Operations Associate Director

UNAVAILABLE; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global media agency based in London is seeking an Operations Associate Director to manage client transitions, oversee operations, and ensure successful onboarding processes. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in media planning and project management, excellent communication skills, and experience in talent management. Flexible working arrangements and competitive benefits are offered.

Benefits

Work anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks a year

Two additional paid reflection days

24/7 helpline for personal and professional support

26 weeks full pay for family milestones

Birthday off from your first day of employment

Membership discounts at local restaurants and retailers

Qualifications

• Proven experience in managing media transitions and operations.
• Strong understanding of media planning, buying, and digital marketing technologies.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and manage multiple stakeholders.
• Proficiency in financial processes, contracts, and remuneration structures.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills.
• Experience in talent management, training, and onboarding.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end transition of newly won clients.
• Assemble the team and track transition performance.
• Work with legal and client teams to finalize agreements.
• Ensure team structure and track hiring.
• Manage handovers and transition campaigns.

Skills

Managing media transitions and operations

Understanding of media planning

Project management

Financial processes

Communication skills

Job description

Company Description

Spark Foundry make up part of a thriving global media network and are part of the Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s leading communications groups. We are globally connected with over 8,000 employees in 110 offices across 70 countries.

Who We Are in the UK?

Spark Foundry, the Acceleration Agency.

We help brands to identify, learn and respond to opportunities faster than the competition.

Every client has an area of their business they need to accelerate, from short-term goals to long-term transformation.

We’ve proven our approach during the most difficult year on record. Now we’re using it to provide a launchpad for their future.

Come be an accelerator with us.

How we accelerate

• Planning: an approach that works in practice rather than theory, arming planners with the ability to create cutting edge campaigns
• Intelligence: a suite of tools that give definitive answers to big questions, and uncovers actionable insights about real people
• Trading: a model built on flexibility and trusted relationships, underpinned with bold guarantees
• Relationships: a culture of asking challenging questions to better understand the brief – we are not a ‘yes’ agency
• People: a strong history of recruiting talent from diverse backgrounds and accelerating their careers

Our Commitment

We are diverse though our experience, people and the clients we look after - and we celebrate that diversity. Our people hold us accountable to our beliefs and via regular surveys and our grass roots D&I team, The Collective, and internal next generation board, Firestarters, we hold regular events and work continually towards generating ideas, initiatives and educating our people to ensure we are a diverse and inclusive agency.

As part of our dedication to create an inclusive and diverse workforce, Spark Foundry is committed to equal access to opportunity for people without regard to race, age, sex, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.

Job Description

As the Operations Associate Director you will be responsible for managing the end-to-end transition of newly won clients to Publicis Media. This role involves working closely with the appointed Client team and practice leads ie Legal, Finance, HR to oversee all aspects of the transition process, including onboarding from the incumbent, commercial agreements, financial setup, media strategy, planning, talent acquisition and operational frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Transition Management – Assemble core team, set up shared resources, schedule client kick-off and track transition performance.
• Commercial & Legal – Work with legal and client team to finalise AOR, MSA, SOW, and remuneration KPIs.
• Financial Setup – Establish billing, payment, and authorisation processes, define currency agreements, and provide a finance playbook.
• Talent Management – Work with Talent Acquisition to ensure team structure, DEI goals, track hiring, and onboarding occur and are reported on in a timely manner.
• Incumbent Transition – Manage handovers, review documentation, transition campaigns, and confirm project ownership timelines.
• Media Strategy & Planning – Align on workflow practices such as Prisma first, templates, approvals etc
• Digital & Data Integration – Work with Investment teams to audit tech stack, define data needs, set up ad tech access, and implement reporting frameworks.
• Programmatic & Paid Media Execution – Ensure platform access and align on billing profiles making sure set up is accurate
• Operations & Training – Define workflows, establish knowledge-sharing, confirm system access, and execute training programs across PO Tracker, CapSure and Meteor
• Taxonomy and Automated Reporting – Assess taxonomy dictionary, align with client, establish data governance, implement automated reporting and train team.
• Operations Team Support – Work closely with the operations team to ensure smooth processes in the first three to six months, troubleshoot workflow issues, and step in where needed.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role you will need:

• Proven experience in managing media transitions and operations
• Strong understanding of media planning, buying, and digital marketing technologies
• Excellent project management and organisational skills
• Ability to work cross-functionally and manage multiple stakeholders
• Proficiency in financial processes, contracts, and remuneration structures
• Strong communication and negotiation skills
• Experience in talent management, training, and onboarding

Additional Information

Spark has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees. In addition to the classics, Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical and IncomeProtectionPlans we also offer;

• WORK YOUR WORLD opportunity to work anywhere in the world, where there is a Publicis office, for up to 6 weeks a year.
• REFLECTION DAYS - Two additional days of paid leave to step away from your usual day-to-day work and create time to focus on your well-being and self-care.
• HELP@HAND BENEFITS 24/7 helpline to support you on a personal and professional level. Access to remote GPs, mental health support and CBT. Wellbeing content and lifestyle coaching.
• FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES We provide 26 weeks of full pay for the following family milestones: Maternity. Adoption, Surrogacy and Shared Parental Leave.
• FLEXIBLE WORKING, BANK HOLIDAY SWAP & BIRTHDAY DAY OFF You are entitled to an additional day off for your birthday, from your first day of employment.
• GREAT LOCAL DISCOUNTS This includes membership discounts with Soho Friends, local restaurants and retailers in Westfield White City and Television Centre.

Some details of our benefits will be shared when you join us.

Publicis Groupe operates a hybrid working pattern with full time employees being office-based three days during the working week.

We are supportive of all candidates and are committed to providing a fair assessment process. If you have any circumstances (such as neurodiversity, physical or mental impairments or a medical condition) that may affect your assessment, please inform your Talent Acquisition Partner. We will discuss possible adjustments to ensure fairness. Rest assured, disclosing this information will not impact your treatment in our process.

Please make sure you check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).