Global Operations Business Director

Publicis Groupe; 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

Starcom, part of Publicis Groupe, seeks a Business Director, Media Operations in London. You will shape global media operations and connect strategy with delivery, ensuring scalable processes across 70+ markets.

Lead cross-functional teams across media, finance, data and technology to drive performance for major brands. The role requires strategic thinking, strong stakeholder influence, and proven capability in transforming complex operations across regions.

Qualifications

• Broad knowledge of traditional and digital media operations.
• Experience delivering automation and process simplification in large organisations.
• Ability to lead global change programmes and translate strategy into plans.
• Strong commercial and financial operations knowledge, including POs, investment tracking, billing and reconciliation.
• Collaborative leadership with cross-functional influence across markets.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with constructive questioning of approaches.
• Familiarity with media analytics tools; Power BI or Copilot helpful.

Responsibilities

• Shape global media operations frameworks and translate them into regional plans.
• Establish governance, standards and playbooks for consistency and efficiency.
• Lead transformation programmes across media, finance, data and technology.
• Oversee PO management, investment tracking, reconciliation and reporting across markets.
• Identify and roll out automation and process improvements, measuring benefits.
• Partner with global and regional teams to resolve operational issues and scale improvements.
• Lead and develop distributed teams with focus on client outcomes.

Skills

Media operations

Automation

Global change programmes

Stakeholder management

Communication

MediaTools

Power BI

Tools

MediaTools

Microsoft Copilot

Power BI

Job description

Company description

With a history that dates back over 80 years, Starcom is a global communications planning and media leader. We are an agency still grounded in our founding principle that people are at the centre of all we do. Each day, we apply this belief to harness the transformative power of data and technology to inspire and move people and business forward. With more than 7,000 employees in over 100 offices around the world, we are the flagship Publicis Media agency that uses our ‘Power of One’ business model, with teams that span multiple disciplines across clients such as Aldi, P&G, Primark, Samsung, Stellantis, and Visa.

We place a huge focus on our People, and have driven flagship D&I and L&D programmes within Publicis Media; our goal is to help every individual reach their fullest potential, and we encourage everyone to make “Brave Plays” in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign’s Best Places to Work for five years in a row, Media Week's Agency of the Year 2025 and one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025.

Overview

Business Director, Media Operations

We are hiring a Business Director, Media Operations to shape how media operations work across a major global client partnership. Based at Television Centre in London, you’ll connect strategy with practical delivery, creating consistent and scalable ways of working across more than 70 markets. You’ll bring together media, finance, data, technology and regional teams to improve operational performance while supporting client growth. This is an opportunity to lead meaningful transformation across iconic brands in Snacking, Petcare, and Food & Nutrition.

Responsibilities

• Shape global media operations frameworks and turn them into practical implementation plans for regions and markets.
• Establish clear governance, standards and playbooks that improve consistency, efficiency and transparency.
• Lead operational transformation programmes across media, finance, data and technology.
• Oversee purchase-order management, investment tracking, reconciliation and financial reporting across markets and channels.
• Identify automation and process-improvement opportunities, lead their rollout and measure the benefits delivered.
• Partner with global, regional and local teams to resolve operational issues, address root causes and implement scalable improvements.
• Lead and develop distributed operational teams, including colleagues outside your direct reporting line, while maintaining a strong focus on client outcomes.

Qualifications

• Broad knowledge of traditional and digital media, including brand and performance media.
• Experience improving complex operations through automation, simplification, standardisation or process redesign.
• The ability to lead global change programmes and translate strategic priorities into clear, achievable plans.
• Strong commercial and financial operations knowledge, including purchase orders, media investment, billing or reconciliation.
• A collaborative leadership style, with experience guiding teams and influencing stakeholders across different functions and markets.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the judgement to question established approaches constructively and diplomatically.
• Confidence working with media platforms, reporting tools or analytics; experience with MediaTools, Power BI or Microsoft Copilot would be useful but is not essential.

#LI-CB2

Additional information

Starcom 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 Starcom, 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.