OOH Director

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 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

The Account Director is responsible for leading the delivery of the Spark OOH offering, across their assigned clients. You will also be a critical support to the Business Director in delivering the agency development plan, cultivating a high-performing team, and pioneering a market-leading Publicis Media OOH product.

As the Account Director, you will lead the direct reports in the day-to-day delivery of ‘best-in-class OOH solutions, which are integrated, data-driven, technology-enabled and innovative. You will be accountable for continually motivating the team and developing their capability; ensuring output is consistently high quality, efficient, accurate and profitable.

You will be responsible for the effective deployment and evolution of the ‘Planning Framework’. Your responsibility will also include ensuring all working processes are compliant with Operations ways of working and Sparks SLAs. Working with the centralised Trading team and PMX, you will ensure contractual (i.e., PRFs) and commercial (i.e., spend direction/APEX) objectives are met for your Clients.

The Account Director creates and implements business development plans for assigned ‘Key Clients’. These plans must be aligned to the Spark Agency Development plan KPIs; as set out by your Business Director.

Your remit will also include the day-to-day mobilisation of your team centred on the Spark vision; inspiring the agency so that all organic growth and new business opportunities are capitalised on.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery of revenue, billing targets and strategic KPIs across allocated OOH clients
• Lead new business activity including pricing, submissions, propositions, presentations and client transitions
• Develop and execute SMART Key Client growth plans in partnership with senior stakeholders
• Translate client business strategies into high-impact OOH planning, buying and activation solutions
• Drive best-in-class OOH planning and buying, ensuring SLA, PRF and ECOS compliance
• Lead cross-functional collaboration (trading, activation, data, innovation, automation) to maximise ROI
• Build transformational media owner partnerships and agile trading strategies to unlock incremental growth
• Oversee resource planning, team workloads and delivery quality across all client briefs
• Champion automation, data, dynamic and APEX opportunities to improve performance and efficiency
• Ensure commercial governance: forecasting, financial accuracy, audits, guarantees and reporting
• Proactively manage senior client, planner, investment and media owner relationships
• Provide clear performance reporting, insights and recommendations to Business Director and leadership
• Lead and develop high-performing teams through coaching, training, appraisals and capability building
• Promote OOH effectiveness internally and externally through case studies, events and thought leadership
• Drive continuous improvement by sharing best practice across Publicis Media and evolving the OOH offer

Qualifications

• Excellent OOH knowledge and broad experience in planning and buying, including the application of all industry and internal planning and administration tools e.g. Purl, Route, Planner, and Touchpoints.
• High level of knowledge and experience in the broad marketing and advertising landscape as well as being an expert in OOH.
• Strong understanding of digital media concepts, propositions and Posterscope digital services.
• Excellent negotiation skills to convert client challenges into solutions which deliver against commercial objectives and campaign KPIs.
• Strong project management skills to handle a high volume of work and allocate resources and work types in the most efficient and effective way.
• Excellent understanding of the business priorities and strategy to appreciate the impact of any emerging trends and technology to identify any specific business development opportunities.
• Resilient and able to handle conflict in a pressurised environment with an energised and enthusiastic approach and a high level of tenacity.
• Demonstrates a strong collaborative approach to sharing ideas and business intelligence which supports the overall performance of the function and the business.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence a broad range of senior external and internal stakeholders.
• Excellent relationship builder, who can pro-actively build and maintain agency and client contacts and become a trusted advisor. Capable of managing the day-to-day working interactions with agency planners, Central Trading Team, Media Owner partners and Clients.
• Strong commercial skills to identify specific opportunities to develop organic business, maintain high-spending clients and convert new advertisers to OOH. Capable of managing brief pipelines, anticipating challenges and providing potential solutions.
• Strategic thinker demonstrating strong skills in presenting innovative thinking and solutions to clients.
• Strong leadership skills to manage, motivate and coach, with the ability to inspire a diverse group of people.

Additional Information

Zenith UK 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).