P&A Account Director

Publicis Groupe UK; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical cover

Reflection Days

Shared Parental Leave

Job summary

Spark Foundry UK is hiring a Publishing & Audio Account Director in London to lead publishing and audio campaigns for a diverse client portfolio. You’ll combine strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and flawless execution to deliver cutting-edge media solutions.

Join a team that collaborates across media partners and internal experts, driving excellent results while maintaining strong client relationships and financial discipline.

Qualifications

• Experience in publishing, audio, or media planning and buying.
• Strong commercial awareness with budget negotiations and value-driven decisions.
• Excellent attention to detail with high-quality delivery.
• Ability to build trusted client and partner relationships through clear communication.
• Experience leading projects and managing multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Coaching mindset to support team development and success.
• Curious and solutions-focused with passion for impactful media campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end planning, buying, execution, optimisation, and reporting of publishing and audio campaigns for key client accounts.
• Translate media strategies into commercially focused plans aligned with client objectives.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships as a trusted advisor.
• Drive commercial excellence through negotiations, pricing discussions, and audit processes.
• Oversee campaign delivery across print and digital publishing, radio, and digital audio channels.
• Mentor and support team members to enable development and performance.
• Maintain financial oversight including budgeting, reconciliations, and reporting.

Skills

Publishing & audio

Budget management

Client relationships

Attention to detail

Project leadership

Coaching mindset

Proactive problem solving

Job description

Company Description

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.

Overview

Publishing & Audio Account Director

Spark Foundry UK | LondonWe are hiring aPublishing & Audio Account Director to join Spark Foundry UK and play a key role in shaping exceptional media campaigns for some of the world's most recognisable brands. Working within our specialist Publishing & Audio team, you'll lead the delivery of innovative publishing and audio activity, bringing together strategic thinking, commercial expertise, and flawless execution. This is an opportunity to make a real impact across a diverse client portfolio while collaborating with talented colleagues, clients, and media partners to deliver outstanding results.

Responsibilities

What you'll be doing:

• Lead the end-to-end planning, buying, execution, optimisation, and reporting of publishing and audio campaigns across key client accounts.
• Turn media strategies into effective, commercially focused plans that deliver against client objectives and business goals.
• Build strong relationships with clients, becoming a trusted advisor through insightful recommendations and high-quality delivery.
• Drive commercial excellence through media negotiations, pricing discussions, and audit processes that maximise value and performance.
• Oversee campaign delivery across print, digital publishing, radio, and digital audio channels, ensuring seamless execution throughout.
• Mentor and support team members, creating an environment where people can develop, grow, and perform at their best.
• Maintain financial oversight across accounts, ensuring accurate budget management, reconciliations, and reporting.

Qualifications

Skills we're looking for:

• Proven experience within publishing, audio, or wider media planning and buying, with strong channel expertise.
• Strong commercial awareness and confidence managing budgets, negotiations, and value-driven decision making.
• Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to delivering consistently high-quality work.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with clients, colleagues, and media partners through clear communication and collaboration.
• Experience leading projects, managing multiple priorities, and delivering results in a dynamic environment.
• A coaching mindset with experience supporting the development and success of others.
• Curious, proactive, and solutions-focused, with a passion for delivering impactful media campaigns.

Additional Information

Spark Foundryoffers 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 thePublicis Career Pagewhich 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 Spark Foundry, 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.

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