Business Development Director

Publicis Groupe ANZ; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical cover

Reflection Days

Shared Parental Leave

Job summary

Publicis Connected Media UK is seeking a Business Development Director to lead major new business pitches and define differentiated client solutions that deliver real business impact. You will sit at the heart of our growth agenda, partnering with senior agency leaders to shape winning strategies and compelling narratives.

You will translate client briefs into strategic direction, build deep understanding of client needs and market opportunities, and guide teams through excellence in submissions

Qualifications

• Strong experience within a business development, growth or new business leadership role.
• Proven track record of contributing to successful pitches and business growth initiatives.
• Ability to connect insights, strategy and commercial outcomes into compelling recommendations.
• Confidence building relationships and influencing senior stakeholders across diverse teams.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong judgement, attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality work.
• Experience leading, mentoring or developing team members while fostering collaboration and shared success.

Responsibilities

• Lead the direction and delivery of major new business pitches across Publicis Connected Media.
• Partner with senior agency leaders to define winning strategies and create differentiated client propositions.
• Translate client briefs into clear strategic direction, ensuring every submission is focused, relevant and commercially compelling.
• Build deep understanding of client businesses, industry trends, competitor activity and emerging market opportunities.
• Shape engaging narratives that bring together insights, innovation and business impact into a cohesive story.
• Gather and synthesise decision-maker intelligence to support engagement strategies and strengthen pitch effectiveness.
• Champion excellence across written submissions, presentations and project delivery, while supporting and developing colleagues throughout the process.

Skills

Business development leadership

Pitching & storytelling

Stakeholder management

Strategy & insights

Relationship building

Job description

Company description

Publicis Connected Media UKis a fully end-to-end offering that unites media, commerce, CXM, social and data to deliver connected consumerexperiences and drive exceptional business outcomes for our clients.

Powered by Publicis Connected Identity, the UK's richest people-based data set built on real behaviours, it helps major brands move beyond siloed marketing and make more confident decisions in fast-changing conditions. Those insights truly differentiate our AI and agentic solutions to predict impact, create messaging and reach the right people.

The more than 3500-strong team spans Starcom, Zenith, Spark Foundry, Digitas, Performics, PMX, Epsilon,Lotame,Publicis Commerceand Influential. Publicis Connected Media is part of Publicis Groupe.

Overview

We are hiring a Business Development Director to play a pivotal role in shaping how Publicis Connected Media wins and grows. This is an opportunity to sit at the heart of our growth agenda, leading some of our most important pitches and helping to define compelling client solutions that deliver real business impact. Working closely with senior leaders across our agencies, you'll combine strategic thinking, client understanding and storytelling expertise to create standout propositions that differentiate us in the market. If you're motivated by collaboration, creativity and the opportunity to influence high-profile opportunities, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead the direction and delivery of major new business pitches across Publicis Connected Media.
• Partner with senior agency leaders to define winning strategies and create differentiated client propositions.
• Translate client briefs into clear strategic direction, ensuring every submission is focused, relevant and commercially compelling.
• Build deep understanding of client businesses, industry trends, competitor activity and emerging market opportunities.
• Shape engaging narratives that bring together insights, innovation and business impact into a cohesive story.
• Gather and synthesise decision-maker intelligence to support engagement strategies and strengthen pitch effectiveness.
• Champion excellence across written submissions, presentations and project delivery, while supporting and developing colleagues throughout the process.

Skills we’re looking for:

• Strong experience within a business development, growth or new business leadership role.
• A proven track record of contributing to successful pitches and business growth initiatives.
• The ability to connect insights, strategy and commercial outcomes into compelling recommendations.
• Confidence building relationships and influencing senior stakeholders across diverse teams.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong judgement, attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality work.
• Experience leading, mentoring or developing team members while fostering collaboration and shared success.

Additional information

Publicis Media offers a wide range of benefits to support our employees. Full details are shared when you join, but highlights include core benefits such as Pension, Life Assurance, and Private Medical cover, alongside enhanced policies like Reflection Days and Shared Parental Leave. You'll also have access to a range of additional initiatives, including:

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

Publicis Groupe works primarily from the office or our clients' office four days per week.

At Publicis Media, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.

We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition, please let us know. We'll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application.

Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.