Operations Executive

UNAVAILABLE; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading media agency is seeking an Operations Executive to support financial administration including approval, booking, and reconciliation of campaigns. This entry-level role requires a self-motivated individual with excellent numeracy skills and proficiency in Excel. Join a vibrant team and contribute to a dynamic environment focused on growth and learning.

Benefits

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical

WORK YOUR WORLD

REFLECTION DAYS

HELP@HAND BENEFITS

FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES

FLEXIBLE WORKING

BANK HOLIDAY SWAP

BIRTHDAY DAY OFF

GREAT LOCAL DISCOUNTS

Qualifications

• Exceptional skills in numerical data handling.
• Ability to quickly learn new systems and databases.
• Must be highly organized and manage time effectively.

Responsibilities

• Maintain client media plan approvals.
• Ensure accurate invoicing and payment tracking.
• Resolve vendor invoice queries promptly.

Skills

Self-driven

Strong communicator

Project management

Maths and numeracy

Data interpretation

Excel proficiency

Deadline management

Critical thinking

Tools

Excel

Job description

Company Description

Publicis Media

Publicis Media helps clients drive sustainable business growth by harnessing the modern media landscape to drive one-to-one consumer connections at scale. Publicis Media UK is made up of 2000 people working across market-leading media agencies including Zenith, Starcom and Spark Foundry as well as specialist practices Publicis Media Exchange (PMX), Performics, Publicis Sport & Entertainment, Publicis Media Content and NextTECHnow.

Together they combine deep expertise in media investment, strategy, insights and analytics, data and technology, commerce, performance marketing and content. Publicis Media is part of Publicis Groupe and is present in more than 100 countries with over 23,500 employees worldwide.

We are currently to hire for a number of Operations Executives in:

Starcom

With a history that dates back over 80 years, Starcomis 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, P&O Ferries, 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 three years in a row (2021, 2022 and 2023) and most excitingly, Media Week's Agency of the Year 2023!

Zenith

We help brands make BOLD MOVES

Nowadays, brands want rapid, spectacular growth and they expect media to deliver it.

Clients used to give us media briefs that said “deliver 80% awareness” or “give me an impactful Christmas campaign.”

Now we hear

“Take me from 4th to 1st in my category”

“Help me grow 10% in a market declining 10%”

“Make me the most loved brand in my industry”

These are huge asks of media, that can’t be met through tweaking the media plan of two years ago.

Decades of advertising research prove that without a big change, large brands stay large and small brands stay small.

Job Description

Overview

The team

The Publicis Media Operations team work across all three Publicis Media agency brands - Starcom, Spark and Zenith - and are responsible for identifying and driving efficiencies by evolving and streamlining processes through automation, simplification, deduplication and standardisation. Best practices are aligned across the agencies, and the Media Operations team ensure that correct processes are being adhered to.

Job role

This role focuses on financial administration relating to approval, booking, reconciliation and invoicing of campaigns. The Exec will also provide guidance and support specialist teams. It’s an opportunity for an enthusiastic and committed person who enjoys working with data and figures to join a vibrant media agency at entry level. We are looking for someone who is curious, self‑motivated and eager to learn who will come in and hit the ground running.

Responsibilities

• Building and maintaining strong internal relationships across multiple teams / departments
• Maintaining central folder containing client approval of media plans
• Putting all campaign budgets on to invoicing system and matching them to correct client Purchase Order number to ensure that media activity is invoiced accurately and paid on time
• Setting up campaigns on Prisma each month and dealing with any ad hoc changes
• Completing administrative tasks to ensure campaigns go live on time and that delivery is monitored
• Investigating and resolving (or escalating) any vendor invoice queries in a timely manner, and supporting buyers in resolving queries
• Developing basic knowledge and understanding of all media in order to spot any errors on plans received from other teams
• Proactively contribute to team meetings, team initiatives and knowledge sharing
• Developing sound knowledge of all necessary tools and systems

Qualifications

• Self-driven, results‑oriented, solutions‑focused with a positive outlook
• Strong communicator, promptly responding to e‑mails and requests.
• Excellent project management skills to prioritise tasks on these busy accounts
• Have excellent maths and numeracy skills
• Be confident working with numbers and large amounts of data
• Be adept at interpreting data and identifying themes and inconsistencies
• Be proficient in the use of Excel spreadsheets with the ability to write and understand basic formulae
• Be able to quickly learn and adapt to new systems and databases
• Ability to meet deadlines in a fast‑paced environment and complete tasks accurately
• Be able to assimilate information quickly and adhere to processes and best practices
• Ability to develop & learn new processes
• Highly organized and capable of working independently as well as operating as part of a team
• Demonstrate critical thinking and problem‑solving abilities

Additional Information

Employees joining The Pack, which is an early careers programme that connects, supports and develops you to kick‑start your career with us, initially start with an annual salary of £28,850.

The recruitment process

• Step 1:Apply and get started!
• Step 2:Show us what you’ve got – complete some fun, interactive tasks through Arctic Shores’ assessment. Look out for this in your emails following your application!
• Step 3:A quick chat with a recruiter to get to know you better and for you to ask any questions and let us know if you require any adjustments.
• Step 4:Join us for a virtual assessment day where you can showcase your skills and strengths.
• Step 5:We’ll give you feedback, post assessment day, whether or not we move forward with your application.

Publicishas fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees. In addition to the classics,Pension,Life Assurance, Private Medical and IncomeProtectionPlanswe also offer;

• WORK YOUR WORLDopportunity 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 BENEFITS24/7 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 POLICIESWe 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 OFFYou are entitled to an additional day off for your birthday, from your first day of employment.
• GREAT LOCAL DISCOUNTSThis includes membership discounts with Soho Friends, local restaurants and retailers in Westfield White City and Television Centre.

Full details of ourbenefits 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 Pagewhich showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).