Innovation Lead

Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world’s leading organisations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and now present in approximately 120 countries and regions, it has a proven track record of nurturing and developing innovations, combining the talents of its global network of leadership brands to develop impactful and integrated growth solutions for clients. Dentsu delivers end-to-end experience transformation (EX) by integrating its services across Media, CXM and Creative, while its business transformation (BX) mindset pushes the boundaries of transformation and sustainable growth for brands, people and society.

This role will be sitting in the Connections Team and evolve from heavy Media Partnerships Management to driving the strategic roadmap across heavily Content, Experience & Innovation driven Partnerships (Platforms, Creator, Ents & Sponsor ships, ie Sports, Music, Culture). The role would suit a generalist across these areas of specialty, that will be working directly with experts at dentsu to develop each capability and roll‑out initiatives in each of those.

Build capabilities that are applicable cross‑portfolio and key local ones (25 brands in total) and scalable across top markets. The overarching capability framework will apply to all solutions (Spons, Ents, Creator, Platform), with each having its own sub‑capability and application. Build these overall Partnerships capabilities, from insight, strategic approach, initiative evaluation framework & measurement that spans across the full ESOP (PESO) & connections Model.

Be at the forefront of tech innovation from partners and in the industry, driving Media & Marketing‑First opportunities. Working closely with counterparts in the Connections team to turn the strategic ambition into impactful ESOP partnership plans and specific scalable opportunities, following the client specific planning cadences for brands. Manage the exploration, packaging and surfacing of Quick Wins opportunities at Portfolio and Brand level to take to brands, accurately tracking traction.

Drive Sell‑in to Brands of
1) Portfolio thinking, Brand‑specific opportunities for annual plans and
2) “Quick Wins”. Oversee the roll‑out of Initiatives for each of the capabilities (activations on the market), managed by dentsu teams. Plan and drive Betas and Prototypes, taking advantage of agency relationships. Oversee the media partnerships team and JBP deals to extract maximum value.

The partnership landscape has expanded far beyond traditional digital media. Today’s ecosystem spans global platforms, entertainment environments, creator economies, commerce partners and cultural IP — all of which shape how consumers discover, engage with, and buy brands. To unlock this full spectrum of opportunity, the client needs deeper, more strategic collaboration with its agency and with a broader set of partners.

The Innovation & Culture‑First Lead ensures the organisation is set up to extract maximum value from this evolving ecosystem by working to build integrated, future‑ready partnerships across:
Global media platforms (e.g., Google, Meta, Amazon, Tik Tok) Entertainment and streaming environments (e.g., Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, gaming platforms) Sponsorship and cultural IP partners (e.g., sports leagues, music platforms, festivals, talent) Content and creator ecosystems (e.g., creator networks, publisher collectives) New Technology, Alphas & Betas.

Significant leadership experience in media partnerships and innovation. Proven experience developing and scaling partnership strategies, products or capabilities across multiple brands, markets or operating companies. Strong…