Sr. Media Strategist

Clay Today; New York, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Clay Today in New York, NY is seeking a Sr. Media Strategist who translates client goals into channel strategy, audience approach, and a budget framework that moves the needle.

You’ll own the media planning on tier-1 campaigns, partner with Account Managers, and mentor junior planners to raise our planning craft. You’ll work with clients regularly (mostly digital, occasionally in person), explain why the plan is built the way it is, and develop measurement frameworks to prove what’s working and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or related field preferred.
• Minimum 5 years in media planning or buying with hands-on experience building and presenting full-funnel media plans for complex campaigns.
• Coaching or mentoring experience is a plus.
• Confident owning planning math: budget allocation across channels, forecasting, pacing, and reconciliation.
• Experience building planning templates, trackers, or workflows.
• A track record of media plans, strategy decks, and investment recommendations you built and presented to clients.
• Experience presenting and defending media plans to clients and stakeholders; you’re comfortable explaining the why behind channel and budget decisions, not just walking through the slides.
• Experience mentoring or coaching junior planners.
• Comfort across digital media platforms with hands-on experience in search, social, and/or DSP a plus.
• Familiarity with audience data platforms or third-party data providers (LiveRamp, GWI, or similar) is a strong plus.
• Experience with media planning tools (Bionic, Strata, or similar) preferred.
• Experience in political, advocacy, higher ed, or utilities verticals is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the media planning on tier-1 campaigns, from translating the brief into a channel strategy and budget framework through plan presentation and optimization guidance.
• Define audience strategy for campaigns, identifying the right targeting approaches, data sources, and segmentation logic based on client goals and budget reality.
• Advise on media mix across paid media channels, balancing reach, frequency, cost efficiency, and client objectives.
• Partner with Account Managers in client conversations as the media planning authority, explaining channel decisions and pressure-testing assumptions in real time.
• Build media plans, investment recommendations, and strategy decks that connect audience to channel to budget to KPI in a clear narrative.
• Own planning math: budget allocation across channels, forecasting, pacing models, and reconciliation.
• Lead research inputs that inform planning decisions, including competitive landscape, audience data, platform capabilities, and market context, and turn them into actionable media recommendations.
• Evaluate and recommend media partners, platforms, and inventory sources; lead RFP response development where appropriate.
• Design measurement frameworks and test-and-learn structures so we can prove what's working and optimize with intent.
• Mentor junior planners by asking good questions, modeling strong process, and helping them level up.
• Stay sharp on the media landscape, including new platforms, shifting audience behavior, vendor capabilities, and pricing trends, and bring that knowledge into planning decisions.

Skills

Media planning

Budget forecasting

Mentoring

Audience strategy

Client presentations

RFP responses

Analytics

Digital media

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or related field

Tools

Bionic

Strata

Job description

Strengthening and empowering all of the communities we serve.

We're looking for a Sr. Media Strategist who's genuinely curious about how media works. Someone who asks the kind of questions that reframe a problem, and who can translate a client's goals into a channel strategy, audience approach, and budget framework that moves the needle. You'll own the media planning on tier-1 campaigns, partner with Account Managers and cross-functional teams, and play a real role in how our junior planners develop. You'll work with clients regularly (mostly digitally, occasionally in person), not as the relationship lead, but as the person in the room who can explain why the media plan is built the way it is. You'll get close partnership, direct feedback, and a manager who's invested in your craft. We're looking for someone who brings strong systems thinking, good judgment under ambiguity, and the kind of intellectual range that makes the room smarter.

Compensation for this position is comprised of a base salary plus incentive compensation. The base salary range is $70,000 to $75,000 per year. Additional incentives bring total potential compensation to $84,000 - $94,200.

What you'll do

• Own the media planning on tier-1 campaigns, from translating the brief into a channel strategy and budget framework through plan presentation and optimization guidance
• Define audience strategy for campaigns, identifying the right targeting approaches, data sources, and segmentation logic based on client goals and budget reality
• Advise on media mix across paid media channels, balancing reach, frequency, cost efficiency, and client objectives
• Partner with Account Managers in client conversations as the media planning authority, explaining channel decisions and pressure-testing assumptions in real time
• Build media plans, investment recommendations, and strategy decks that connect audience to channel to budget to KPI in a clear narrative
• Own planning math: budget allocation across channels, forecasting, pacing models, and reconciliation
• Lead research inputs that inform planning decisions, including competitive landscape, audience data, platform capabilities, and market context, and turn them into actionable media recommendations
• Evaluate and recommend media partners, platforms, and inventory sources; lead RFP response development where appropriate
• Design measurement frameworks and test-and-learn structures so we can prove what's working and optimize with intent
• Mentor junior planners by asking good questions, modeling strong process, and helping them level up
• Stay sharp on the media landscape, including new platforms, shifting audience behavior, vendor capabilities, and pricing trends, and bring that knowledge into planning decisions

The experience you'll bring

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or related field preferred
• Minimum 5 years in media planning or buying, with hands-on experience building and presenting full-funnel media plans for complex campaigns.
• Coaching or mentoring experience is a plus.
• Confident owning planning math: budget allocation across channels, forecasting, pacing, and reconciliation
• Experience building planning templates,trackers, or workflows
• A track record of media plans, strategy decks, and investment recommendations you built and presented to clients
• Experience presenting and defending media plans to clients and stakeholders; you're comfortable explaining the why behind channel and budget decisions, not just walking through the slides
• Experience mentoring or coaching junior planners
• Comfort across digital media platforms with hands-on experience in search, social, and/or DSP a plus
• Familiarity with audience data platforms or third-party data providers (LiveRamp, GWI, or similar) is a strong plus
• Experience with media planning tools (Bionic, Strata, or similar) preferred
• Experience in political, advocacy, higher ed, or utilities verticals is a plus. Sharp organizational and analytical instincts, comfortable juggling multiple campaigns on tight timelines without losing the details