Planning Manager

Havas Media UK; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Remote work up to 4 weeks/year

Mental health days

Generous holiday allocation

Parental Leave support

Job summary

Havas Media Group in Manchester is seeking a Planning Manager to oversee media plans for the BBC portfolio, including BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer. You will shape strategy, manage client and supplier relationships, and lead with analytical rigor in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

You will mentor juniors and partner with creative, media specialists and external teams to deliver campaigns that meet business goals with precision and impact.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of media planning processes and tools.
• Ability to translate business goals into media strategies.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement media plans aligned with goals.
• Conduct audience research to understand demographics and media usage.
• Coordinate campaigns and manage timelines across teams.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners for delivery.
• Monitor budgets and measure campaign performance with analytics.

Skills

Media planning

Analytics

Project management

Client relations

Mentoring

Tools

Media planning tools

Job description

About Havas Media Group

Havas Media Group is part of the sixth largest advertising network in the world, Havas Group, which is owned by French mass media holding company, Vivendi. We are headquartered out of St Pancras, London, and along with offices in Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh, we operate globally. Our CEO is Patrick (‘Paddy’) Affleck. Our overarching mission is to make a meaningful difference to the brands, businesses, and lives of the people we work with. Our solution is simple: we identify and create meaningful media experiences to deliver meaningful growth for our clients. In recent years, we’ve undergone a transformation that’s seen us bind together nine agencies into three core agency brands and propositions:

Office Location: Manchester

Havas Media Group is part of the sixth largest advertising network in the world, Havas Group, which is owned by French mass media holding company, Vivendi. We are headquartered out of St Pancras, London, and along with offices in Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh, we operate globally. Our CEO is Patrick (‘Paddy’) Affleck. Our overarching mission is to make a meaningful difference to the brands, businesses, and lives of the people we work with. Our solution is simple: we identify and create meaningful media experiences to deliver meaningful growth for our clients. In recent years, we’ve undergone a transformation that’s seen us bind together nine agencies into three core agency brands and propositions:

Havas Media

through which we deliver meaningful outcomes through meaningful media

Havas Market

through which we help clients build meaningful retail experiences

Arena

through which we help clients create meaningful moments in culture

We’ve strengthened group-wide capabilities and expertise to match clients’ needs to unlock emerging growth opportunities in the ‘new economy’. Our acquisitions of leading agencies Search Laboratory, additive+ and Expert Edge have turbocharged our capabilities in search, DCO and ecommerce – with more to come.

The Role

This role is to work across the BBC account, within the Client Planning team, helping to make an impact on some of the UK's most beloved TV shows. This is a unique opportunity to work across a diverse portfolio of entertainment content - from the thrilling drama of Traitors, epic journeys of Race Across the World, electrifying energy of Glastonbury and excitement of the greatest sporting moments. You'll play a key role in shaping planning for the full BBC portfolio, including BBC Sport, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, BBC News and CBBC. We need an individual who is passionate about media, culture, and connecting audiences with unforgettable content. The right candidate will be able to manage multiple tasks at once and thrive in a fast-paced and busy environment.

As our Planning Manager, you are key to getting things done. Along with the support of the Planning Director, you will be responsible for overseeing the development and execution of comprehensive media plans that drive brand objectives and deliver measurable results for clients. Combining analytical expertise, industry knowledge and leadership skills, you will help create innovative strategies that align with business goals while fostering strong relationships with clients, media owners and partners to craft impactful advertising campaigns.

You will play a crucial part at driving the execution across numerous campaigns. Nailing the brilliant basics and having superb attention to detailis critical for everything we do, whilst staying calm under pressure as you juggle multiple deadlines. The right candidate will have strong communication skills and the ability to manage both our internal teams and external partners seamlessly. You will be collaborating with clients and internal stakeholders, delivering exceptional clientservice, ensuring the effective use of media resources to optimise campaign performance.

We're seeking a collaborative team player, ready to ready to jump in and help us succeed. If you're passionate about shaping compelling plans and making a tangible difference, this is your opportunity to shine.

What Behaviours We Need From You

As a Planning Manager, you are the heartbeat of the agency and your team at Havas. You will be a positive, motivated individual with a can-do attitude and you’ll be continuing to build out your media understanding and learning.

Core Responsibilities

• Design and implement comprehensive media plans aligned with business and marketing goals
• Conduct audience research to understand demographics, behaviours and media consumption patterns
• Demonstrate a good understanding of the planning process and suite of planning tools
• Help to deliver high quality planning responses and PCAs
• Identify the most effective mix of media channels (digital, social, print, radio, outdoor, etc.) to maximise reach and impact
• Coordinate and manage campaign workflows and timelines to ensure smooth delivery
• Collaborate with other teams including creative, media specialists and external agency teams to ensure effective delivery of campaigns
• Serve as a point of contact for clients and stakeholders, building and maintaining long-lasting relationships
• Monitor budgets across channels to achieve optimal outcomes and track media expenditures to ensure adherence to financial plans
• Analyse campaign performance using key metrics and analytics tools to provide actionable insights and guide future planning
• Stay updated on media trends to adapt plans to evolving consumer behaviours and integrate new tools and platforms into media strategies
• Ensure campaign billing, booking and reconciliation processes are accurate and timely
• Train and coach Executives, helping to develop their skills and supporting them to understand media fundamentals
• Communication responsibilities, both written and oral, across both client and internal teams

Key Goals And Objectives

• Consistently deliver client work to brief, on time, and with high accuracy & attention to detail
• Contribute towards daily-weekly-monthly goals through supporting other team members
• Take responsibility for quality control across all outputs
• Contribute towards department growth by mentoring and supporting juniors

Technical Skills & Competencies

• You have an in-depth understanding of the wider media landscape and how each channel fits into broader marketing strategies.
• You are familiar with media planning and analytics tools to coordinate and help drive innovative, forward-thinking media processes and campaigns.
• You are comfortable communicating with and managing expectations of clients and stakeholders.
• You have previous project management experience and are confident coordinating with internal and external teams to execute media plans across multiple projects simultaneously.
• You stay informed about emerging technologies, including AI and are open to exploring how automation and AI tools can enhance creativity, performance and efficiency in media.
• You are comfortable mentoring and supporting junior team members to foster professional growth, collaboration and high performance.
• You have the ability to brief and manage financial processes.

What’s On Offer From Havas

• We have shown at Havas, that we can all work productively in a new Hybrid manner
• To give you even more flexibility, and support a better balance between work and life, Havas employees are given the opportunity to work remotely from anywhere in the world for up to 4 weeks per calendar year.
• Alongside a generous holiday allocation and birthday off, we allocate one day per quarter as mental health days. These are simply days you can take off, guilt free and without eating into your holiday allowance.
• We have a market leading parental package for our employees. The Parental Life at Havas policy enhances, broadens, and encourages the uptake of parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, type of relationship, type of parentship or any other potentially defining characteristic. This means up to 6 months equal parenthood leave, paid at 100%*, to Parental Support & Fertility Support Loans and more.
• We haven’t lost the fun stuff either - social club, early Friday finishes and weekly bar nights at HVM are all included!