Senior Media Planner (Mat Cover) in London

We are looking for a Senior Media Planner to join our team on a 14-month fixed-term contract. You will own the strategic media planning approach for Sky HISTORY, developing integrated campaigns across linear TV, BVOD and Sky cross-promotion, while also leading promotional airtime planning across the Netherlands and Sweden. Alongside managing campaigns from strategy through to delivery, you will use viewing data and campaign performance to identify opportunities, shape Marketing briefs and influence the wider Marcomms team. You will also play an important role in developing our strategic promotional activity with Sky and in identifying new ways to improve campaign effectiveness.

Media Planning sits within Hearst Networks’ Marketing and Communications department. We help audiences discover the programmes they love by strategically connecting them with content across our brands, platforms and territories. This is a 14 month fixed-term maternity cover contract role, hybrid based in our London office, working on exciting, award-winning brands including Sky HISTORY and Crime+Investigation.

Key responsibilities:

• Own the strategic media planning approach for Sky HISTORY, developing integrated plans across linear TV, BVOD and Sky cross-promotion.
• Translate wider business, brand and marketing objectives into effective campaign strategies that maximise audience impact.
• Lead the planning and management of promotional airtime across the Netherlands and Sweden, ensuring inventory is used efficiently and effectively, campaigns reflect regional priorities and activity is delivered to a consistently high standard.
• Manage campaigns through to delivery, commissioning the right assets, overseeing implementation and proactively responding to schedule changes or other factors that may affect performance.
• Develop audience and campaign insight to inform future activity, using viewing data, historical performance and campaign results to identify opportunities, shape recommendations and provide insight for Marketing briefs and the wider Marcomms team.
• Build an integrated approach to campaign planning, working closely with Social, PR, paid media and other relevant teams to ensure activity is aligned.
• Lead Hearst’s strategic promotional activity with Sky, identifying and pitching priority content for partner support, framing recommendations through a clear media planning lens and building strong relationships with Sky’s promotional teams.
• Represent Media Planning in relevant business meetings, confidently sharing campaign strategies, audience insight and performance learnings, while providing clear media planning guidance to stakeholders.
• Identify new opportunities to improve campaign effectiveness, initiating analysis, testing new approaches and applying learnings to develop Media Planning’s capabilities and ways of working.
• Act as a senior presence within the team, leading by example, maintaining high standards and providing guidance, support and knowledge-sharing to junior colleagues.

To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following key competencies:

• Formulating strategies & concepts
• Analysing & interpreting data
• Presenting & communicating information
• Persuading & influencing
• Planning & Organising

Essential Skills / Knowledge:

• Strong experience planning TV media campaigns, gained in a broadcaster, media agency or comparable TV environment.
• A strategic, audience-led approach to Media Planning, with the ability to interpret viewing, audience or campaign data and turn it into practical recommendations.
• Confidence using data and performance results to evaluate activity, generate learning and improve future planning.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including the ability to build trusted relationships quickly, influence senior stakeholders and explain complex planning or performance information in a clear and accessible way.
• Excellent organisation and attention to detail.
• A proactive and constructive approach.
• A supportive team approach, with the ability to share knowledge and provide guidance to junior colleagues.
• Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills, alongside the ability and enthusiasm to learn new systems, particularly Camphouse.

Desirable Requirements:

• Experience planning or managing BVOD promotional airtime.
• Experience working on integrated or omni-channel campaigns.
• Experience working across multiple territories or international markets.
• Proficiency in TechEdge or a comparable BARB audience measurement tool.
• An understanding of AdSmart, PromoSmart or similar targeted-TV technologies.

At Hearst Networks, we share stories that matter, inspiring and exciting our audiences with hit US franchises. We welcome talented candidates with infectious enthusiasm and creativity, who love what they do, and are ready to learn, develop and thrive. Here you’ll find a community of innovative, collaborative and inspiring people who aren’t afraid to embrace responsibility and try new things together, as a team.

We are a certified Great Place to Work® with a motivated and supportive culture that believes in working to live, not just living to work. Every employee has a voice and is encouraged to be themselves and be ambitious. With offices in multiple locations, we are a truly international organisation that celebrates difference and diversity.

As an inclusive employer, we value the diversity of our teams and want our workforce to reflect our wider society. We encourage and welcome applications from people from under-represented backgrounds and are keen to make sure we are inclusive and accessible to all.