Performance Planning Director

Havas Media Network; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Havas Media Network in Toronto is seeking a Performance Planning Director who bridges strategy and activation, turning business objectives into actionable performance plans across paid social, programmatic, search and other digital channels.

You will translate broader brand goals into performance strategies, balance upper- and lower-funnel activity, and collaborate with Activation teams to optimize campaigns, budgets, and outcomes while staying curious about new platform capabilities.

Qualifications

• Strong end-to-end knowledge of performance media platforms across Paid Search, Social, Programmatic and other digital channels.
• Solid understanding of platform capabilities - audiences, budgets, placements, creative, measurement, and optimization.
• A strong passion for tactical planning and curiosity about how campaigns can be built and optimized to perform better.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to move beyond reporting numbers to identify meaningful actions.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple campaigns and priorities.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical and tactical concepts clearly to both internal and client-facing audiences.
• Strong storytelling skills, with the ability to connect upper- and lower-funnel media, clearly articulating how each contributes to performance and broader business outcomes.
• Proactive and self-sufficient, with the ability to identify opportunities, solve problems and confidently manage multiple priorities with limited direction.

Responsibilities

• Translate media strategies and business objectives into clear, actionable performance plans across paid social, programmatic, search, and other digital channels.
• Develop channel and platform recommendations across audience, budget, bidding, targeting, placements, creative, and optimization tactics.
• Identify opportunities to improve campaign efficiency and performance through thoughtful tactical planning.
• Build full-funnel campaign approaches that balance short-term performance objectives with longer-term brand, customer, and business outcomes.
• Build connected, full-funnel approaches that define the role of upper- and lower-funnel media and how they work together against shared business objectives.
• Translate broader brand and customer objectives into performance strategies, ensuring lower-funnel activity builds on the audiences, signals, and momentum created by upper-funnel investment.
• Stay curious about new platform capabilities, betas, formats, audience solutions, and emerging performance tactics.
• Demonstrate strong working knowledge of relevant advertising platforms and their tactical capabilities.
• Manage planned budgets, roll over and communicate changes based on performance requirements.

Job description

We’re looking for a Performance Planning Director that can bridge the gap between strategy and activation, combining deep platform knowledge with strong tactical planning expertise. The role turns business and media objectives into clear, actionable performance plans, grounded in an understanding of how campaigns are activated, optimized, measured, and evolved in-market.

The ideal candidate is a confident, self-sufficient planner that sees beyond platform execution. They understand the full campaign lifecycle and how upper- and lower-funnel media work together to drive business outcomes. They are naturally curious about what drives performance, bringing together audience, channel, budget, bidding, creative, measurement, and optimization considerations to develop smarter tactical recommendations.

What You’ll Do

Tactical Planning

• Translate media strategies and business objectives into clear, actionable performance plans across paid social, programmatic, search, and other digital channels.
• Develop channel and platform recommendations across audience, budget, bidding, targeting, placements, creative, and optimization tactics.
• Identify opportunities to improve campaign efficiency and performance through thoughtful tactical planning.
• Build full-funnel campaign approaches that balance short-term performance objectives with longer-term brand, customer, and business outcomes.
• Build connected, full-funnel approaches that define the role of upper- and lower-funnel media and how they work together against shared business objectives.
• Translate broader brand and customer objectives into performance strategies, ensuring lower-funnel activity builds on the audiences, signals, and momentum created by upper-funnel investment.
• Stay curious about new platform capabilities, betas, formats, audience solutions, and emerging performance tactics.
• Demonstrate strong working knowledge of relevant advertising platforms and their tactical capabilities.
• Manage planned budgets, roll over and communicate changes based on performance requirements.

Performance Analysis & Optimization

• Turn performance data into clear insights and actionable recommendations.
• Make clear recommendations to test and refine targeting, budget allocation, creative, and platform tactics.
• Evaluate performance within the context of the broader media plan, considering how upper-funnel activity may influence lower-funnel outcomes and optimization decisions.
• Connect platform metrics to broader campaign and business KPIs, helping teams understand how activity across the funnel contributes to overall performance.
• Understand the relationship between platform-level performance and broader campaign/business outcomes.
• As a part of the Activation team, partner closely with Strategic Planning and Client Experience teams to ensure tactical plans align with the overall media strategy.
• Clearly articulate the rationale behind tactical recommendations and campaign decisions.
• Bring a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset to campaign challenges.
• Share platform knowledge and best practices with the broader Activation team.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong end-to-end knowledge of performance media platforms across Paid Search, Social, Programmatic and other digital channels, with hands-on experience across key platforms.
• A solid understanding of platform capabilities - audiences, budgets, placements, creative, measurement, and optimization - work together.
• A strong passion for tactical planning and curiosity about how campaigns can be built and optimized to perform better.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to move beyond reporting numbers to identify meaningful actions.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple campaigns and priorities.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical and tactical concepts clearly to both internal and client-facing audiences.
• Strong storytelling skills, with the ability to connect upper- and lower-funnel media, clearly articulating how each contributes to performance and broader business outcomes.
• Proactive and self-sufficient, with the ability to identify opportunities, solve problems and confidently manage multiple priorities with limited direction.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means being a trusted bridge between client strategy and tactical execution, connecting upper- and lower-funnel objectives into a cohesive media approach and clearly articulating the role of each channel, the rationale behind recommendations, and the outcomes we expect to drive.

You bring a strong understanding of media platforms and a strategic mindset that goes beyond building plans. You proactively challenge assumptions, identify opportunities, and continuously refine the media approach, understanding how investment across the funnel works together, to ensure every investment is purposeful, connected to client objectives, and positioned to deliver measurable results.