Managing Partner

Publicis Groupe · Johannesburg

Company description

Publicis Groupe Africa is a leading marketing, communications, and business transformation network operating across 36 African countries, combining creativity, technology, and local insight to deliver integrated client solutions.

Publicis Groupe Africa is part of Publicis Groupe, the second-largest communications group globally, founded in 1926. The African network operates as a partnership of 44 communications agencies with offices spanning 36 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, and many others.

Its headquarters are in Johannesburg and Cape Town, providing a central hub for continental operations.

Overview

MANAGING PARTNER

Client Leadership |Growth| Integration |AI& Future-Fit Transformation

THE OPPORTUNITY

Telecommunications is one of the most dynamic categories in the market that sits at the intersection of technology, culture, connectivity, customer experience and everyday life. This role offers the opportunity to work with a leading telecommunications client and help shape the next generation of its agency partnership.

We are building a connected, future-fit model that brings together creativity, intelligence, data, technology, AI and world-class execution around the customer. It is an opportunity for ambitious leaders to influence the work, the operating model and the capabilities we build — creating a partnership designed not only for today's challenges, but for what comes next.

ROLE PURPOSE

The Managing Partner is the senior business and client leader responsible for the overall success, growth and evolution of the Publicis/client partnership.

The role owns the strategic direction of the business, senior client relationships, quality of the agency product, growth and commercial performance, integration of Publicis Groupe capabilities, and the development of a future-fit partnership that continually creates greater value for the client.

The Managing Partner will ensure Publicis operates as a true strategic business partner - moving beyond traditional agency delivery to bring together creativity, data, media, technology, production, customer experience, AI and transformation capabilities around the client's business priorities.

A critical part of the mandate is to lead the evolution of the partnership into a future-fit, integrated operating model, ensuring that global and Groupe capabilities are translated into practical, locally relevant value for the client.

The Managing Partner is ultimately accountable for ensuring that the partnership delivers:

Business impact and strategic value.

Outstanding creative and strategic work.

Commercial growth and sustainable profitability.

Strong senior client relationships.

Integrated Groupe capability.

Future-fit technology and AI adoption.

A high-performing team and culture.

Responsibilities

STRATEGIC BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

Own and articulate the strategic direction and ambition for the client/Publicis partnership.
Translate the client's business priorities into an integrated agency agenda.
Ensure Publicis understands the client's business, customers, competitive environment and strategic objectives.
Partner with senior client leadership on immediate priorities and longer-term opportunities.
Ensure Publicis proactively identifies opportunities rather than simply responding to briefs.
Lead the evolution of the relationship from service provider to strategic growth partner.
Establish clear priorities for the Publicis leadership team and ensure decisions translate into measurable outcomes.
Balance immediate delivery requirements with longer-term growth, innovation and transformation.

SENIOR CLIENT PARTNERSHIP

Own and develop senior strategic relationships across the client organisation.
Build trusted relationships with executive and senior client stakeholders.
Develop a deep understanding of priorities, expectations and challenges across client business units.
Act as the senior escalation point for the partnership.
Maintain high standards of strategic, creative and delivery excellence.
Ensure client feedback is actively addressed and translated into improvement.
Identify relationship, commercial or delivery risks early and ensure corrective action.
Create greater alignment and integration across client stakeholders and Publicis teams.
Build trust, access and strategic influence at senior levels.

BUSINESS GROWTH & PARTNERSHIP EXPANSION

Own the growth agenda for the client partnership.
Identify opportunities to grow existing scopes, services and capabilities.
Proactively identify unmet client business needs and develop relevant solutions.
Bring the best of Publicis Groupe capabilities into the relationship.
Lead or support strategic growth proposals, pitches and cross-sell opportunities.
Expand the partnership into relevant areas including data, customer experience, commerce, digital transformation, media, content, production, technology, AI, automation and personalisation.
Develop commercially sound propositions around new opportunities.
Ensure growth is sustainable, relevant and aligned to the client's strategic priorities.
Focus on increasing the value of the relationship, not only the volume of work.

