Senior Director, Product Strategy (AI, Data, Advertising)

Publicis Groupe · Toronto · CA$170,000–CA$200,000 (stated in the posting)

Company description

Publicis Groupe Canada is the Canadian subsidiary of Publicis Groupe, the second largest communications group in the world and a global leader concentrated within four main activities: Communication, Media, Data and Technology. Publicis Groupe Canada represents the vision of a set of collaborative and integrated agencies that offer expertise and insightful services to many of the biggest brands in North America.

Canadian brands include: Publicis Canada (Publicis Canada, Hawkeye, Razorfish, Publicis Health, ThePubProductions, Nurun, Moov AI, Publicis Sports & Entertainment), Publicis Media (Starcom, Spark Foundry, Zenith), Leo Burnett (Leo Burnett Canada, Ove Brand Design, Leo Burnett Design), Saatchi & Saatchi (Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, Synergize, TPM), MSL Canada/North Strategic and Publicis Sapient.

Overview

The Senior Director, Product Strategy owns the enterprise vision, business roadmap and market adoption strategy for Connected Solutions (Publicis Groupe’s core AI and data products). This leader connects client business priorities, agency needs and product capabilities, turning complex opportunities into a clear portfolio direction and sequenced roadmap.

Operating as a senior individual contributor and trusted executive advisor, this person shapes strategic decisions across clients, agencies and internal leadership. They establish the narrative, commercial logic and adoption model for Connected Solutions, ensuring that individual client opportunities translate into repeatable products, scalable growth and sustained market relevance.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Product Vision & Portfolio Strategy

Set and champion the long-term product vision for Connected Solutions, aligning AI and data capabilities with client priorities, agency strategy and market opportunity.

Own the enterprise business roadmap and rollout sequencing for the core agentic solution, while identifying adjacent products and portfolio opportunities that can expand impact and revenue.

Establish portfolio-level prioritization criteria that balance client demand, feasibility, commercial potential, differentiation and strategic fit.

Make clear recommendations on where to invest, accelerate, pause or reposition, and build executive alignment around those choices.

Executive Leadership & Governance

Serve as the senior strategic voice for Connected Solutions in executive forums, client leadership meetings and cross-agency planning discussions.

Create decision frameworks and governance rhythms that keep business, product, delivery and technology leaders aligned on priorities, risks and expected outcomes.

Hold the strategic boundary between product vision, tactical product design and technical execution, ensuring accountability without dictating architecture.

Partner closely with the Product Lead and Delivery and Technology leadership to translate strategic intent into an executable plan.

Commercial Growth & Market Positioning

Identify and shape growth opportunities across existing and prospective client relationships, connecting product capability to meaningful business value.

Define positioning, packaging, adoption pathways and service models that enable agencies and account teams to bring Connected Solutions to market consistently.

Partner with growth and account leaders on pitches, proposals and strategic pursuits, strengthening the commercial story and value proposition.

Turn high-value client use cases into repeatable offerings that can scale across accounts, markets and agency disciplines.

Client Advisory, Storytelling & Influence

Act as a trusted advisor to C-level clients and senior internal executives, helping them understand where AI, data and automation can create measurable value.

Shape and deliver compelling narratives for pitches, demonstrations, executive presentations and strategic workshops.

Translate complex product and technical capabilities into clear business choices, outcomes and trade-offs for non-technical audiences.

Build consensus across clients, agencies, product, technology and delivery teams, especially when priorities compete or strategic pivots are required.

Adoption, Impact & Continuous Learning

Define what successful adoption and rollout look like, including client outcomes, adoption signals, repeatable use cases and indicators of commercial scale.

Develop executive-level measures of product value and use them to guide roadmap decisions, investment conversations and market expansion.

Establish structured feedback loops with clients and agencies to identify friction, unmet needs and emerging opportunities.

Serve as the senior escalation point for product-related concerns or strategic pivots, coordinating resolution with the Product Lead and relevant partners.

What Success Looks Like

Connected Solutions has a clear, prioritized and commercially grounded roadmap understood by senior stakeholders.

Clients and agencies understand the portfolio’s value and how to adopt it.

Product decisions reflect client feedback, adoption signals and market opportunity.

Individual client needs become repeatable use cases, scalable offerings and sustained commercial momentum.

Qualifications

What we are looking for:

12+ years of progressive experience in product strategy, marketing strategy, innovation or commercial growth, including significant leadership at the Director, Group Director or equivalent level.

Experience owning enterprise product or portfolio strategy, business roadmaps and rollout plans across external clients, agency networks or complex organizations.

Deep understanding of the agency ecosystem, ideally across creative, media, CRM and data disciplines.

Strong knowledge of marketing and media workflows and a practical understanding of how agentic AI and automation can improve them.

Proven ability to advise C-level stakeholders, simplify complex topics and influence cross-functional decisions in a matrixed environment.

Strong commercial mindset, with experience connecting product capabilities to packaging, adoption, client value and scalable growth.

Ability to partner credibly with engineering and technical leadership while owning business strategy rather than technical delivery.

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Product, Strategy or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.

Stand-Out Experience

Launching or scaling agentic AI, automation, data or marketing technology solutions within CRM, media or creative organizations.

Familiarity with agency commercial models, including licensing, packaging, service tiers and value propositions.

Experience leading product advisory boards, executive workshops, innovation councils or structured client discovery programs.

New business, growth strategy or enterprise transformation experience across multiple agencies, markets or global stakeholder groups.

Additional information

Eligibility: Candidates must be based in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), possess valid Canadian work authorization, and be willing to commute to our downtown Toronto office.

Hybrid schedule: Rotating 2-day / 3-day in-office schedule (Tue/Thu one week, Mon/Wed/Fri the next).

Competitive annual vacation program, enhanced between Christmas and New Year’s when our offices are closed.

Extended statutory holidays (we give our employees the Mondays and Fridays of provincial holidays so you can enjoy long 4-day weekends).

6 sick days per year and 2 personal days per year.

Monthly cell phone allowance

Employer RRSP matching contributions of up to 2%

“Work Your World” program, allowing you to work remotely for up to 6 weeks in any country where we have an office (50+ countries).

Comprehensive group insurance benefits (medical and dental care, vision care, psychological and paramedical services, disability insurance, fertility support, and gender-affirming care).

Internal support and guidance program for cancer, fertility, and gender transition.

The salary for this position is $170,000 - $210,000 per year. Actual compensation will be based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and applicable certifications. This reflects what we reasonably expect to offer based on current market data.

We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of our hiring process. These tools assist our recruitment team but never replace human decision-making. We believe in a human-first approach, where your experience and potential are recognized by people.

Publicis Canada is committed to building a diverse workforce representative of our community. We encourage and are pleased to consider all qualified candidates, without regard to race, colour, citizenship, religion, sex, marital / family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, aboriginal status, age, disability or persons who may require an accommodation, to apply. If you require a specific accommodation, please contact Human Resources at inquiries@publicisna.com.