Director, Strategy & Operations
Description
GroupM Canada is looking for a strategic leader to support the ongoing development of business strategy and operational initiatives across the organization. This position reports directly to the CEO of GroupM Canada. You will support and drive strategic goal setting and planning for the Canadian business of GroupM, along with key initiatives as identified by the Canadian Executive Committee.
In this role, you will help the Canadian organization with commercial and workforce engagements by partnering with the agency stakeholders to drive the quarterly and annual strategic planning process. This business led planning will be a key input to the business and strategic objectives to be defined and tracked against quarterly. You will partner closely with the c-level leaders of GroupM’s Marketing, New Business, People, Finance, Client Teams, and Investment functions to help define, refine, and drive their individual and the comprehensive strategy agenda for the market. As a result, you will work on some of the most important initiatives across GroupM.
As part of the strategy community in North America, you will also collaborate closely with the Strategy team the US.
As a critical driver of strategy within GroupM, you will:
- Take an analytical approach to business and operations planning
- Use a strategic framework to problem solving
- Conduct data analysis and draw key insights for the business
- Gather information and assess risk before making decisions
- Work directly with the C-level leaders of the Finance, Marketing, People, and Investment functions
- Manage through influence, with the potential for direct people reporting relationships
- Employ a systematic, transparent approach to program oversight and management
- Maintain control over quality and accuracy by asking questions frequently
- Manage and simplify complex initiatives or projects on a cross functional team
- Frequently partner with a wide variety of stakeholders across multiple operating companies and business units
- Have a strong positive executive presence
YOUR IMPACT:
- Continued development and refinement of the annual strategic planning process for the Canadian business
- Contribute to the ongoing development and execution of a strategic, growth-oriented business development agenda
- Support organizational decision making around resource and focus allocation energy to pursue defined strategies or business objectives, aligning the company around these decisions and toward execution
- Effective management of the program of strategic initiatives identified by the Office of the CEO
- Support new and ongoing critical initiatives as identified and the socialization with the Canadian Executive Committee. Support may include development of agenda and various socialization and discussion materials
BEST THINGS ABOUT THE ROLE:
- Ability to have cross-functional impact at the organizational and operating company level by driving initiatives across to make advertising work better for people
- Varied, planning and initiative-based work that will span across multiple disciplines from operations, technology, people, M&A, and business development
- High level of visibility and interaction with agency executive leaders and company-wide leaders
MEASURES OF SUCCESS:
3 Months:
- Support the ongoing quarterly refresh of 2025/26 regular strategic planning
- Player/coach within the ongoing transformation efforts within the organization globally, regionally, and within the Canadian market
- Contribute to developing a culture of transparency and accountability in alignment with the GroupM Canada CEO and the Canadian Executive Committee
- Fully understand the organizational strengths, capabilities and opportunity areas
6 Months:
- Take ownership of specific key initiatives as identified and drive them forward
- Develop partnerships across the organization to ensure initiatives are delivering against the defined business outcomes
- Measurable improvements in the relevant effectiveness of workforce and commercial engagements
YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:
- Minimum of 8 years of work experience
- Experience in management consulting, investment banking, or equivalent business development/strategy role(s)
- Ability to tell complex narratives in a simple and compelling way
- Experience in program management, corporate development, or corporate strategy
- Passion for developing an ecosystem that makes advertising work better for people
- Excellent business judgement to prioritize critical tasks, and manage competing priorities
- Ability to excel in a matrixed stakeholder environment
- Understanding of the media investment, ad tech, and agency ecosystem
- Expert in Microsoft Productivity Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Visio)
- MBA is preferred