AV Director in London

About The Group

The world is obsessed by small start-ups or the largest corporates. Most UK media agencies are built to serve the top 100 spending clients, and there are a multitude of boutique agencies to serve those starting out in business. The Specialist Works is different. We are built exclusively for marketers at entrepreneurial brands. Businesses that are past the messy start-up stage but are worlds away from the slow‑paced nature of large corporates. Our clients span large privately owned businesses (often PE backed, founder‑led or both) and small to mid‑cap public enterprises. They are fighting larger, more established competitors and know they need to think and behave differently to win. They don't conform to category norms. Since they can't out‑spend their competition, disruption is the safest move they can make. The marketers leading these brands are innovative, resourceful, moving at pace and in all‑out growth mode. They're powerful; redefining categories, overtaking and acquiring traditional businesses and changing consumer behaviour along with it.

Consumer – customer acquisition is key to their success

Company – highly ambitious and built lean

Category – often out‑spent by competitors, need to out‑maneuver and disrupt an established category

Role Overview

The AV team are the broadcast media specialists of The Specialist Works. We offer clients a unique combination of high service levels, international exposure and market‑leading analysis, which has helped bring about sustained fast revenue growth. You will be leading a team in planning and buying across all areas of AV (traditional linear spot, BVOD, CTV, radio and sponsorship). You will be directing the business of 2‑3 key agency clients, free from the shackles of network agency deals to lead best‑in‑class planning proposals. You'll also be a leader of people, managing and developing others. You’ll have a can‑do attitude and an infectious “What’s Possible” approach to delivering the best work our clients have seen. The role can be based in either London or Bristol, with flexibility to choose work location (home/office/other).

Key Responsibilities

• Establish yourself as the lead on your business, recognised as the spearhead for the accounts.
• Serve as the senior‑level point of contact, taking ownership of client happiness, commercial performance, internal reporting and forecasting for the AV team.
• Live up to TSW's reputation of consistently meeting/exceeding client expectations and grow their business through TSW.
• Work with the client teams to understand the business dynamics so you can deliver highly relevant responses.
• Anticipate and resolve client challenges by quickly identifying opportunities and threats, keeping senior client team informed when needed.
• Establish best practice through the planning process, leading to greater innovation and creativity – oversee delivery of the Now, New, What’s Possible agenda.
• Provide guidance to your team, wider client and specialist teams with ongoing feedback to constantly improve our collective offering.
• Play a pivotal part in new business pitch teams, coordinating and presenting responses.
• Manage and improve the quality of everything produced by your team, delivering far above the minimum expected standard in media planning, optimisation, analysis, communication, negotiation and presentation.
• Demonstrate technical knowledge, performance planning, online marketing and general media knowledge to deliver client results, train teams and develop propositions.

What You'll Ideally Bring to the Role

• Good experience in utilising AV systems including DDS, Techedge, C Flight etc.
• Understanding of the linear audio landscape & how radio supports TV.
• Strong leadership skills to oversee team output on AV accounts.
• Applying data insights to influence future buying and planning optimisations.
• Creating, presenting and communicating insights to clients (written & oral).
• Strong experience working with data & creating actionable insights.
• Experience in understanding the AV landscape & the fragmentation of viewing for audiences.
• Ability to tell a story, taking clients on a journey through your response to briefs.
• Experience in managing, developing and coaching team members.
• Experience working with external agency partners.

Benefits

• A minimum of 3 days per week in the office.
• May require some travel to meet with clients or attend industry events on an ad‑hoc basis.

We provide an exciting, fast‑paced, people‑first environment that allows everyone to grow, learn and thrive. We work a 9‑day fortnight, meaning staff have every other Friday off. We offer our employees share options, and we have built a benefits package that invests in our employees’ long‑term personal and professional growth and wellbeing. The What’s Possible Group is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all, regardless of race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation or age as we seek to recruit the very best from a diverse talent pool. If you require flexible working options, please still get in touch and we’ll be as accommodating as we can.