Freelance Intelligence Director

Cape Town, WC · Ogilvy South Africa · Hybrid · Posted Sep 29, 2026

At a glance

Ogilvy has been creating impact for brands through iconic, culture-changing, value-driving ideas since the company was founded by David Ogilvy more than 75 years ago. It builds on that rich legacy through Borderless Creativity—innovating at the intersection of intelligence, imagination and influence, with experts across advertising, sports & entertainment, PR & social, consulting, and health collaborating seamlessly across more than 120 offices spanning 90 countries. Ogilvy was named Network of the Year at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and ranks as the #1 global agency network for creative excellence and effectiveness by WARC for the fourth consecutive year, signifying its ability to deliver creative solutions that drive unreasonable impact for clients and communities. Ogilvy is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel. For more information, visit Ogilvy.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook.

The Intelligence Director will lead a team to deliver high-quality data, insights, and analytics to clients to understand performance, trends, and impact.
This role involves collaborating across Media, Content, and Strategy teams to leverage advanced technologies and create actionable insights that improve strategic outputs.
The Director will consult across all intelligence deliverables and own intelligence delivery for Ogilvy and WPP agencies.

Lead a team within the Intelligence business unit and ensure products evolve through innovation.
Deliver high-quality service to local and international clients while enabling team professional development.
Establish strategic relationships with in-market teams and clients to achieve shared objectives.
Drive new business development and scale the team to meet global demand.
Manage incoming demand, prioritizing requests based on capacity and suitability.
Drive the development of analytical capability across the team and share knowledge.
Analyze social and digital media data using specialized tools.
Support planners in developing data-validated strategies.
Create new, commercially viable data products and design insightful reports.
Own the intelligence technology stack and act as the main point of contact for Client Servicing.

Minimum 8 years of experience in data analytics, insights, and strategy.
Minimum 3 years of experience managing a team.
Understanding of analytical possibilities on digital platforms.
Experience in social listening, data and analytics, data visualization, consumer research, and digital strategy.
Ability to develop strategic recommendations based on data from analytic tools and market research.
Proficiency in social and digital monitoring technologies.
Proven ability to work under pressure in an agency environment.
Skilful project management capabilities.