Client Director

The7stars; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Private medical insurance

Pension

Season-ticket loans

Seven-week sabbatical

EV scheme

Birthday off

Job summary

the7stars is seeking a Planning Client Director to oversee two major accounts in retail and financial services from the London hub. You will unite Planning, Strategy, Activation and Insights to deliver integrated media and strong client outcomes, while coaching Account Directors and expanding the team’s capabilities.

You'll operate with a strong digital focus, challenging specialists and translating technical recommendations into clear client guidance for senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Strong agency-side media planning and client leadership experience.
• Operating at Business Director or Senior Account Director level.
• Ability to translate complex digital/technical recommendations into clear client guidance.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and senior client relationships across two major accounts.
• Develop deep understanding of each client's business and commercial priorities.
• Create integrated media and communications strategies across Planning, Strategy, Activation and Insights.
• Oversee full-funnel planning across brand, digital and performance media.
• Coach and develop Account Directors and wider account teams.

Skills

Integrated media planning

Digital knowledge

Client leadership

Team leadership

Strategic thinking

AI awareness

Job description

We're looking for a Planning Client Director to join the7stars, leading two significant and very different client relationships across retail and financial services.

This is a senior client leadership role, owning the overall planning relationship and bringing together teams across planning, strategy, activation and insight to deliver brilliant work. You'll have responsibility for the quality of the team's output, while coaching and developing the Account Directors and wider team around you.

There's a strong digital component to the role. You don't need to be the person operating platforms day-to-day, but you'll need enough depth across digital and performance media to challenge specialists, understand how channels work together and turn technical recommendations into clear advice for clients.

The two accounts offer quite different challenges.

One is a major UK retail business operating in a fast-moving, trading-focussed environment. Planning is genuinely agile: trading performance can change week by week, priorities move quickly and the client expects its agency team to respond. You'll be working across full-funnel media, spanning both brand and performance activity, and you'll need the confidence to think on your feet, defend your recommendations and push back constructively when required. This reflects the brief's emphasis on fast-paced retail planning and being able to stand ideas up to scrutiny.

The other is a large global investment business with a longstanding agency relationship. Here, the emphasis is more heavily on long-term brand building, alongside performance activity, as the business continues to grow its presence in the UK. You'll join an established account team at an important point in the evolution of the brand and help shape what comes next.

It's a good role for someone who enjoys being close to clients and their businesses rather than simply overseeing delivery from a distance. You'll need to understand what's driving their commercial priorities, bring a point of view and be comfortable having robust conversations with senior stakeholders.

What You'll Be Doing

• Leading the planning and senior client relationship across two major accounts.
• Developing a deep understanding of each client's business, category and commercial priorities.
• Bringing together Planning, Strategy, Activation and Insights to create integrated media and communications strategies.
• Leading full-funnel planning across brand, digital and performance media.
• Ensuring the quality of plans and continually improving them through better thinking, innovation and effectiveness.
• Acting as a senior escalation point and trusted adviser to clients.
• Bringing proactive ideas, market developments and opportunities to senior stakeholders rather than waiting for briefs.
• Leading, coaching and developing Account Directors and the wider account teams.
• Helping teams adopt new tools, technology and AI within the planning process.
• Contributing to new business and the wider development of planning across the agency.

About You

We're looking for someone with strong agency-side media planning and client leadership experience.

You'll probably already be operating at Business Director level, or at a Senior Account Director level ready to step up, and you'll be comfortable taking ownership of significant client relationships.

You'll bring:

• Strong integrated media planning experience, with particularly good digital knowledge.
• Experience working with complex, commercially demanding clients; retail or similarly fast-moving experience would be especially relevant.
• The ability to understand performance and trading pressures while retaining a broader strategic perspective.
• Confidence with senior clients - including the ability to challenge, push back and defend a recommendation when you believe it's right.
• Strong knowledge of digital and performance media and how it fits within the wider marketing mix.
• The ability to turn complex or technical subjects into clear recommendations for clients.
• Experience leading and developing teams, particularly Account Directors and Account Managers.
• A practical, hands-on approach - someone prepared to get involved rather than simply delegate.
• Curiosity around new technology and AI and how it can improve planning and client work.

About the7stars

the7stars is the UK's largest independent media agency, built around a simple philosophy:

Freedom.

That freedom shapes how the agency plans and buys media, develops its people and works with clients. It's an open, collaborative environment where people are encouraged to question, contribute ideas and take ownership of their careers.

The agency has around 300 people in the UK and works with a broad range of brands, while also operating through an international network of independent agency partners.

Benefits, Perks & Ways of Working

• Uncounted holiday
• Your birthday off
• Discretionary summer profit share & Christmas bonus
• Hybrid & flexible working - Monday to Thursday in the Covent Garden office, with Friday hybrid
• Work from anywhere for up to two weeks each year
• Personalised training & coaching
• Private medical insurance & Medicash
• Enhanced family-friendly policies
• Pension
• Life assurance & income protection
• Personal finance advice
• Season-ticket loans
• Tech & Cycle to Work schemes
• Electric Vehicle scheme
• Seven-week sabbatical after seven years
• Long-service profit share
• New Business Bonus

the7stars is committed to creating a diverse environment, where employees feel empowered to share different ideas, perspectives and experiences in a collaborative and creative work environment. Equality and inclusion are at the heart of our culture. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.