INTEGRATION & POWER OF ONE LEADERSHIP

Act as the senior integrator across Publicis Groupe capabilities servicing the client.
Bring together creative, media, production, technology, data, strategy, digital, PR, activation and other relevant capabilities.
Ensure the client experiences Publicis as one connected partner rather than multiple agencies or disciplines.
Clarify ownership and accountability across Groupe entities.
Remove organisational barriers that prevent integration.
Establish effective leadership and decision-making forums.
Resolve competing priorities or ownership issues across agencies.
Drive collaboration around client business problems rather than agency structures.
Ensure the most appropriate Groupe capability is deployed against each opportunity.

AI, TECHNOLOGY & FUTURE-FIT LEADERSHIP

AI, technology and future-fit capability are core leadership responsibilities of the Managing Partner, not separate technical workstreams.
Understand the strategic implications of AI and emerging technology for the client's marketing ecosystem.
Identify where AI can improve effectiveness, speed, personalisation, quality, decision-making and efficiency.
Ensure Publicis proactively brings relevant AI-led opportunities to the client.
Champion responsible adoption of AI across the partnership.
Support the development of AI-enabled products, services, content and workflows.
Ensure leaders and teams continually develop their AI and technology literacy.
Connect the client with relevant Publicis Groupe technology, data and AI capabilities.
Encourage experimentation while maintaining appropriate governance, security and human oversight.
Ensure technology and AI initiatives are linked to measurable business and operational value.
Keep the partnership abreast of global developments in marketing technology, customer experience, automation and AI.

FUTURE-FIT PLATFORM & OPERATING MODEL LEADERSHIP

Provide executive sponsorship for the implementation and adoption of client and Groupe platforms that enable the future operating model.
Ensure technology platforms become strategic enablers rather than additional administrative layers.
Align senior stakeholders around the future operating model and expected benefits.
Connect local client requirements with global and Groupe capabilities.
Remove barriers to implementation and adoption.
Champion the behavioural and organisational changes required to embed new ways of working.
Ensure platforms improve collaboration, visibility, integration, speed and effectiveness.
Support clear integration and role definition across client workflow systems, Publicis workflow tools, asset-management platforms and other relevant technologies.
Ensure the partnership continually extracts greater value from the broader technology ecosystem.
Provide executive sponsorship and strategic direction while day-to-day platform implementation is led through the operations function.

TRANSFORMATION & CHANGE LEADERSHIP

Lead the broader transformation agenda for the client partnership.
Define the ambition for the future Publicis/client operating model.
Sponsor transition from current ways of working into the future-state model.
Ensure business continuity while transformation takes place.
Align senior stakeholders behind required changes.
Challenge legacy processes and behaviours that no longer create value.
Encourage collaboration across previously siloed teams and disciplines.
Create an environment where continuous improvement is expected.
Ensure transformation results in tangible improvements to performance, quality and client experience.
Build organisational readiness for evolving technology, AI and new ways of working.

CREATIVE, STRATEGIC & PRODUCT EXCELLENCE

Own the overall standard of the agency product delivered to the client.
Establish and maintain high strategic and creative standards.
Ensure work is aligned to the client's business and brand objectives.
Create the conditions for ambitious, effective and culturally relevant work.
Partner closely with Strategy, Creative, Media, Data and Technology leadership.
Champion integrated thinking from the beginning of the process.
Ensure digital, data, technology and customer-experience thinking is embedded in the product.
Protect quality while improving speed and efficiency.
Encourage work with strong effectiveness and awards potential.
Ensure performance learnings are fed back into strategy, creative development and future planning.

COMMERCIAL LEADERSHIP & PROFITABILITY

The Managing Partner owns the overall commercial health and sustainable growth of the client business in partnership with Finance and Operations.
Own revenue planning, forecasting and growth targets.
Maintain oversight of scope, fee structures and client commercial agreements.
Lead or support senior client commercial negotiations.
Monitor margin, profitability and operating-cost performance.
Ensure appropriate investment and resource decisions.
Identify commercial risks and opportunities early.
Ensure new opportunities are supported by viable commercial models.
Balance client value, quality, growth and agency profitability.
Work closely with Finance and Operations to ensure accurate commercial visibility and corrective action where required.

