Associate Director Strategy – MENA

About the role

WPP Media is seeking an Associate Director of Strategy to join its Growth team in Dubai. You will work closely with the growth, intelligence and marketing teams to develop and deliver compelling strategies that win and retain multi‑market clients across the UAE, KSA and wider regions.

Key responsibilities

• Support and lead strategic workstreams for multi‑market pitches, global prospecting and local growth opportunities.
• Develop and present differentiated strategies, from strategy writing to connection planning and client presentations.
• Collaborate with agency brand‑planning teams to apply distinct planning approaches (Mindshare, Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom) and create integrated strategic narratives.
• Work with the Insights team to embed category, consumer and cultural insights into recommendations.
• Support the Head of Growth and senior leadership, ensuring high‑quality strategic delivery and sharing best practices across markets.

Required profile

• Strong experience in strategy, growth or new‑business roles within media, marketing or agency environments.
• Proven ability to develop and present compelling strategic thinking, especially in pitch and prospecting situations.
• Excellent storytelling and presentation skills, with the capacity to translate business challenges into clear, differentiated opportunities.
• Strong collaboration and stakeholder‑management abilities across disciplines, markets and seniority levels.
• Proactive, commercially minded and adaptable, able to lead strategic workstreams independently while partnering with senior leadership.