Business Director - 12 month FTC

Publicis Groupe UK; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical cover

Reflection Days

Shared Parental Leave

Job summary

Zenith UK is hiring a Business Director on a 12-month fixed-term contract to lead Essity and related brands. You will set the strategic direction, oversee 1–2 smaller accounts, and build senior client relationships, delivering innovative media solutions and strong commercial outcomes.

You’ll manage forecasting, resources and profitability while fostering an inclusive team culture that supports growth and collaboration across the wider Publicis network.

Qualifications

• Strong strategic media planning capability translating insights into clear media strategies.
• Experience with data-driven approaches like MMM, MTA, and brand tracking to inform decisions.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with senior clients and partners, navigating challenges.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning team and set the strategic direction for Essity, delivering best-in-class media solutions.
• Develop trusted senior client relationships with strategic thinking and proactive collaboration.
• Oversee 1–2 smaller accounts, ensuring high-quality delivery across your portfolio.
• Create efficient processes and promote cross-team collaboration to generate brilliant work.
• Own account commercials, including forecasting, resource management, profitability and growth opportunities.
• Lead and develop a planning team in an inclusive, supportive environment.
• Collaborate with Zenith, Publicis Media, partner agencies and suppliers to bring network expertise to clients.

Skills

Strategic media planning

MMM & MTA

Senior client relationships

Forecasting & profitability

Team leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Company Description

Zenith is the ROI agency.We help brands make Bold Moves in communications to drive profitable, measurable growth.

At Zenith, Bold Moves are big, brave shifts to strategy, data, audience or activation. They’re grounded in evidence, backed by rigorous forecasting and designed to deliver stronger returns for clients and better experiences for consumers. We work as empathetic partners, taking the time to understand our clients’ businesses and tying our success to theirs.

Part of Publicis Media, Zenith has over 5,000 specialists across 90 markets. In the UK, we work with leading organisations including The Very Group, Macmillan and Morrisons – helping them make smarter, more impactful choices to unlock growth. We believe an inclusive culture strengthens our business, enabling greater idea exchange, innovation and creativity, and we actively encourage our people to drive positive change.

Overview

We’re hiring a Business Director for a 12-month fixed-term contract, starting in February 2027. This is an exciting opportunity to take the lead onEssity, a major multinational hygiene and health client with an annual media budget of c. £25m. You’ll work across household-name brands spanning Personal Care, includingTENA and Bodyform, and Consumer Tissue, includingCushelle and Plenty, alongside1–2 other smaller accounts. Essity is known for work that aims to break barriers to wellbeing and challenge social taboos through thought-provoking consumer communications.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead the planning team and set the strategic direction for Essity, creating outstanding work and innovative, best-in-class media solutions.
• Build trusted senior client relationships, bringing strategic thinking, constructive challenge and consistently excellent client service.
• Oversee 1–2 other smaller accounts, ensuring strong strategic thinking and high-quality delivery across your portfolio.
• Create the conditions for brilliant work by establishing clear, effective processes and encouraging collaboration across the team.
• Take ownership of account commercials, including accurate forecasting, resource management, profitability and identifying sustainable growth opportunities.
• Lead, support and develop a talented planning team, creating an inclusive culture where people can thrive and progress.
• Collaborate across Zenith, Publicis Media, partner agencies and suppliers to unlock new opportunities, share great work and bring the best of the wider network to your clients.

Qualifications

• Strong strategic media planning experience, with the ability to turn insight and data into clear, effective media strategies.
• Experience working with data-driven approaches such as MMM, MTA and brand tracking, and using these insights to inform strategic decisions.
• The ability to build trusted relationships with senior clients and partners, navigating challenges collaboratively and confidently.
• Strong commercial judgement, with experience managing forecasting, resources and account profitability.
• Experience leading and developing teams, creating an environment where different perspectives are valued and people are supported to grow.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to balance multiple priorities while maintaining high standards of work.
• A curious, proactive and collaborative approach, with a willingness to champion great ideas and help turn them into meaningful outcomes.

Additional Information

Zenith UK 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:

• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Private Medical cover
• Reflection Days
• Shared Parental Leave

Please check out thePublicis 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 Zenith UK, 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.

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