Growth Partner

Growth Partner

Acceleration Sub-Saharan Africa

• Location: Johannesburg or Cape Town, South Africa
• Employment Type: Full-time
• Reporting to: Managing Director, SSA and (dotted) Global Chief Commercial Officer

ACCELERATION

Acceleration is WPP's specialist practice for data, analytics & technology consulting. We are a curious team of highly skilled data and technology practitioners, inspired by experimentation and new ideas. This is the lifeblood of the future-forward solutions we deliver, that empower our clients to compete every day, in a dynamic environment. And it is the reason we have become trusted advisors to CEOs, strategic partners to CMOs, and operational partners to CIOs, around the globe.

We help clients leverage the power of Google's Marketing and Cloud platforms to transform their marketing organizations and accelerate growth. With access to expert consultancy services and a deep bench of specialised skills, we deliver what marketers need to compete effectively, increase efficiency, and drive growth. We are well known for our open, transparent, and honest relationships with clients. We identify opportunities for innovation while remaining firmly grounded in business reality. We demystify complex tasks and impart knowledge without hype or pretense, and we shape marketing ecosystems to drive growth through the intelligent application of data and technology. Most importantly, we speak in specifics and get the job done.

Our contribution is measured by our clients' success. We understand that speed to value is critical. This is why we release value at every step of the process. Every day we build our skills and hone our craft to get our clients the results they deserve.

Google and other partners are a key strategic pillar and critical to the development of a healthy opportunity pipeline, for sustainable and profitable growth.

ROLE OVERVIEW

As our clients find themselves in an increasingly complex world of marketing and media, we work with them to simplify and demystify what can at first appear complex. The Growth Partner, is a role embedded at a Partner level, where you will work with c-suite and key stakeholders to develop turnkey consulting solutions which help achieve their objectives. The role is critical as it ensures clients, and partners across our network have easy and rapid access to the best consulting teams and technologies. The role will focus on the Google Marketing Platform (GMP), Cloud Platform Technology and other AdTech/MarTech solutions.

As a Growth Partner, you will be aligned to the Acceleration Partner network. You will sit and work alongside their teams, connect with Acceleration's global constituency of commercial practice, and with our consulting practitioners to craft and sell proposals that meet our client's needs. You will be positioned as a thought partner, and decision maker guiding the commercial development of Acceleration's consulting practice throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The core of this responsibility lies in acheiving revenue growth, managing leads, coordinating and qualifying leads with the team. As a consultant within the Acceleration business, you will perform consultative work on some identified projects and play a role as a dynamic partner: identifying, converting and forming part of the delivery of key opportunities.

You will be happy developing business individually, as well as part of a wider team. You go beyond the role of a traditional Business Development Director as you will have a depth of understanding of Martech and Ad Tech solutions and consultative methodologies.

You will be a strong relationship builder, identifying new opportunities and educating the network about our consulting capabilities. You have a consultative sales approach and an understanding of the digital transformation space. It is critical that you will be able to articulate value, inspire and sell the impact that data and marketing technology can have on transforming a business. As a trusted advisor, you are the person who will collaborate with multiple tiers of the client and partner organisations. This includes C-suite individuals through to client leads and strategists.

Acceleration Sub-Saharan Africa is a rapidly scaling business, and holds a core focus on continuing this scale across in South Africa, Kenya and other net new markets . This breeds a highly dynamic, entrepreneurial environment which you will be required to participate in. You will often need to perform and deliver against many tasks/responsibilities outside of your defined scope, acting as a true partner to the success of the Acceleration organisation in SSA. This means being a team player and thinking outside of your role both organically and in close collaboration with leadership.

RESPONSIBILITIES

•Evaluate, create and drive opportunities (tech and consulting) and pipeline across our strategic accounts

•Prospect, consult solutions and convert net new business in the market.

•Build relationships across both our account teams and the leadership teams within our network

•Be the single point of connection from Partner organizations into Acceleration, and represent us in key client meetings

•Represent, and strategically manage the Acceleration x WPP partnership to further integrate, and grow our businesses mutually

•Present and build on our credentials with best in class examples of our work.

•Be an evangelist for our proposition and showcase it internally as well as externally

•Manage teams on the translation of converted solutions into robust consulting projects, which can be profitably delivered.

•Manage key client relationships and drive organic growth within those accounts

•Occasionally deliver on key opportunities in the Acceleration pipeline, forming part of our strategic consulting team where necessary

•Deliver and maintain accurate forecasting for business planning purposes. Provide thought leadership and weigh in as a key decision maker in the commercial development and go-to-market for the Acceleration business.

•Advise on data strategy and architectures for clients and internal business

•Act as an expert in our overall offering and Methodologies: specifically those of key technologies within the Google stack (GMP & GCP)

•Help develop and drive initiatives to increase our profile within the industry and experts across the AdTech/MarTech Ecosystem

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Qualifications

•Graduate qualification in Marketing, Technology or Business

•Postgraduate degree a plus

•7+ years plus experience within the AdTech/MarTech Consulting environment

•Experience and strong understanding of digital media and platforms, i.e. ad servers, Google

•Marketing Platform, Campaign Manager, DV360, SA360, Meta, etc.

•Certified Google Marketing Platform Partners Education

•Proven track record of MarTech/ AdTech consulting and/or sales performance

•Strong network of people and clients across South Africa

Preferred Qualifications

•Google Cloud Platform, Cloud Provider and other MarTech/AdTech Qualifications

•Google Analytics 4 Individual Qualification

•Experience working with, or within media agency environments

•Specialist knowledge in the Data Privacy Landscape and key solutions to address these challenges within marketing and advertising

•In-depth knowledge of the retail landscape and data/technology's role in retail media

•Expertise in the application of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing and Advertising, including Cloud Applications, Data Democratisation, Data Science & Modelling, Generative AI

Skills

•Have hands-on experience crafting proposals for consulting engagements

•Effectively craft, communicate and create value through robust narratives in MarTech, AdTech and data-driven consulting solutions

•Strong ability to effectively navigate conversations surrounding technology, data and digital transformation within the marketing/media context

•Ability to strategically navigate organizations and work with cross-functional teams

•Demonstrated ability on effective pipeline management and navigating complex growth environments

•Strong commercial acumen with experience/ interest in developing statements of work and building pricing for service business.

•Comfortable with presenting ideas to c-suite individuals and larger client teams

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