TALENT & LEADERSHIP

Build and lead a high-performing senior client leadership team.
Attract, retain and grow exceptional talent.
Ensure the right leadership and specialist capability exists across the account.
Create clarity around roles, responsibilities, decision rights and accountability.
Develop future leaders and succession capability.
Hold leadership accountable for performance.
Build a collaborative, inclusive and high-performance culture.
Encourage cross-functional working rather than siloed delivery.
Identify emerging skills required for the future.
Ensure teams continually develop capability in AI, technology, data and integrated working.
Create a culture of learning, experimentation and continuous improvement.
Partner with Operations and Talent on workforce and organisational planning.

OPERATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

The Managing Partner owns the business ambition, senior client relationship, growth agenda and strategic direction, while the senior operations leader owns the operating engine required to deliver it.
Partner closely with the senior operations leader to ensure strategy is converted into effective execution.
Ensure clear operating models, governance and accountability.
Maintain visibility of resource capacity, commercial performance and delivery health.
Ensure workflow, platform adoption and performance management support the business ambition.
Resolve structural or operational issues that materially affect client value or business performance.
Create a complementary leadership model similar to an MD/COO partnership, avoiding duplication of accountability.

PERFORMANCE, EFFECTIVENESS & ACCOUNTABILITY

Ensure the partnership is measured against meaningful business, commercial, client and operational outcomes.
Create visibility across client satisfaction, relationship health, revenue, profitability, scope growth and strategic influence.
Track creative quality, campaign effectiveness and integration across Groupe capabilities.
Monitor delivery performance, platform adoption, AI adoption and transformation progress.
Maintain visibility of leadership and talent health.
Use performance information to drive decisions and corrective action, not simply reporting.

MEASURES OF SUCCESS

Strong senior client relationships and client satisfaction.
Increased strategic influence with client leadership.
Growth in the value and scope of the Publicis/client partnership.
Achievement of agreed revenue and profitability targets.
Successful transition, stabilisation and ongoing evolution of the account.
Effective adoption of the future operating model and enabling technology platforms.
Increased integration of Publicis Groupe capabilities.
Demonstrable adoption of AI and future-fit capabilities that create measurable value.
Improved quality and effectiveness of the agency product.
Stronger collaboration across client business units and Publicis disciplines.
High-performing leadership and talent.
Improved business and operational performance.
Increased innovation and proactive opportunity development.
Reduced dependency on reactive briefing and traditional agency delivery.
Strong client perception of Publicis as a strategic growth and transformation partner.

Qualifications

CRITICAL CAPABILITIES

Strategic business leadership.
Senior client relationship management.
Commercial and financial acumen.
Integrated marketing and communications leadership.
Digital and customer-experience understanding.
AI and emerging technology literacy.
Business transformation and change leadership.
Organisational leadership and talent development.
Growth and new-business capability.
Strong understanding of modern agency operating models.
Ability to navigate complex multinational organisations.
Excellent communication, influence and presentation skills.
High levels of judgement and decision-making.
Ability to lead through ambiguity, complexity and change.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Tertiary qualifications within the advertising industry essential
At least 10 years of relevant experience the advertising or marketing industry and at least 5 years of experience in a leadership capacity.
Demonstrated experience managing large, complex or integrated client relationships.
Strong track record of commercial ownership, growth and senior client leadership.
Demonstrated ability to lead across communications, experiences, data, digital and technology.
Experience integrating multiple disciplines, agencies or specialist capabilities.
Experience leading organisational or client transformation is highly advantageous.
Relevant tertiary or postgraduate qualification is advantageous; demonstrated leadership experience, business achievement and industry capability should be considered alongside formal qualifications.
Strong written, verbal and presentation skills.

Additional information

Publicis Groupe Africa is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits any forms of Discrimination or Harassment. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our employees in line with our Employment Equity Plan.

All appointments will be based on qualifications, experience and best fit but preference will be given to candidates from designated groups. Interested candidates must please submit a concise CV including a link to your portfolio if necessary. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Should you not hear from us within 2 weeks after submitting your application, please consider your application as unsuccessful.