Managing Partner | Management | Ogilvy Advertising + Scanad

Job Purpose – Summary

The Managing Partner holds overall responsibility for the strategic leadership and operational excellence of both Ogilvy Advertising and Scanad in Kenya. This pivotal role encompasses ensuring the delivery of the highest quality work, providing exceptional service to existing clients, and leading highly effective new business pitches. The Managing Partner is instrumental in driving the agency’s growth and motivating the teams to deliver success for the agency’s clients.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

1. 1. PEOPLE – Build and Mentor a World-Class Team
2. 2. PRODUCT – Lead by Example in Being the Champion of Creative Transformation
3. 3. PROCESS – Build and Manage Systems Aligned to Ogilvy and WPP’s Global Standards
4. 4. PROFILE (REPUTATION) – Strengthen Agency Reputation
5. 5. PROFIT (FINANCIALS) – Deliver Consistent Profitable Growth (Organic, New Business, and Innovation-Led)

• Bring the agency vision to life and champion it internally and externally.
• Build a team with strong Ogilvy values and embody those values as a role model.
• Foster a culture of performance and an open environment where people feel enabled to be their best selves.
• Lead with empathy, demonstrating how business growth is a means to people growth.
• Further strengthen the employer brand as the top agency in the country for building a career in advertising.
• Align individual goals with company goals for every team member.
• Conduct Performance Management Programs and career conversations in partnership with the People Team.
• Collaborate with regional functional leaders in Nairobi and with the wider Ogilvy and WPP global network.
• Partner with strategy and creative teams to develop a world-class creative product for the agency.
• Champion innovation and act as an intrapreneur within the team.
• Build and manage an innovation funnel and a culture of pilots.
• Be the subject-matter-expert in creating solutions that deliver measurable ROI for clients and help them grow their business.
• Drive and improve efficiency by implementing processes and PMO tools across the organization.
• Oversee compliance for the team across systems and processes, including business, finance, HR, and administration.
• Partner with WPP’s regional shared resources to drive process excellence in the market.
• Strengthen the agency’s reputation as the #1 and most future-ready agency in the country.
• Be the Champion of our AI-enabled future.
• Position the agency as the top partner-of-choice for leading clients.
• Strengthen the agency’s position as a thought leader in the industry.
• Build agency reputation as the strongest partner among existing clients.
• Build agency credentials, profile, media outreach, and web/social footprint.
• Take ownership of the agency’s financial targets (net sales, growth, and costs) and drive sustainable growth.
• Ensure a high rate of client satisfaction, building relationships based on trust and mutual respect.
• Implement a long-term strategy for business growth while delivering commercial targets.
• Demonstrate the highest standards of ethics in all financial dealings.

Knowledge Areas

• Deep understanding of the marketing landscape in Kenya and its opinion leaders.
• Responsible for building and maintaining partnerships with senior clients and opinion leaders.
• Deep-domain knowledge of the modern marketing ecosystem, including consumer research, brand strategy, and creative excellence in a digital-first environment.
• Working knowledge of adjacent marketing domains such as PR & Influence, Content, data analytics, technology, and media.
• Growth Strategies, both for the agency and its clients.
• Organizational Behavior and culture-shaping.
• Ability to partner with peers and experts collaboratively within a matrix organization.

PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL SKILLS AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Required Experience:

• Minimum 15 years of experience in a marketing or marketing services environment, with at least 5 of those years spent in a leadership position.
• Proven ability to build and manage high-performing teams.
• Track record of managing large portfolios and demonstrating measurable results.
• Experience in change management and a track record of driving growth for the organization.
• Acknowledged as a thought leader, with the ability to shape the future of the industry.
• Strong proficiency with AI platforms and understanding of how they are shaping the marketing landscape.

Required Behaviors:

• Strong analytical background and knowledge of statistical modeling.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, both oral and written.
• Positive, self-starter attitude and desire to exceed expectations at every opportunity.
• Strong attention to detail, highly organized, and focused on work quality.
• Possesses gravitas with the senior management team and Heads of Group Companies.
• Can make tough decisions and effectively resolve conflict.
• Must possess integrity, energy, and creativity.
• Is influential and can inspire.
• Holds the highest standards of ethics and integrity.

Company Overview:

A part of WPP, locally held as WPP Scangroup, the Ogilvy Africa Network is the continent's largest network agency. Operating across 39 countries with over 500 professionals headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, it manages an extensive portfolio of over 100 global and regional brands. The network offers a full spectrum of marketing services through its unified agencies: Ogilvy Advertising, Scanad, Ogilvy One, Ogilvy PR, and Ogilvy Media. The Ogilvy Africa network is a fully AI-enabled ecosystem, powered by WPP Open, the world’s leading Marketing AI platform.

The network also boasts proprietary Mar-Tech products Made-for-Africa, including FEED, InfluenceO Africa, Insights Engine, Obrio, and Optimus.

Scanad Kenya, a marquee agency born over 40 years ago, manages a wide portfolio of local, regional, and global brands. It is renowned for creating some of Kenya’s most memorable and industry-shaping campaigns.

Both agencies have received numerous accolades, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, London International Awards, New York Festival, The One Show, WARC Global, SABRE Awards, Loeries, MSK, and SOMA.

Ogilvy Advertising and Scanad combine the best of a global network with deep local insight, offering clients a blend of global logic and local magic for measurable success.

Ogilvy Beliefs:

• People need regular OS upgrades: Even the best OS will be obsolete tomorrow unless it's constantly upgraded. The same is true for people.
• We need more cows than milkmen: We are a culture of practitioners, not managers. We contribute before we comment.
• Creative about creativity: Creativity is, and will always be, our differentiator. Creativity now includes the holy trinity of Data-Content-Tech.
• Diversity is a competitive advantage: New profiles, new skills, and new styles of leadership make us a stronger company.
• Collaborative advantage > Competitive advantage: Find partners who are on top of their game at the skillset we need. It’s the only way to scale at speed without pretending to have all the answers.
• Team > Individual: You get a lot more done when everyone stops worrying about who gets credit at the end. Teams succeed; individuals fail.
• Fail often, fail fast: We see the intrapreneur in all our people and encourage a culture of pilots. Test, succeed, and scale; or fail fast, learn from the failure, and start something new.