Senior Social & Influencer Strategist

Job Title: Senior Social & Influencer Strategist

Company: WPP Media South Africa

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Reports To: Strategic Account Manager, Social & Influencer

Direct Reports:

Type: Full-Time

About the Role:

The Senior Social & Influencer Strategist is the strategic architect behind WPP Media's Social & Influencer offering across the portfolio. Reporting to the Strategic Account Manager, Social & Influencer, this role develops integrated social, community and influencer strategies rooted in consumer behaviour, creator culture, platform intelligence and business objectives. The role partners closely with global and regional client strategy teams to localise global frameworks, develops strategic toolkits and playbooks, and champions innovation, AI and thought leadership across the Social & Influencer Hub.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Delivery & Integration

• Translate High-Level Strategy: Act as the key delivery owner for the influencer marketing component of the brand strategy, translating annual business objectives and campaign goals into tangible and effective influencer activation plans.
• Campaign Strategy & Ideation: Lead the development of end-to-end campaign strategy and creative ideation in direct response to client briefs, defining the campaign's core narrative, talent approach, and activation mechanics to meet stated objectives.
• Integrated Campaign Planning: Proactively collaborate with Paid Media, Social, PR, and Creative teams to ensure influencer marketing is seamlessly integrated into the wider marketing mix, aligning talent, messaging, and timing for maximum impact.
• Proactive Opportunity Identification: Use social listening, cultural trend analysis, and deep knowledge of the creator landscape to identify and pitch proactive talent-led opportunities, first-to-market activations, and strategic partnerships that align with the brand's goals.

Client Relationship Management:

• Act as the primary day-to-day contact for key client stakeholders, building and maintaining strong, trusted working relationships.
• Manage client communications with professionalism and efficiency, ensuring expectations are clearly set and consistently met.
• Lead regular client meetings, contributing to clear agendas and ensuring all parties are aligned on campaign progress, timelines, and deliverables.

Campaign & Project Management:

• Lead project management on all assigned campaigns, directly overseeing tasks managed by your dedicated Campaign Manager to ensure seamless execution.
• Collaborate closely with clients to define campaign objectives, target audiences, and KPIs, ensuring these are clearly documented.
• Develop compelling presentations, campaign strategies, and detailed influencer briefs for client meetings and internal reviews.

Execution Leadership & Internal Workflow Management:

• Lead the internal briefing process, translating client strategy into clear, actionable tasks and project plans for your dedicated Campaign Manager.
• Manage all project scope changes, clearly communicating adjustments to timelines, tasks, and budgets directly to the Campaign Manager to ensure alignment.
• Provide ultimate oversight of the content creation and approval process, working directly with the Campaign Manager to ensure quality and alignment with the brief before any materials are presented to the client.
• Serve as the primary strategic guide and escalation point for the Campaign Manager, providing continuous clarification and direction to ensure flawless execution.

Performance & Reporting:

• Work with data and insights teams to measure campaign effectiveness and ensure all KPIs are met.
• Take accountability for all client-facing documentation and communication, ensuring accuracy and a high standard of quality.
• Analyse performance metrics and present data-driven insights and recommendations to the client and internal leadership.

Toolkit & Framework Development:

• Develop Social First, Influencer and Creator playbooks for multiple FMCG brands.
• Build strategic toolkits including briefing templates, creator frameworks, measurement models and planning methodologies.
• Continuously evolve best practice documentation across the Social & Influencer Hub.

Global Strategy Collaboration:

• Partner with Global and Regional strategy teams to localise global campaigns.
• Align local execution with global brand platforms while identifying market-specific opportunities.
• Share local learnings and strategic recommendations back to regional and global stakeholders.

AI, Innovation & Cultural Intelligence:

• Champion AI adoption utilising internal and proprietary tools.
• Monitor creator culture, consumer behaviour and emerging platform trends.
• Develop proactive innovation opportunities and quarterly trend reports.

Required Capabilities:

Experience:

•  5–7+ years' experience in Social Strategy, Influencer Marketing or Digital Strategy within an agency environment.
• Experience working with FMCG or global brands and collaborating with regional/global strategy teams is highly advantageous.

Skills:

• Exceptional Project Management: Meticulous attention to detail with a proven ability to manage multiple complex projects and conflicting priorities simultaneously.
• Client-Centric Communication: Excellent client-facing communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills. You must be adept at managing expectations.
• Proactive Problem-Solving: The ability to anticipate potential risks, identify issues as they arise, and develop effective, timely solutions.
• Direct Oversight & Delegation: The ability to effectively manage the workflow of a dedicated support specialist, delegating tasks clearly and holding them accountable for deliverables in a supportive, collaborative manner.
• Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively in a team environment, fostering collaboration between diverse internal departments and external partners.

• Strategic Planning: Annual planning, communications strategy, audience frameworks and Social First strategy.
• Consumer & Cultural Intelligence: JTBD, audience segmentation, social listening and trend analysis.
• AI & Emerging Technology: Experience with ChatGPT, Gemini, Brand AI, Influencer AI and creator technology.
• Workshop Facilitation & Executive Presentations: Comfortable leading client workshops and presenting to senior stakeholders.

Attributes:

• Accountable & Organised: A strong sense of ownership for your projects and a highly organized, process-driven approach to your work.
• Adaptable & Resilient: Comfortable working in a fast-paced, ever-changing digital environment and skilled at handling pressure with composure.
• Detail-Oriented: Precision in managing budgets, timelines, and client deliverables is non-negotiable.
• Adept Communicator: Able to communicate effectively and professionally across all levels, both internally and with the client.

Overview of KPI’s (to be evolved as required by the business)

The KPIs for this role are part of a dynamic performance development framework. They will be formally reviewed and updated on an annual basis to ensure alignment with evolving business objectives and your personal career development goals. This entire process is managed collaboratively through goal setting and progress tracking within our dedicated platform