Associate Director, Media Planning

Publicis Groupe; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Starcom in Chicago seeks an Associate Director, Planning to lead a media planning team and guide cross-media strategy for high-spend campaigns. You will own planning activities, generate insights, and partner with clients to drive growth.

The ideal candidate loves data, excels at deck writing, budgeting, and audience development, and can motivate Associates and Supervisors. Collaboration with internal teams is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred in marketing, advertising, communications, business, sociology, or consumer insights.
• 5+ years of media planning/strategy experience across media channels.
• Previous team management experience.
• Strong digital media experience preferred.
• Resourceful, curious, and motivated with ability to work independently or in a team.
• Ability to manage timelines, projects and personnel within direct report team and across cross-functional teams.
• Proven experience in successfully managing multiple work streams at one time.
• Strong organizational, communication, and time-management skills.
• Excellent presentation skills to effectively lead meetings in-person with key clients.
• Detail-oriented with the ability to multi-task and manage priorities and deadlines in a fast pace environment.

Responsibilities

• Strategize with internal directors and client to develop innovative, well-targeted marketing solutions.
• Interface with clients and partner agencies to build strategic communication plans for targeted audiences.
• Review client deliverables for quality, ensuring that recommendations and work product are sound and viable.
• Own the development of strategic proposals and client facing POVs, coordinating with necessary teams to account for inputs.
• Assume accountability and ownership of campaign planning for assigned client accounts.
• Embrace and encourage a culture based on teamwork, collaboration, and support.
• Develop best practices for improving communication and collaboration within the team and the group.
• Lead knowledge share sessions to share and learn new strategies for optimizing and enhancing campaign performance.
• Collaborate and foster relationships with key partners including clients, internal teams, and leadership.
• Lead strategic planning initiatives including deckwriting, budget and channel allocation, and audience development.
• Serve as escalation point for teams to help troubleshoot issues.
• Support development of strategic approach and experience design by delivering channel ideas and insights from performance history.
• Responsible for management and development of Associates, Senior Associates, and Supervisors.

Skills

Media planning

Team leadership

Digital media

Client presentation

Project management

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Company description

Starcom is the world’s first standalone media agency, a storied innovator that continues to lead the way for many of the world’s best brands.

Starcom has long been the professional birthplace and proving ground for marketing leaders – CEOs, CMOs, sales leaders, and technology pioneers – and we continue to drive the industry with peerless talent and relentless innovation.

From the start, we've known that achieving growth for our clients requires understanding and connecting with real people where they live and work, in ways they value.

In an AI era, we remain "Guided By Humanity," a phrase that describes our foundational belief that human expertise must remain in the driver's seat, supported by the best processes and technology.

With our proprietary capabilities and Publicis Media's industry-leading resources and clout, we create ideas that move people and drive transformative business outcomes for brands.

Overview

The Associate Director, Planning oversees a media planning team and manages cross-media strategy and planning campaigns. The Associate Director owns planning activities for complex or large spend campaigns, and is responsible for generating strategic insights while driving learnings across the full suite of the client’s activities.

The ideal candidate for this position will be a thoughtful decision maker and team player who loves data and has the proven ability to lead strategic planning initiatives including deck writing, budget and channel allocation and audience development. This is an energetic, collaborative team that partners with an analytics-driven client to provide guidance as they continue to grow and evolve their brand.

Responsibilities

• Strategize with internal directors and client to develop innovative, well-targeted marketing solutions
• Interface with clients and partner agencies to build strategic communication plans for targeted audiences
• Review client deliverables for quality, ensuring that recommendations and work product are sound and viable
• Own the development of strategic proposals and client facing POVs, coordinating with necessary teams to account for all relevant inputs
• Assume accountability and ownership of campaign planning for assigned client accounts
• Embrace and encourage a culture based on teamwork, collaboration, and support
• Develop best practices for improving communication and collaboration within the team and the group
• Lead knowledge share sessions to share and learn new strategies for optimizing and enhancing campaign performance
• Collaborate and foster relationships with key partners including clients, internal teams, and leadership
• Lead strategic planning initiatives including deckwriting, budget and channel allocation, and audience development
• Serve as escalation point for teams to help troubleshootissues
• Support development of strategic approach and experience design by delivering channel ideas and providing the link to reality of historical performance and in-market opportunities
• Responsible for management and development of Associates, Senior Associates, and Supervisors

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, preferably with a concentration in marketing, advertising, communications, business, sociology, or consumer insights
• 5+ years of experience in media planning/strategy experience across media channels
• Previous team management experience
• Strong digital media experience preferred
• Resourceful, curious, and motivated individual with an ability to work independently as well as in a team setting
• Ability to manage timelines, projects and personnel within direct report team and across cross-functional teams
• Proven experience in successfully managing multiple work streams at one time
• Strong organizational, communication, and time-management skills
• Excellent presentation skills to effectively lead meetings in-person with key clients
• Detail-oriented with the ability to multi-task and manage priorities and deadlines in a fast