Associate Director (Open Source Analysis)
M&C Saatchi World Services is part of the M+C Saatchi Group, a global creative solutions company headquartered in the UK, with major hubs across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Guided by the belief that cutting-edge communications and technologies can change the world, we help our clients solve some of the world’s most complex challenges — operating at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and impact to shape narratives, influence behaviour, and deliver meaningful real-world outcomes.
M&C Saatchi World Services is seeking a OSAT Associate Director to manage and support a team of analysts responsible for gathering, verifying and interpreting open-source information in support of audience understanding, targeting, insight generation and fused analysis across projects or major programmes.
ABOUT THE ROLE:
In this role, you will:
· Support the development and delivery of World Services’ Open-Source Analysis capability.
· Assist in managing the delivery of open-source research and analysis across multiple projects.
· For a single large programme; be directly involved in shaping insights-driven strategy and strategic recommendations for the wider business.
· Line manage one or more analyst, senior analyst or equivalent specialist team members.
What you'll do:
· Support the development and delivery of World Services’ Open-Source Analysis capability.
· Assist and support the Head of Insights and Analysis Director in the management of the Open-Source Analysis Team, especially when it comes to devolving direction and instruction to the team, and in returning fused, proofed and quality-assured written outputs.
· Help to make World Services communications strategies more evidence-based, effective and reflective of the broader information environment.
· Lead the preparation of timely, relevant analyses, briefings and strategic recommendations verbally and in writing for all levels of the agency, from senior management to staff on the ground.
· Lead on open-source analytical workstreams, providing specialist expertise for the organisation in investigative OSINT, verification, geospatial analysis, imagery analysis and digital collection methodologies.
· Help to guide the work of the Insights function and add open-source analytical expertise to its output.
· Develop team members – and the company’s broader institutional capability – to deliver the above kinds of output to the appropriate standard.
· When required, assist in the financial and operational reporting, planning and management of the Open-Source Analysis team.
· Provide thought leadership across World Services and externally.
· Deliver a strong capability within World Services, and by doing this give the agency a competitive advantage.
· Ensure that Open-Source Analysis becomes a commercially viable part of World Services, with costs covered through billing.
· Provide open-source analytical recommendations to account teams and support the Strategy and Insights teams in turning these into effective communications and audience strategies.
· Contribute to the agency’s high-level thinking on how to approach problem sets through open-source evidence, verification and fused insight.
· Support the planning and oversight of OSAT workflows, including collection planning, source validation, verification, preservation, fusion and reporting.
· Ensure that OSAT outputs are generated within legal, ethical and security parameters, with appropriate attention to source handling, preservation and confidence assessment.
You’ll bring:
· Minimum 5 years relevant experience: must have strong expertise in open-source analysis, investigative OSINT, digital research, or a related analytical discipline.
· Impeccable written and spoken English and the ability to present findings orally and in writing.
· Strong analytical skills, with the ability to convert qualitative and quantitative data and desk research into clear and concise briefings.
· Ability to consume and process a large amount of information in short time periods.
· Understanding of the information environment, including traditional broadcast and online media, social media, niche online spaces, and misleading or coordinated information activity.
· Experience of using research to guide strategic recommendations, ideally in relation to communications, outreach, audience understanding or targeting.
· Experience of planning, directing or quality-assuring open-source collection, verification and analytical workflows.
· An entrepreneurial attitude.
· The ability to communicate with a range of stakeholders and diverse teams, in the UK and around the world.
· Some understanding of open-source monitoring and investigative tools would be desirable, including tools used for entity analysis, geospatial research, media verification and source preservation.
· Awareness of operational security considerations and protocols would be desirable.
· Awareness of data protection, legal and ethical considerations relating to open-source investigations would be desirable.
· Knowledge of strategic communications, influence analysis, and the role of open-source analysis within wider insight generation would be desirable
ABOUT M&C SAATCHI WORLD SERVICES
M&C Saatchi World Services is a specialist division of M+C Saatchi Group, the world’s largest independent communications network. Our specialists work in office hubs across six continents, grounding our global expertise in local nuance.
We offer award-winning commercial communications capabilities, which are utilized by global organizations to address the world’s most complex problems across defence, development, diplomacy, homeland and national security, law and order, health, education, and the environment.
We work with clients that want to help the hardest-to-reach, hardest-to-influence audiences. This includes a range of Western Government departments, such as DOS and USAID; partner governments, including the U.K. and Australia; and prominent IGOs/NGOs such as the U.N.
We are a comms agency that works on behaviour change projects typically focused on issues related to Security, Defence and Stabilization. Whether it’s producing critically acclaimed feature films in Africa, to TV shows in the Middle East, to pop music videos in Asia, we have a record of leveraging creativity to access communities anywhere in the world.
WHAT WE OFFER
A competitive salary and benefits package that includes 27 days holiday per year, pension contributions, private healthcare, discounted dental insurance, enhanced maternity/parental leave, plus a whole host of others including:
Cultural stimulation allowance - £250 per person per year
Half days off before bank holidays
Emergency care days for dependants
Up to 5 days volunteering leave per year to work for a registered charity
Up to 10 days special emergency leave per year
Season Ticket loan
Payroll Giving Scheme
Thursday drinks to unwind and socialize
An annual Summer and Christmas party
Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion sees us offer inclusive bank holidays
We also offer learning opportunities around D&I, targeted mentoring programmes and the opportunity to participate in several active Employee Led Networks and associated events. Finally, this role will be supported with all the necessary personal development required to set someone up for success.
M+C SAATCHI GROUP has pledged its commitment to create a company that values difference, with an inclusive culture. As part of this, M&C Saatchi Group continues to be an Equal Opportunity Employer which does not and shall not discriminate, celebrates diversity and bases all hiring and promotion decisions solely on merit, without regard for any personal characteristics.
All employee and candidate information is kept confidential according to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
#LI-BM1 #WS
- Group company
- M+C Saatchi World Services
- Role
- MD Support
- Locations
- London
- Remote status
- Hybrid
London
About M+C Saatchi Group
M+C Saatchi Group was founded in 1995 and is now the biggest Independent creative agency group in the World. Founded on one core principle, Brutal Simplicity.