Head of Planning

Overview

Agency: Havas Media

Job Description: Head of Planning at Havas Media Network UK

Reporting to: Chief Planning and Strategy Officer

Office Location: Havas Village, 3 Pancras Sq., London, N1C 4AG, U.K.

Our Ambition

At Havas Media Network we create Meaningful Media that drives growth for the world’s most ambitious brands. Guided by our values—Human at Heart, Head for Rigour, and Mind for Flair—we embed genuine human insight, data-driven discipline and creative daring into everything we do.

Role Overview

We are seeking a dynamic, visionary, and effective Media Planner to lead, develop and drive the planning discipline within Havas Media UK. You will be responsible for driving media planning excellence, developing the agency’s planning proposition, designing the required capability development and mentoring the teams to deliver impactful, creative and effective media solutions for our clients. You will serve as a key strategic partner to our clients and agency leadership, ensuring that our planning output remains innovative, integrated, and grounded in meaningful, business outcomes. You will be a self-starter, able to work proactively to enthuse and inspire those around you with a passion for industry-leading media planning. You will set the standard for media thinking within the agency with a strong knowledge of all media channels and planning techniques. You will be a team player, working in close collaboration with strategy, activation, creative, and data teams both within Havas Media UK but also across the wider Havas Media Network. Most importantly, you will love what you do, bringing energy, enthusiasm and expertise to drive the evolution of our planning work.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Vision: Set the vision for planning and ensure alignment with wider agency strategy, changing consumer behaviours, emerging platforms, and market trends to give us and our clients competitive edge. Lead the development and execution of best-in-class media planning strategies across all clients. Champion Havas Media's "Meaningful Media" philosophy and work alongside the strategic lead to embed it within planning culture and processes. Collaborate with the Head of Digital Strategy and Planning to integrate digital, data, and technology, including AI, thinking into broader communications planning.
• Team Development & Management: Set a clear plan for planning capability growth within the agency, identifying commercial opportunities for increasing headcount. Manage, mentor, and inspire a team of media planners at all levels. Identify skills gaps, support career development, and foster a high-performance culture. Work closely with HR and Senior leadership to attract and retain top planning talent.
• Client Strategy & Advisory: Act as senior strategic advisor for key clients, building strong C-level relationships. Create and identify opportunities for business growth through our diversified services within HMN or across the Havas Village. Lead by example in translating client business objectives into actionable media strategies that drive measurable impact. Collaborate with client leadership teams and specialist teams (e.g., digital, data, creative) to deliver fully integrated planning solutions.
• Innovation & Integration: Drive innovation in planning methodologies, tools, and processes identifying opportunities for capability development where appropriate. Foster collaboration across the Havas Media Network and Havas Village ecosystem to deliver integrated media and creative solutions. Work together with Havas Media Global network across clients and new business to ensure best in class usage of Global capabilities. Evaluate and implement emerging planning technologies and data-driven insights.
• Reputation and Relationships: Work with the CPSO and Agency leadership to shape external agency positioning and narrative for planning. Build senior relationships with key media partners to create deeper partner engagement and provide unique opportunities for our clients. Drive external recognition of our work via industry awards programmes. Contribute to thought leadership, sharing perspectives both internally and externally.
• Commercial & Operational Excellence: Ensure planning solutions are commercially viable and aligned with client goals. Take a lead role in new business pitches and contribute to organic agency growth across diversified services. Own the usage and development plan of Converged.AI within the agency ensuring efficient and effective utilisation as well as a clear narrative for the planning enhancements made possible by the platform. Manage and track all planning time ensuring FTE deployment aligns with resourcing model across clients. Work with investment teams to ensure planning recommendations are aligned with trading requirements.

Contract Type: Permanent

EEO Statement: Here at Havas across the group we pride ourselves on being committed to offering equal opportunities to all potential employees and have zero tolerance for discrimination. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, disability and other factors that have no bearing on an individual’s ability to perform their job.