Planning Manager (Studio 59 - In-house Agency) in Watford

At the heart of everything we do is our vision to change lives every day, and our mission to grow The National Lottery responsibly and champion its impact. We are Allwyn UK, part of the Allwyn Entertainment Group – a multi-national lottery operator with a market-leading presence across the USA and Europe. While the main contribution of The National Lottery to society is through the funds to good causes, at Allwyn we put our purpose and values at the heart of everything we do.

Join us as we embark on a once-in-a-lifetime, large-scale transformation journey by creating a National Lottery that delivers more money to good causes.

Studio 59 is Allwyn’s new in-house agency. A fast, integrated hub built to elevate how we tell The National Lottery’s story. Bringing creative, production, planning and media together across a single, integrated team, we’re engineered for pace, efficiency and standout quality. Our mission is simple: create bold, social-first, audience-led work that strengthens player engagement and gives The National Lottery a single, authentic brand voice.

The Planning Manager is responsible for the operational management and coordination required to deliver a clear, governed and actionable quarterly consumer plan that ensures individual propositions campaigns don't compete for the same airtime or audience attention, maintaining a balanced and coherent brand presence. Reporting into the Marketing Strategy Manager, this role ensures that planning decisions are translated into structured meetings, documentation, communications and governance processes.

The Planning Manager works closely with retail and digital channel teams, product team and PR & comms teams, external agency partners, and assurance functions to ensure clarity, compliance and alignment across all elements of the consumer plan. The role is supported by VCCP and H&S planning teams, ensuring access to best-in-class planning expertise while embedding strong in-house capability. The Planning Team plays a central role in coordinating priorities, governance and delivery across Studio 59.

The Planning Manager supports the effective operationalisation of the consumer plan, ensuring planning processes, forums and communications run smoothly and consistently.

What you’ll be doing:

• Supports all internal meetings required to reach an agreed quarterly consumer plan, including clear terms of reference, attendees, meeting roles, diary planning, minutes, actions and follow-up.
• Ensure clear and consistent communication of planning decisions to all required internal colleagues and agency partners (Studio 59 and external).
• Own diary planning, agendas, minutes, actions and follow-up to ensure momentum and clarity.
• Ensure the consumer plan is aligned to all assurance processes, bid requirements and relevant documentation required to support approval and delivery.
• Manage required planning documentation, approvals and records associated with the consumer plan.
• Support quarterly PO sign-off processes and associated governance forums.
• Coordinate regular updates with internal agency teams and external agencies.
• Ensure all stakeholders are aware of key milestones, dependencies and delivery expectations.
• Work closely with VCCP and H&S planning teams to support planning development.
• Act as a coordination point between internal teams and external agency partners.
• Support the Head of Planning in managing the quarterly planning cycle and rolling consumer plan.
• Provide operational support to enable smooth planning forums and decision-making.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of planning ways of working and governance.

What experience we’re looking for:

• Experience in a planning, operations, project management or coordination role within a marketing or agency environment.
• Strong organisational and administrative skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Experience managing meetings, governance processes and documentation.
• Ability to work confidently with senior stakeholders and agency partners.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Comfortable managing multiple workstreams and deadlines.
• Experience working within governed or regulated environments is desirable.

Key Measures of Success:

• Enable smooth, well-governed delivery of the quarterly consumer plan.
• Ensure planning forums are well-run, effective and decision-focused.
• Maintain clear documentation, communication and follow-through across planning activity.
• Support strong alignment between internal teams and agency partners.
• Build confidence in planning governance and operational discipline.

At Allwyn, we are dedicated to changing lives and growing the National Lottery responsibly, championing its positive impact on people, places, and the planet. We pride ourselves on innovation and are constantly looking for new ways to excite our customers. Our aim is to have doubled the amount generated for charities and good causes by the end of the first 10-year license.

We aim to become a net zero national lottery with targets to decarbonise our operations and energy. We’ve already transitioned to renewable energy providers and ensured our fleet consists of low-emission vehicles.

We believe in creating a culture where everyone feels they belong, can be themselves, has access to opportunities and can thrive for the benefit of good causes. Our diverse teams are working hard to make all parts of The National Lottery inclusive.

Our benefits include a Company Bonus Scheme, matched pension contributions, annual leave, private health cover, wellness allowance, and volunteering days. We are a Disability Confident Leader, ensuring our workplace is accessible and inclusive for disabled and neurodivergent colleagues and candidates.