrangement details.
How do I apply for the Strategist position at OLIVER Agency?
You can apply for the Strategist position at OLIVER Agency directly through Clera. Click the "Apply Now" button above to start your application. Clera's AI-powered platform will help match your profile with this opportunity and guide you through the application process.