Operations Associate Director in London

Company Description

Spark Foundry make up part of a thriving global media network and are part of the Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s leading communications groups. We are globally connected with over 8,000 employees in 110 offices across 70 countries.

Who We Are in the UK?

Spark Foundry, the Acceleration Agency. We help brands to identify, learn and respond to opportunities faster than the competition. Every client has an area of their business they need to accelerate, from short-term goals to long-term transformation. We’ve proven our approach during the most difficult year on record. Now we’re using it to provide a launchpad for their future. Come be an accelerator with us.

How We Accelerate

• Planning: an approach that works in practice rather than theory, arming planners with the ability to create cutting edge campaigns
• Intelligence: a suite of tools that give definitive answers to big questions, and uncovers actionable insights about real people
• Trading: a model built on flexibility and trusted relationships, underpinned with bold guarantees
• Relationships: a culture of asking challenging questions to better understand the brief - we are not a ‘yes’ agency
• People: a strong history of recruiting talent from diverse backgrounds and accelerating their careers

Our Commitment

We are diverse though our experience, people and the clients we look after - and we celebrate that diversity. Our people hold us accountable to our beliefs and via regular surveys and our grass roots D&I team, The Collective, and internal next generation board, Firestarters, we hold regular events and work continually towards generating ideas, initiatives and educating our people to ensure we are a diverse and inclusive agency.

As part of our dedication to create an inclusive and diverse workforce, Spark Foundry is committed to equal access to opportunity for people without regard to race, age, sex, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.

Overview

At SPARK FOUNDRY, we’re obsessed with making media work harder — for consumers, for brands, and for the people behind the work. We’re looking for an Operations Associate Director to be the engine room of our business: a confident operator who loves turning moving parts into momentum, and manual processes into elegant, automated workflows. If you thrive at the intersection of media, finance, governance, and project leadership, this role is built for you.

Responsibilities

What you’ll do

You’ll be the operational heartbeat of the MEU region — keeping teams aligned, reporting clean, processes scalable, and stakeholders confident.

• Operational leadership & regional coordination: Be the primary point of contact for all MEU operational and market coordination queries, including best-practice sharing. Lead monthly meetings, partnering with markets and internal teams to shape agendas and create meaningful content. Support the Strategy and Digital Ops teams, providing project management across key regional workstreams.
• Automation & efficiency: Identify friction in current workflows and drive automation that replaces manual tasks and lifts team efficiency. Refine and scale Ways of Working, templates, and governance to improve speed and quality across markets.
• Reporting, tools & governance: Own Redmill, our media spend reporting tool — ensuring strong processes, data accuracy, and continuous improvement (e.g., JBP commitments). Support rollout and adoption of Growth OS planning tools across Tier 1 markets. Oversee MMM governance across 8 key markets, ensuring consistency, deadlines, and compliance. Manage competitive data and build a reliable competitive reporting rhythm. Deliver high-quality client-specific ad hoc reporting (category/brand spend, network needs, etc.). Assist the global ops lead with all regional reporting cycles (bi-annual spend, AVBs, rebates).
• Financial stewardship: Oversee central financial tasks: track invoicing, manage scoped POs, and ensure billing aligns to commitments. Support the Client Lead with procurement relationship management, including quarterly FTE updates.

Qualifications

What you bring

We’re looking for someone who is equal parts strategic operator, process builder, and calm multi-stakeholder leader.

• Experience & Media Knowledge: A strong foundation in traditional and digital media, with broad industry knowledge and sharp awareness of agency positioning.
• Stakeholder confidence: Proven ability to integrate inter-agency teams and maintain strong relationships with clients and activation teams. A positive, proactive attitude — you spot risks early and move quickly to solve them.
• Communication with diplomacy: Excellent written and verbal communication. Comfortable challenging clients and teams with clarity and tact.
• Project leadership & detail: Highly organised with strong project management skills. A keen eye for detail and a commitment to high standards across disciplines.
• Operational excellence mindset: Confident managing multiple stakeholders and priorities while maintaining operational rigor. Curious, future-focused, and excited to move brands forward in smarter ways.

Additional Information

Spark has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees. In addition to the classics, Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical and Income Protection Plans we also offer:

• WORK YOUR WORLD: opportunity to work anywhere in the world, where there is a Publicis office, for up to 6 weeks a year.
• REFLECTION DAYS: Two additional days of paid leave to step away from your usual day-to-day work and create time to focus on your well-being and self-care.
• HELP@HAND BENEFITS: 24/7 helpline to support you on a personal and professional level. Access to remote GPs, mental health support and CBT. Wellbeing content and lifestyle coaching.
• FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES: We provide 26 weeks of full pay for the following family milestones: Maternity, Adoption, Surrogacy and Shared Parental Leave.
• FLEXIBLE WORKING, BANK HOLIDAY SWAP & BIRTHDAY DAY OFF: You are entitled to an additional day off for your birthday, from your first day of employment.
• GREAT LOCAL DISCOUNTS: This includes membership discounts with Soho Friends, local restaurants and retailers in Westfield White City and Television Centre.

Full details of our benefits will be shared when you join us!

Publicis Groupe operates a hybrid working pattern with full time employees being office-based three days during the working week. We are supportive of all candidates and are committed to providing a fair assessment process. If you have any circumstances (such as neurodiversity, physical or mental impairments or a medical condition) that may affect your assessment, please inform your Talent Acquisition Partner. We will discuss possible adjustments to ensure fairness. Rest assured, disclosing this information will not impact your treatment in our process.

Please make sure you check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).