Media Client Partner

Whsmith; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid Working Model

4pm Friday Finish

Flexible Working

25 Days holiday

Birthday off

Bank Holidays with an opportunity to +

Family Friendly Leave

Company Pension scheme

Sharesave Scheme

Annual Bonus

Competitive Salary and Car Allowance

Private Medical

Cycle to work scheme

Staff Discount Card

Job summary

WHSmith is seeking a Media Client Partnerships Manager at our London HQ. You will manage retail media across the food and non-food categories, collaborating with internal buyers and brand partners to meet campaign objectives.

The role offers a hybrid working model, with a focus on driving growth, negotiating with brands, and optimizing media spend across the portfolio. You will build strong cross-functional partnerships and lead strategic initiatives.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in managing retail media sales or product buying.
• Experience activating, pitching and negotiating with brands.
• Excellent organisation and planning skills.
• Strong commercial acumen and influencing abilities.
• Self-starter, proactive and able to drive change.
• Team player with ability to support colleagues and share knowledge.
• Proven prioritisation and ability to manage ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Manage retail media for food or non-food by collaborating with internal buying teams and brand partners.
• Work with suppliers to understand campaign objectives and develop aligned campaigns.
• Hit sales, income and asset utilisation targets to maximise media yield.
• Develop category strategy and execute with the Buying team.
• Generate new ideas for campaigns and media assets to grow the portfolio.
• Build relationships with brands beyond shopper marketing to access incremental budgets.
• Ensure campaigns are loaded into systems for contracts and in-store execution.
• Be the primary contact for brands influencing media plans.
• Mentor the Media Sales Exec and foster knowledge sharing.

Skills

Retail media sales

Product buying

Organisation

Commercial acumen

Communication

Initiative

Teamwork

Prioritisation

Ambiguity management

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

WHSmith Support Centre, Aldgate Tower, London, London, City of, United Kingdom

Job Description

Posted Friday 31 July 2026 at 00:00

At WHSmith our people are at the heart of everything we do. They are the ones that go the extra mile for our customers, the ones that enable our growth. We are looking to hire a Media Client Partnerships Manager.

What you’ll be doing

• Manage the retail media for either the food or non-food category by working closely with our internal buying teams and our brand partners
• Work closely with suppliers to understand their campaign objectives and work with the team to develop campaigns that meet these
• Meet your sales, income and asset utilisation targets to achieve the overall commercial objectives. Ensure you are filling our media assets as well as achieving the best yield
• Develop your category strategy and execute it by working alongside the Media Client Partnerships Manager and the wider buying team
• Constantly think of new ideas, both campaigns and new media assets to further drive our retail media portfolio
• Develop relationships beyond shopper marketing teams with brands to access incremental budgets including attending brand days and showcasing our retail media portfolio
• Fully understand our joint business plans with suppliers and play your part in negotiating the retail media spend within it as well as generating incremental media spend
• Ensure all our retail media campaigns are loaded correctly into the appropriate systems both from a contract point of view and to ensure our operations team can execute the plans in store
• Be the go to contact for our brand partners for anything that influences our retail media plans
• Opportunity to manage the Media Sales Exec and supporting their personal development through coaching and knowledge sharing
• Play a part in creating a collaborative culture across the team where everyone feels valued and heard

What we are looking for

• Previous experience in managing either retail media sales or product buying
• Previous experience within a retailer preferred
• Experience in activating, pitching and negotiating with brands
• Excellent organisation and planning skills
• Excellent level of commercial acumen
• A strong communicator with an ability to influence all levels of the business
• A self-starter with the initiative to drive improvement and change without prompt
• A team player who can self manage but its willing and able to support colleagues and share best practice
• Proven experience in prioritisation and managing ambiguity
• Proven experience in using Excel and PowerPoint

How we reward our teams:

• Hybrid Working Model from home and in the office
• 4pm Friday Finish
• Flexible Working
• 25 Days holiday, plus your Birthday off, plus Bank Holidays with an opportunity to buy extra days holiday
• Family Friendly Leave
• Company Pension scheme
• Sharesave Scheme
• Annual Bonus based on company and personal performance
• Competitive Salary and Car Allowance
• Private Medical
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff Discount Card for railway stores (subject to policy)

About us:

Celebrating over 230 years, we’re proud to have grown and evolved into a globally recognised brand present in over 30 countries around the world, and we’re proud to be that air of familiarity people love and trust on their journey, both in life and through life. As a diverse group of over 5,000 colleagues, we are all on the same journey to a better business through our commitments to our planet, people and the communities we serve.

Our business operates from two key locations. Our UK Travel and International office is based in a vibrant area of London, close to Aldgate and Liverpool Street Station, while the other is located at Swindon's International Business Park, just off the M4 with excellent transport links and over 100 on-site parking spaces.

Across both locations, we're an ambitious team that thrives on pace, collaboration, and innovation. We foster an entrepreneurial culture where people are encouraged to take initiative, embrace new challenges, and help shape the future of our business.

At WHSmith we’re all about creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace where everyone can be themselves and do their best. No matter your background, age, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, race or ethnicity, marital status, religion, sex, sexual orientation or anything else that makes you, you—you’re welcome here.

We’re also open to flexible working where possible, so if that’s something you need, let’s chat. And if you need any adjustments during the selection process, just let our Talent Acquisition team know—we’re happy to help!

WHSmith Support Centre, Aldgate Tower, London, London, City of, United Kingdom