Head, Ads Strategy

About Grab and Our Workplace

Grab is Southeast Asia's leading superapp. From getting your favourite meals delivered to helping you manage your finances and getting around town hassle-free, we've got your back with everything. In Grab, purpose gives us joy and habits build excellence, while harnessing the power of Technology and AI to deliver the mission of driving Southeast Asia forward by economically empowering everyone, with heart, hunger, honour, and humility.

Get to Know the Team

GrabAds helps brands connect with consumers across Grab's ecosystem—mobility, food, mart, and payments—through privacy-centric, commerce-driven advertising. We combine rich first-party intent and purchase signals with full-funnel media solutions and closed-loop measurement to drive real business outcomes for advertisers.

Get to Know the Role

As Head, Ads Strategy, you will own strategic engagement with Chief Marketing Officers, FMCG marketing heads, and agency leadership across Philippines and potentially Southeast Asia. You will help senior clients clarify their growth objectives, translate these into measurable media and commerce strategies on Grab, and shape ad offerings—solutions, packaging, and measurement—to best fit their needs. You will be the senior consultative partner who bridges client goals, agency planning, and Grab's product capabilities, while advancing scalable playbooks for the country.

As Head, Ads Strategy, you will report to the Director, Commercial and work onsite in the Grab Pasig City office.

The Critical Tasks You Will Perform

• Executive engagement and discovery
  • Lead C-level and senior agency conversations to define business objectives (e.g., penetration, trial, frequency, new launches, category share, basket size, loyalty).
  • Distill briefs into clear problem statements, target audiences, and success metrics across awareness, consideration, conversion, and retention.
• Strategy and solution design
  • Architect full-funnel plans leveraging on-app media, search, sponsored listings, sampling/CRM, and off-app extensions where relevant.
  • Create objective-led solution bundles and commercial constructs (e.g., JBPs, always-on, seasonal packages) with clear KPIs and measurement plans.
  • Build test-and-learn roadmaps (A/B tests, holdouts, geo-experiments) and recommend brand lift, sales lift, MMM/MTA where appropriate.
• Measurement and outcomes
  • Define success frameworks (reach/attention, consideration, conversion, incrementality, LTV) and oversee robust pre/post and always-on reporting.
  • Translate performance into executive-ready narratives; turn insights into action plans and future bets.
• Agency leadership enablement
  • Partner with holding companies, media planning leads, and commerce teams to embed GrabAds into upstream planning.
  • Deliver POVs, playbooks, and training to elevate Grab's role in brand, shopper, and commerce media.
• Product, packaging, and GTM influence
  • Provide structured feedback to Product and Ops on targeting, formats, search/retail media, creative, measurement, and brand safety.
  • Co-create scalable offerings, pricing, and betas that map to FMCG and multi-vertical use cases.
• Commercial impact
  • Support sales with executive pitches and negotiation strategy; shape JBPs and renewal narratives.
  • Build case studies and category playbooks that drive adoption, retention, and upsell.
• Governance and ways of working
  • Ensure compliance with privacy, data governance, and brand-safety standards.
  • Drive rigorous pipeline, forecast inputs, and quarterly business reviews (QBR/EBR).

What Essential Skills You Will Need

• 10+ years in digital advertising, retail/commerce media, brand strategy, or consulting, with a strong FMCG and agency ecosystem background in SEA.
• Proven C-suite presence and consultative selling/strategy experience with CMOs, marketing heads, and agency leadership.
• Deep understanding of brand and performance KPIs (reach/attention, SOV, consideration, ROAS, incrementality, penetration, frequency, LTV) and how to operationalize them.
• Strong command of measurement: brand lift, sales lift, incrementality tests, MMM/MTA basics, and experimentation frameworks.
• Fluency in media planning, shopper/commerce media, and the agency commercial model (briefing → strategy → activation → measurement).
• Data storytelling skills: synthesize complex insights into simple, executive-ready recommendations.
• Product-minded: ability to translate client needs into solution requirements, packaging, and GTM enablement.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and negotiation skills; comfortable leading multi-stakeholder workstreams.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent strategic/consulting experience a plus.
• Regional experience across Southeast Asia and willingness to travel 10-20%.

Life at Grab

We care about your well-being at Grab, here are some of the global benefits we offer:

• We have your back with Term Life Insurance and comprehensive Medical Insurance.
• With GrabFlex, create a benefits package that suits your needs and aspirations.
• Celebrate moments that matter in life with loved ones through Parental and Birthday leave, and give back to your communities through Love-all-Serve-all (LASA) volunteering leave
• We have a confidential Grabber Assistance Programme to guide and uplift you and your loved ones through life's challenges.
• Balancing personal commitments and life's demands are made easier with our FlexWork arrangements such as differentiated hours

What We Stand For at Grab

We are committed to building an inclusive and equitable workplace that enables diverse Grabbers to grow and perform at their best. As an equal opportunity employer, we consider all candidates fairly and equally regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, family commitments, physical and mental impairments or disabilities, and other attributes that make them unique.