Performance Account Director

Publicis Groupe; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical cover

Reflection Days

Shared Parental Leave

Job summary

Publicis Groupe, Spark Foundry, is hiring a Planning Account Director to lead audience-first media planning for brands Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and TrustFord. You’ll shape integrated strategies, blending commercial thinking with innovative ideas, and work with clients, specialists and agency partners to turn business challenges into effective campaigns.

You will influence high-visibility work while guiding a collaborative team to learn, develop and deliver your best work across channels.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in media strategy and planning across multiple channels.
• Ability to turn complex data into strategic recommendations.
• Collaborative communication with clients, colleagues and partners.
• Understanding of major media platforms (Google/Meta) and their role in strategy.
• Sound commercial judgement and awareness of account finances and growth.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning across multiple client accounts with insight-led strategies.
• Guide campaigns from brief to activation and post-campaign evaluation.
• Build trusted client relationships as a senior contact.
• Coordinate planning, activation, analytics, media buying and specialists.
• Use consumer insight and performance data to identify opportunities for clients.
• Oversee timelines, planning fees, billing, and financial alignment.
• Mentor and develop colleagues through guidance and collaboration.

Skills

Media strategy

Multi-channel

Stakeholder management

Google/Meta

Commercial judgement

Mentoring

Attention to detail

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

We are hiring a Planning Account Director to lead brilliant, audience-first media planning across Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and TrustFord. You’ll shape integrated strategies for three distinctive brands, combining commercial thinking, fresh ideas and a strong understanding of how media can drive growth. Working closely with clients, specialists and agency partners, you’ll turn business challenges into effective campaigns across channels. This is an opportunity to influence highly visible work while helping a collaborative team continue to learn, develop and do its best work.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning process across multiple client accounts, creating insight-led strategies that connect audience needs with clear business outcomes.
• Guide campaigns from the initial brief through activation and post-campaign evaluation, maintaining quality, momentum and strategic focus.
• Build trusted client relationships, acting as a senior point of contact and bringing clear recommendations to meetings and presentations.
• Bring planning, activation, analytics, media buying and specialist teams together to deliver connected campaigns across channels.
• Use consumer insight, campaign performance and developments in media and technology to identify opportunities for clients.
• Oversee account operations, including timelines, standards, planning fees, billing reconciliation and alignment with financial forecasts.
• Support and develop colleagues through thoughtful guidance, shared learning and a collaborative approach to problem-solving.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in media strategy and planning, with the ability to lead campaigns across multiple channels or client accounts.
• The confidence to turn complex data and business challenges into focused, practical and engaging strategic recommendations.
• A collaborative communication style that helps you build productive relationships with clients, colleagues, media owners and agency partners.
• A working understanding of major media platforms, including Google and Meta, and the ability to discuss their role within a wider strategy.
• Sound commercial judgement, including an understanding of account finances, client priorities and how media can support business growth.
• Experience supporting the development of others and creating an environment in which different perspectives are welcomed.
• Curiosity about audiences, culture, media and technology, combined with an organised approach and close attention to detail.

Additional information

Spark Foundry 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 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.