Senior Social Commerce Strategist (Permanent)

About the Position

Senior Social Commerce Strategist (Permanent)

We are looking for a commercially minded Senior Social Commerce Strategist to join our Global Social Commerce Team on a permanent basis. This is a senior role for someone who thinks like an operator as much as a strategist: you will own the strategic and commercial thinking behind how some of the world’s biggest brands build, launch, trade and scale on social – with TikTok Shop at the centre – and you will be accountable for the quality of that thinking in front of senior clients.

Responsibilities

• Commercial Strategy & Value Creation

  • Build and own the commercial case for social commerce investment.
  • Set and pressure-test the numbers behind the plan.
  • Advise clients on where budget works hardest.
  • Protect client margin as volume scales.

• Strategic Leadership

  • Develop social commerce strategies aligned to client business objectives.
  • Design the operating model that makes the strategy deliverable.
  • Own the go-to-market gate.
  • Build strategies that unify paid, organic, creator and affiliate activity.
  • Work with client teams to define content-to-cart strategies.
  • Maintain authoritative depth across TikTok Shop, Meta, YouTube and emerging social and AI-led commerce surfaces.

• Client & Business Leadership

  • Act as trusted strategic advisor to senior client stakeholders.
  • Interrogate and shape briefs, define scope and approach.
  • Identify and shape opportunities to extend the work.
  • Build and deliver arguments that land in the room.
  • Develop points of view, frameworks and IP that position VML as the leading end-to-end social commerce partner.

• Team & Delivery Leadership

  • Line-manage and develop a small team of strategists.
  • Lead multi-discipline pods across creative, media, data, technology and delivery.
  • Lead projects end to end – on time, on budget and to the standard we want to be judged by.
  • Willingness to work at client locations and travel to key markets as the work requires.

Requirements

• Substantial experience in social, digital or commerce strategy – typically 7+ years, with meaningful time spent on social commerce specifically, agency or brand side.
• Genuine commercial fluency: comfortable building and defending a channel P&L, unit economics and a forecast.
• Demonstrable experience setting KPIs and being held to them.
• Deep, current expertise across social platforms and their commerce ecosystems, with hands-on TikTok Shop experience strongly preferred, alongside Meta.
• Experience designing operating models and launching or scaling a social commerce programme.
• Experience line-managing or formally mentoring strategists.
• Track record with global brands and senior client stakeholders.
• Experience in consumer packaged goods or a related sector is highly desirable.
• Strong measurement and analytical instincts.
• Excellent presentation and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to digest, interpret and respond to briefs at pace.
• Consultative, pragmatic and creative.
• Customer-first mindset.
• Degree qualified, ideally in Marketing, Business, Economics, Communications or a related field.
• Passionate about social, commerce and the possibilities of reinventing how people discover and buy.

Nice to Have

• Experience with retail media and marketplace channels.
• Experience with social listening and analytics platforms.
• Experience with social advertising and commerce platforms.
• Working knowledge of ecommerce and fulfilment infrastructure.
• Experience with influencer and creator marketing.
• Understanding of search, SEO and emerging AI-led discovery and agentic commerce.
• Experience with structured test-and-learn programmes, A/B testing and optimisation.
• Multi-market or multi-language experience across EMEA.
• Excellent organisational skills.

We Offer

• Competitive benefits package including a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.
• A culture that thrives on our core values: Heart, Brains and Courage.

About the Company

VML is a global creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce to create connected brands that drive growth. Guided by a Human First philosophy, VML is known for its innovative work for brands and consistently ranks among the world’s leading creative companies, including the WARC Creative 100. VML’s global network spans 55+ markets with principal offices in Buenos Aires, Kansas City, London, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore.

VML is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.

For more information, please visit www.vml.com and follow along on LinkedIn #WeAreVML.