Associate Planning Director

Publicisgroupe; London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a talented Associate Planning Director to lead media planning for a prestigious global client. This role offers the chance to shape strategic media campaigns and drive performance across multiple markets. With a focus on collaboration and innovation, you will work within a dynamic team, leveraging insights to enhance client outcomes. The position promises professional growth and the opportunity to influence key projects while maintaining high standards of client service. Join a forward-thinking organization that values creativity and teamwork, and make a significant impact in the media landscape.

Benefits

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical

Income Protection Plans

Work Your World opportunity

Reflection Days

Help@Hand Benefits

Family Friendly Policies

Flexible Working

Birthday Day Off

Qualifications

• Proven experience in media planning and buying, ideally at a media agency.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record in managing complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead media planning direction for multiple markets, ensuring alignment with business needs.
• Oversee the delivery of cross-channel media strategies and campaign performance.

Skills

Media planning and buying

Team management

Campaign management

Data translation

Client communication

Interpersonal skills

Job description

Company description

We think big. And act bigger. Stay versatile and interconnected. We approach everything with an inventive spirit and rigorous mindset. Individually we’re great, but as a team we’re unstoppable. Together, we seek out opportunities, frame problems and solve complex challenges. Our collective brilliance exposes breakthroughs. Our capability unleashes creativity. We pursue a new perspective and deliver a new kind of ROI.

Zenith International is the central team, primarily based in London, supporting our local Zenith markets, leading new business efforts, developing thought-leadership, and driving network development for our 250 offices across 95 countries with over 8,000 staff worldwide.

We house a large team of multi-faceted communications planners, digital and innovation specialists and client leadership teams. Our global client portfolio comprises a range of category leaders including Adobe, Reckitt, TikTok, Edrington, Coty and Electrolux.

Our Commitment
At Zenith International, we believe that fostering an inclusive culture where all talent can thrive makes our company stronger and helps drive invention in the work we do for our clients better. We also believe it enables a greater idea exchange that fuels innovation and best reflects diverse consumer experiences.

We are committed to encouraging our talent to participate in Publicis Groupe’s wide variety of talent engagement and inclusion programming, which includes professional development experiences and participation in the company’s many business resource groups. These include VivaWomen!, Égalité, MOCA (Men Of Colour Alliance) and more than a dozen others that are thriving across our network.

Through advocacy, education and inclusion we foster greater collaboration among our people, which in turn inspires work that provides better experiences for our clients and their consumers.

Overview

Electrolux is a white goods company. Their mission is to create better living, and they have done this for 100 years. They strike the right balance between brand building and ecommerce, having recently launched their own D2C platform.

Electrolux is a marquee Publicis Media account and a client with high expectations, demanding excellence, accuracy, timeliness, and first class thinking. This role is an opportunity to work with one of the most successful multinational home appliance businesses.

Zenith have been their global media agency since 2013, and this partnership keeps on strengthening every year. In support of their recent restructure, we have secured an expanded scope which now includes being their single AOR, responsible for the media buying & activation remit across Europe, APMEA and LATAM (in support of their mission to centralise their media operation).

This Associate Planning Director role will play a critical role owning the delivery of the end-to-end media planning remit for Electrolux Commercial Areas (CA) South (IT, ES, FR, PT) and West (UK, IE, BE, NE, LU). You will be supported by a Planning Manager and will have the remit to leverage your channel specialists.

We are seeking a talented experienced planner with the ability to package planning insights up into clear, concise media planning rationales to be presented and discussed with client. This role offers a step into a client leadership while continuing to grow their planning and international media experience. You will have the opportunity to proactively impact how media planning and account management functions is implemented for your market as part of a network of local planning teams for Electrolux. If you are confident, value maintaining high standards of client servicing and can motivate, educate and influence team members, this role is for you.

