SENIOR PLANNER

GroupM; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading media company is seeking a Senior Strategic Planner to develop impactful campaign strategies for a global client. This role requires 3+ years in planning, strong analytical skills, and bilingual proficiency in Japanese and English. You'll collaborate closely with teams to translate briefs into actionable insights and ensure campaign alignment. The company offers a hybrid work environment and a comprehensive benefits package including medical and retirement plans.

Benefits

Competitive medical benefits

Paid time off

Employee mental health awareness days

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in a planning or strategy background.
• Familiarity with audience insight data such as GWI, ACR or similar.
• Genuine passion to grow, learn and adopt new technologies such as AI.

Responsibilities

• Support Strategy & Planning Lead in campaign strategies.
• Translate client briefs into defined problems and solutions.
• Form close relationships with key client stakeholders.

Skills

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Collaborative skills

Client management

Bilingual (Japanese and English)

Tools

Google Suite

Microsoft Office

Job description

About WPP Media

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com. WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com. At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Strategic Planner to join our team working on a well-known global client. In this role, you will be a key contributor to the development and execution of impactful campaign strategies that drive business growth and enhance the client’s brand presence in the Japanese market. You will work closely with the Strategy & Planning Lead, the broader team, and external agency partners to translate client briefs into actionable plans, leveraging data-driven insights and a deep understanding of the Japanese consumer landscape.

Responsibilities

Strategy:

• Support the Strategy & Planning Lead in creating insight-driven campaign strategies that address the requirements of the brief.
• Translate client briefs into a clearly defined problem and proposed solution, leveraging category and audience insight to identify specific jobs to be done.
• Support in building campaign communications architecture, defining roles for channels and measurable KPIs that ladder back to the campaign strategy.
• Keep up to date with industry, market and consumer trends, identifying new opportunities or challenges where applicable, including leveraging outside-in inspiration to drive innovation.

Planning:

• Support the AD in developing consistent, excellent media plans that reflect the campaign strategy and communications architecture.
• Become an expert in WPP proprietary and syndicated tools, and use them to inform and validate decisions.
• Collaborate with the creative agency to ensure alignment between creative and media throughout the planning process, and streamlined campaign dispatch.
• Analyze campaign data to troubleshoot, craft insight and clear recommendations to the client mid-flight and in post-campaign reporting.
• Ensure feedback loop and continuity of learn-and-apply between campaigns.

Client Management:

• As part of the client team, form close relationships with key client stakeholders to build trust.
• Demonstrate excellent client service through ensuring responses, reporting and deliverables are shared in a timely manner and within agreed SLAs.

Other Areas:

• Participate in workshops, training sessions and team building events.
• Be an advocate of continuous improvement, enthusiastic and positive with a “Can Do” attitude.
• Work closely with peers in the wider team, having willingness to support on tasks outside of the core role responsibilities when required.

KPIs:

• Product: excellent campaign strategies and media plan execution demonstrating operational excellence. KPI manager feedback.
• Client: satisfaction and positive feedback, contributing to positive shifts in agency evaluation for strategy and planning. KPI client HBR scores.
• Personal development: positive annual review feedback from manager, peers and clients.

Desired Skills & Experience

• 3+ years of experience in a planning or strategy background
• Numerate and highly analytical with attention to detail
• Familiarity with audience insight data such as GWI, ACR or similar
• Genuine passion to grow, learn and adopt new technologies such as AI
• Collaborator who can work with cross-functional teams and external agencies
• Bilingual preferred; Japanese and English; with fluency in one language and basic / business communication skills in the other.
• PC literate (Google Suite, Microsoft)

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days. We are an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. We believe the best work happens when we’re together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That’s why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.