Senior Media Planner/Buyer (Fixed-Term Maternity Cover)

CNS Media Ltd; Chesterfield; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employment Ownership Trust (EOT)

Tax-free bonus scheme

Flexible working

Gym membership

Team building events and socials

Job summary

CNS Media Ltd in Chesterfield is seeking a Senior Media Planner/Buyer to join on a fixed-term maternity cover. You will own a live client portfolio, lead multi-channel planning and buying decisions, and collaborate with Sales, Client Success and Creative teams.

The role offers hybrid working (3 days in the office, 2 remote), scope to negotiate with media owners, manage budgets, deliver end-to-end campaigns, and contribute to thought leadership with regular insights.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in media planning and buying across multiple channels.
• Experience in TV planning is highly desirable.
• Strong negotiation skills with media owners across channels.
• Comfortable using planning tools and audience data sources.
• Able to present strategy and performance to clients.
• Analytical and numerate with ability to tell a data-driven narrative.
• Collaborative approach and capability to guide junior planners.
• Ability to manage workload and deliver to deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop multi-channel media strategies aligned to client budgets and objectives.
• Plan and book campaigns across TV, Radio, Press, OOH, digital, and broadcast.
• Negotiate with media owners and suppliers to secure competitive rates and added value.
• Oversee end-to-end campaign delivery, trafficking and optimisation.
• Provide senior planning support to Account Managers with insights and presentations.
• Analyse campaign performance and produce post-campaign reports.
• Present media insight to inform client strategy and stay current on trends.
• Build relationships with media owners, agencies and internal teams.
• Support the wider planning team and contribute to process improvements.

Skills

Media planning

Media buying

Negotiation

Budget management

Channel strategy

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Presenting to clients

Team collaboration

Deadline discipline

Job description

Senior Media Planner/Buyer (Fixed-Term Maternity Cover)

Step into a senior planning and buying role with real ownership, covering maternity leave on a live, established portfolio.

Location: Chesterfield

Job Type: Full Time, Fixed Term Contract (Maternity Cover), 35 hours per week

Working Model: Hybrid (3 days in office, 2 remote)

Benefits: Employment Ownership Trust (EOT) tax-free company bonus scheme; flexible working; gym membership; regular team building events and socials.

Career & Personal Development: Learning and development programme, continuous professional development opportunities, well-being programme.

Life at CNS Media

Join the award-winning team at CNS Media Ltd, where creativity, collaboration and results drive everything we do. As we continue to grow across our Chesterfield, Manchester and Birmingham offices, we're looking for a Senior Media Planner/Buyer to step into a live portfolio of client accounts, covering maternity leave with real ownership of channel strategy and buying decisions.

We work with national and regional brands across multiple sectors and are proud to be recognised as a Campaign Best Places to Work 2024 winner, as well as award-winners at The Drum Awards, UK Agency Awards and Global Agency Awards.

If you want to be part of a friendly, ambitious and supportive agency, we'd love to hear from you.

The Role

You'll work closely with our Sales, Client Success and Creative teams, with real ownership over channel strategy, budget allocation and supplier negotiation for the duration of the contract. This is a role for someone who combines strategic thinking with hands-on buying experience, and who can pick up an established portfolio quickly with minimal disruption to clients.

This maternity cover role offers the opportunity to lead a live, fast-paced media planning and buying portfolio, ensuring smooth and efficient strategy delivery over a 12 month period.

What You'll Be Doing

• Develop multi-channel media strategies (TV, Radio, Press, OOH, digital, broadcast) aligned to client budgets and objectives
• Plan and book campaigns across these channels, negotiating with media owners and suppliers to secure competitive rates and added value
• Oversee campaign delivery end to end, ensuring plans are booked, trafficked and optimised on time, and manage the day-to-day of assigned client accounts
• Provide senior planning support to Account Managers, including presentations, planning information and campaign insight
• Analyse campaign performance and prepare post-campaign analysis, translating data into clear, actionable client reporting
• Gather and present media insight and market research to inform client strategy, keeping the agency's media knowledge current on emerging channels and rate trends
• Build strong relationships with media owners, agencies and internal stakeholders
• Support the wider planning team with tasks including campaign setup, QA and reporting against deadlines.
• Oversee contract billing administration for the team, and lead or contribute to process improvement initiatives

What We're Looking For

• Proven experience in media planning and buying, ideally agency side, across TV, Radio, OOH, Press and digital
• TV planning experience (highly desirable)
• Strong track record of negotiating with media owners across multiple channels
• Confident using media planning and buying tools and audience data sources
• Comfortable presenting strategy and performance directly to clients
• Strong analytical and numeracy skills, able to turn campaign data into a clear narrative
• A collaborative approach, with the ability to guide and support less experienced planners
• Able to mae workload and deliver to deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• A genuine interest in where media is heading and how that changes client advice
• Experience in content creation would be beneficial

CNS Media is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage you to apply even if you don't tick every box above.