You will lead the key in market media planning and reporting deliverables including:

• Annual planning: completion of RTB ppt and supporting Annual Media laydown xls
• Category campaign planning: a ppt response and supporting tactical plan xls
• The completion of a Central Zenith Category Campaign Summary ppt template
• Local Reporting: provision of QBR, PCA and Performance reports in ppt or xls format with support from local team and channel specialists

Responsibilities

• Ownership of the media planning direction for the markets with a mind to the business and marketing needs and objective settings
• Act as the cross-team leader, integrating all aspects of media to define and execute campaigns
• Provide clear cross channel media planning leadership for CA South & CA West including ownership for the delivery of detailed media plans with clear rationale on decision making (supported by the central digital hub)
• Ownership of the delivery of CA South & CA West cross-channel media strategies, with a drive to consistently strive for improvements which enhance Electrolux’s media performance in market
• Conduct the final quality check all planning documents including oversight of rationale and ensuring strategy and planning principles have been included
• Responsibility for, and governance of, the delivery of the media planning and activation including campaign set up, delivery and on-going optimisations in line with targets
• Using central templates, ownership of the production of the 4x quarterly campaign performance reviews for CA South & CA West leading the Quarterly Performance Review documents including the overview of delivered vs planned metrics, media costs, quality, environment, outcome and actions/ next steps recommendations
• Responsible for data delivery, commentary, quality checks and will present relevant slides
• Using central templates, ownership of the production of the PCAs as required based on media plan.
• Join all critical Central and Local Electrolux presentations when required including direct contact with Central and Local Electrolux when necessary
• Supervising, training and developing the skills of Planning Managers by managing workload, delegating responsibilities and checking work for accuracy
• Provide job performance feedback to direct report(s) to manage career trajectory of the junior talent and make recommendations to management
• Mentor and guide direct report(s) to ensure proper education for advancement
• Diplomatically diffuse escalated situations and provide targeted support
• Apply structure to all client and planning team meetings and maintain an organised and composed demeanour through busy periods.
• Drive strong cohesion between Central Performance hub, Campaign management and Local Planning/ Channel Planning team and Local media strategy specialists ensuring we work in step as “One Team”.

Qualifications

• Media planning and buying experience, preferably at a media agency
• Strong track record of leading a planning team, strategic planning, campaign management and managing complex planning projects – preferably at a media agency
• Excellent team management; motivational/ organisational/ interpersonal skills
• Proven track record of managing successful media campaigns and effectively collaboration with clients and internal teams alike
• Ability to translate data into well-articulated and actionable ideas
• Strong written and verbal skills, with ability to present to clients, maintain client correspondence and internal documentation
• Practical understanding of Media Planning, Activation and Ad Ops team functions and how they work together
• You can clearly, simply and convincingly articulate the role different channels play in the marketing landscape, contextualise the value of cross channel media strategy for overall client business goals and explain complex thinking in simple language
• Highly experienced speaking to clients and building strong internal/ external stakeholder relationships

Additional information

Zenith International has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees. In addition to the classics, Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical and Income Protection Plans we also offer;

• WORK YOUR WORLD opportunity to work anywhere in the world, where there is a Publicis office, for up to 6 weeks a year.
• REFLECTION DAYS - Two additional days of paid leave to step away from your usual day-to-day work and create time to focus on your well-being and self-care.
• HELP@HAND BENEFITS 24/7 helpline to support you on a personal and professional level. Access to remote GPs, mental health support and CBT. Wellbeing content and lifestyle coaching.
• FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES We provide 26 weeks of full pay for the following family milestones: Maternity. Adoption, Surrogacy and Shared Parental Leave.
• FLEXIBLE WORKING, BANK HOLIDAY SWAP & BIRTHDAY DAY OFF You are entitled to an additional day off for your birthday, from your first day of employment.
• GREAT LOCAL DISCOUNTS This includes membership discounts with Soho Friends, local restaurants and retailers in Westfield White City and Television Centre.

Full details of our benefits will be shared when you join us!

Publicis Groupe operates a hybrid working pattern with full time employees being office-based three days during the working week.

We are supportive of all candidates and are committed to providing a fair assessment process. If you have any circumstances (such as neurodiversity, physical or mental impairments or a medical condition) that may affect your assessment, please inform your Talent Acquisition Partner. We will discuss possible adjustments to ensure fairness. Rest assured, disclosing this information will not impact your treatment in our process.

Please make sure you check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).

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