Account Director (Planning)

UNAVAILABLE; City Of London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A global agency is seeking a Regional Leader for media planning across multiple EMEA markets for a prestige beauty company. This pivotal role requires at least 5 years of experience in media planning leadership and the ability to develop omnichannel strategies. You will ensure regional and global objectives are met while managing complex campaigns and collaborating with various teams. A competitive package is offered.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 years in media planning leadership with direct responsibility for multiple markets within EMEA.
• Proven ability to develop omnichannel media strategies.
• Experience working in international organisations and navigating diverse EMEA markets.

Responsibilities

• Oversee media planning across EMEA markets.
• Lead creation and refinement of planning frameworks.
• Provide senior leadership across campaign planning.
• Engage with senior client stakeholders and provide updates.

Skills

Media planning leadership

Omnichannel media strategies

Budget management

Coordination skills

Microsoft Excel

Presentation skills

Tools

Microsoft PowerPoint

Media and analytics platforms

Job description

About Us

At Assembly, our mission is to find the change that fuels growth. We apply this principle to the work we do with our clients and to how we engage with our people. We’re a modern global agency bringing together media, data, technology and talent to make brands perform.

Our business is purpose driven. In March 2022, we were named Ad Age’s first ever Purpose-Led Agency of the Year, recognised for our mission to leave the world better than we found it. This year we became B Corp certified, the result of a two-year journey. We’re proud to have created a culture where diversity of thought, experience, and background are valued, within an environment that fosters continuous learning, adaptability, and a shared passion for meaningful impact.

When you join Assembly, you become part of an award-winning global community of digitally led experts, home to 1,500 talented people across 25 offices globally. Together we create unique data, technology and media solutions that enable faster and smarter problem solving within an inspired, collaborative workplace.

Assembly is poised for its next chapter of growth. We’re a meritocratic, high-performance business with a progressive outlook and a growth mindset in all that we do. To realise our potential we need some new skills and thinking.

The core DNA of Assembly lies in digital performance marketing. New and existing clients are asking us to extend this expertise across all media, connecting traditional channels with digital methods of execution, measurement and automation. We were born the right way to do this – we’re building out from a leading digital and technology capability and adding the rest, rather than trying to reverse engineer a legacy business into a more modern version of itself. At Assembly we ask our people to embody three core values:

Show Up: actively contribute to a space of personal and collective growth

Make Change: embrace obstacles as opportunities, taking intentional steps to drive positive change

Win Well: approach success with integrity, responsibility, and a commitment to collaboration, understanding that the journey is as important as the destination.

We look forward to meeting you and to discussing how we can grow together.

Overview

Join Assembly and step into a pivotal regional leadership role, shaping strategic media planning and operations across multiple key EMEA markets for one of the world’s largest global prestige beauty companies.

We are seeking a highly experienced and digitally proficient professional who thrives in a regional capacity, balancing high-level strategic thinking with market-specific insights. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in integrated, omnichannel media planning, with the ability to guide markets toward best practices, drive regional brand strategies, and oversee smooth market operations across their assigned portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Regional Leadership: Oversee media planning across a portfolio of EMEA markets, ensuring local strategies ladder up to regional and global brand objectives.

• Best Practice Development: Lead the creation, refinement, and rollout of planning frameworks and operational standards to drive consistency, efficiency, and excellence across markets.

• Strategic Market Guidance: Partner with local market teams to translate regional strategies into local market-relevant media plans, connecting insights from regional strategies to local market relevancy.

• Campaign Oversight: Provide senior leadership across campaign planning, ensuring high-quality strategy development, flawless execution, and robust measurement.

• Client & Stakeholder Engagement: Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders in local and regional settings, providing proactive thought leadership and timely updates on market and category dynamics.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with activation, data, and creative teams regionally to deliver integrated planning recommendations and solutions.

• Financial & Operational Governance: Oversee financial and operational processes across assigned markets, ensuring compliance with internal controls, budget accuracy, and efficient reporting.

• Performance & Learning: Lead post-campaign reviews across markets, extracting learnings to inform future strategies and embedding continuous improvement across the region.

Required Skills

• A minimum of 5 years in media planning leadership with direct responsibility for multiple markets within EMEA.

• Proven ability to develop omnichannel media strategies spanning digital, offline, and social, with an emphasis on luxury, beauty, or FMCG brands.

• Strong background in overseeing large, multi-market budgets, with skills in reconciliation, reporting, and ensuring operational accuracy.

• Excellent coordination skills, able to manage complex regional programs across multiple teams, time zones, and stakeholders.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; familiarity with media and analytics platforms, DSPs, and biddable media tools.

• Experience working in international organisations and navigating the nuances of diverse EMEA markets.

• Ability to mentor, guide, and influence teams, embedding best practice and raising the standard of planning across markets.

• Strong problem-solving, negotiation, and presentation skills, with the gravitas to engage senior client stakeholders.

• Ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations that drive measurable impact.

• Experience within beauty, luxury, or FMCG is a strong plus.

Equal Opportunities

Assembly is an advocate for equal opportunity in the workplace. We are committed to ensuring equal opportunities regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability and gender identity. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.