Business Director, Connections Planning - 6 month FTC

GROUPM; London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading media agency seeks a Business Director for a 6-month Fixed Term Contract, focusing on the Ford account in London. The role involves leading strategic media planning, managing complex budgets, and fostering collaboration among multiple teams to drive growth and deliver exceptional results.

Benefits

Health insurance

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Partner discounts

Mental health awareness days

Qualifications

• Experience in automotive or comparable industries.
• Ability to simplify complex client requests.
• Exceptional communication and relationship management skills.

Responsibilities

• Direct and oversee integrated media strategies for Ford UK.
• Lead strategic planning and annual budgeting.
• Maintain strong partnerships across Ford UK and VMLYR.

Skills

Strategic media planning

Relationship management

Budget management

Audience research

Communication

Leadership

Innovation

Education

Proven senior level experience

Tools

TGI

Touchpoints

Job description

Description

About WPP Media

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com.

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com

About Mindshare: A Leading WPP Media Brand

Mindshare delivers Good Growth for its clients. As “Growth Architects,' we drive growth that benefits all stakeholders — better for people, planet, and business — by using media with intention. This approach creates more meaningful connections with consumers, increases consumer trust in the brand, and delivers better outcomes for all stakeholders.

Role Summary and Impact

We are recruiting for a Business Director for a 6 month Fixed Term Contract, who is an exceptional and driven media planner, to join our Connections Planning team.

You will be working on the Ford account in the UK – the biggest auto advertiser and one of the biggest accounts at Mindshare. We work in a unique ‘full service’ model meaning that the media teams collaborate closely with creative and account management teams within the Ford agency structure (primarily working with VMLYR).

Therefore we foster a fully integrated team approach across media, creative and client, working together across the 3 team locations - 2 days (Mon-Tue) at Ford’s Dunton office (a short taxi from Shenfield on the Elizabeth Line- Travel costs are covered), 1 day (Wed) at VML Sea Containers House and 1 day (Thu) at Mindshare Rose Court.

Core Responsibilities

In this senior Planning role, your primary responsibilities include directing and overseeing the creation and execution of integrated media strategies that deliver outstanding business results for Ford UK. You will lead strategic planning, annual budgeting, and work with the ‘Live Planner’ to maintain ongoing campaign performance, with a particular focus on channel choice and consumer/category insight.

Strategic Leadership:

• Lead the development of strategic planning and annual media strategy – developing strong audience insights and using category understanding to inform campaign approaches and execution.
• Guide client teams during briefings making sure we have clear and actionable briefs.

Relationship Management:

• Maintain strong partnerships across Ford UK, VMLYR, Channel teams, central agency teams, and other cross-agency partners.
• Act as primary strategic liaison with VML teams for responsive inputs, creative assets, and delivery management.
• Ensure consistent, transparent communication across all campaign developments and changes.

Team Leadership:

• Direct and mentor the Connections Planning team, managing workloads, fostering professional growth, and ensuring the timely delivery of quality outputs.
• Oversee weekly status reporting, maintaining clear accountability for campaign outcomes.

Campaign and Budget Management:

• Own the strategic management and adaptive allocation of annual and campaign-specific budgets.
• Identify potential campaign risks and proactively manage mitigation strategies to safeguard performance.
• Ensure campaigns deliver effectively against set KPIs, adapting strategies in real-time as needed.

Innovation and Collaboration:

• Collaborate closely with central strategy teams to integrate local initiatives with broader strategies.
• Continuously explore and introduce innovative media solutions to enhance campaign effectiveness.
• Champion digital innovation and emerging media platforms to maintain Ford UK's competitive advantage.

Skills and Experience

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.

• Proven senior level experience in strategic media planning, ideally within automotive or comparable industries.
• Demonstratable ability to simplify and decipher complex client requests, clearly visualising strategic solutions, and guiding teams towards actionable approaches
• Extensive experience managing complex budgets, strategic planning, and team leadership.
• Expert-level knowledge of audience research, insights, and planning tools (e.g., TGI, Touchpoints), with awareness of supplementary media owner tools and data sources.
• Skilled in designing sophisticated measurement frameworks, demonstrating clear and actionable insights.
• Exceptional communication and relationship management skills, confidently presenting strategic recommendations to senior clients.
• Passionate about driving strategic innovation, demonstrating flexibility, proactivity, and a challenger mindset.
• Highly organized, with strong foresight and forward planning abilities, managing priorities proactively, anticipating client and team needs, and consistently delivering against deadlines.
• Committed to team development, collaborative work styles, and continuous personal growth.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location

Please read our Privacy Notice ( https://www.wppmedia.com/pages/privacy-policy) for more information on how we process the information you provide.

While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.