Commerce Director

Company Description

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 through 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.

Job Description

Join us as a Retail Media Director and take the lead in delivering powerful, results-driven strategies for some of our most important clients. This is a senior, high-impact role where you’ll drive commercial growth, lead exceptional retail media activations, and translate complex strategies into compelling stories for senior stakeholders. Working within our Power of One client teams, you’ll combine deep expertise with strategic vision, getting hands-on with campaign performance while influencing business outcomes at the highest level. You’ll lead talented teams, harness cutting-edge tools and technologies, and help shape both GB delivery and EU5 initiatives alongside senior leadership. If you’re ready to lead innovation, drive growth, and make a real impact in retail media, this is your opportunity.

Responsibilities:

• Client Strategy & Delivery: Develop innovative eRetail strategies aligned to client business objectives, ensuring high-quality, on-time delivery across all client work.
• Campaign Performance & Optimisation: Provide strategic direction and oversee retail media campaign activations, driving continuous optimisation and measurable results.
• Client Growth & Commercial Opportunities: Identify and pursue opportunities to expand client scope, build strategic roadmaps, and collaborate with internal stakeholders to drive business growth.
• Solutions & Innovation: Integrate current and emerging commerce solutions into client strategies and provide insights to support ongoing solution development.
• Marketing & Thought Leadership: Contribute to marketing initiatives including case studies, thought leadership, and industry visibility, while maintaining team knowledge and best practices.
• Team Leadership & Operations: Support team development, foster collaboration, oversee onboarding and finance processes, and ensure efficient team utilisation and delivery standards.

Qualifications:

• Experience in retail media and/or agency environments, including hands‑on experience with platforms such as Amazon Advertising, Epsilon Retail Media, or Criteo.
• Proven experience managing large client accounts, ideally within an agency setting.
• Strong knowledge of retail media and search strategies, full-funnel media planning, attribution, conversion optimisation, and consumer behaviour.
• Solid understanding of retail operations, including profit margins, inventory, forecasting, demand planning, and Amazon vendor/seller models.
• Experience with retail media technologies (e.g., bid management and digital shelf analytics tools such as Skai, Pacvue, Profitero, or similar).
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and presentation skills, with experience leading and developing teams.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to drive innovation, set team goals, and deliver measurable outcomes.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills for data analysis and reporting; relevant retail media or platform certifications are a plus.

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).