Planning Director

Planning Director

London Full-Time 43200 - 72000 £ / year (est.) No home office possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead strategic planning and create innovative communication strategies for key clients.
  • Company: Wavemaker is a global media agency focused on audience understanding and growth.
  • Benefits: Enjoy a fun work culture, generous family policies, and opportunities for professional development.
  • Why this job: Join a team that values curiosity, creativity, and impactful storytelling in media planning.
  • Qualifications: Experience in media planning, strong communication skills, and a knack for consumer insights required.
  • Other info: Be part of an award-winning culture and contribute to thought leadership in the industry.

The predicted salary is between 43200 - 72000 £ per year.

PLANNING DIRECTOR

About the role:

The Planning Account Director is an important role within the Wavemaker Worldwide team. The role involves working on solving problems and creating Communications Strategies for one of our key clients. Given the breadth of our relationship with this client, the role involves elements of both multi-market planning and account management.

Responsibilities:

  1. Use, interpret and synthesize data from multiple sources to find the insight and articulate the story.
  2. Translate the brief and data into tasks for communications around the consumer purchase journey.
  3. Able to dig deep into consumer insight – understanding the why behind the what of people’s behavior and decision making.
  4. Putting audience-led thinking at the heart of our recommendations to clients, drawing on novel and disparate data sources (and working with our audience science team) to create comprehensible and actionable audience-led strategies.
  5. Knowledgeable across all media channels, from posters to sponsored stories. Clearly articulate their role and how they contribute to our clients’ growth.
  6. Be fully fluent in the latest platform innovation and ensure our communication recommendations to clients leverage platform best practices.
  7. Provide actionable activation recommendations to clients, harnessing platform best practices to make platform, format, and orchestration recommendations.
  8. Create strategic recommendations which drive innovative and effective use of communications (and measurable business outcomes).
  9. Work with (and steer the conversation with) external agencies that work with our clients.
  10. Present back work and solutions with empathy, authority, and conviction.

The candidate:

  1. Experienced media planner, able to understand client’s business challenges and engage strategists and specialists to develop a planning strategy to address them.
  2. Clarity in conceiving & delivering compelling media recommendations to clients, supported by robust communications planning skills and storytelling.
  3. Advanced expertise in industry planning tools & insight gathering, to build a deep understanding of the consumer, the client’s business, and its specific Purchase Journey opportunities.
  4. Ability to articulate to clients the key deliverables around campaigns, to confidently manage timelines and prioritize deadlines.
  5. Ability to define the tasks for media, tech, and content investment, develop channel roles and investment priorities based around tasks.
  6. Extensive experience in people management – training, development, and feedback programs that ensure the ongoing development of Managers/Executives.

In this role, you will:

  1. Contribute to thought leadership activity; writing articles, presenting at forums and rolling your sleeves up to dig into the Momentum database and find new and interesting stories.
  2. Help foster an ‘award-winning’ culture by showcasing great award-winning work and helping the agency focus on creating and submitting excellent work for awards.
  3. Be constantly curious. Read lots, share lots. Question perspectives. Contribute to debate.
  4. Have fun: We are at our best when coming to work is fun!

About Wavemaker UK:

Wavemaker is a global media agency. We believe there is a better way to grow. By leveraging our deep understanding of audiences, the Provocative Planning process, and the world’s largest database of purchase journeys, we deliver exceptional growth for clients including Audible, Nationwide, Danone, Asahi, and Morrisons.

Unlike traditional linear media planning, our modular approach combines machine learning and human intelligence to unlock, maximize, and transform growth for the world’s leading brands and businesses.

A part of GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management company, our 7,650 people across 88 markets are defined by their attitude of positive provocation, which means:

  1. deep knowledge of our clients’ business.
  2. the confidence to challenge what’s gone before.
  3. the support to go further than we thought possible.

Discover more at wavemakerglobal.com/uk or follow us @WavemakerUK.

We are an equal opportunities employer and support the life choices of our employees.

All GroupM agencies are equal opportunities employers and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender identity, disability, culture/religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age.

We support the life choices of our employees, offering generous family and carer-friendly policies.

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Planning Director employer: Wavemaker

Wavemaker UK is an exceptional employer that fosters a vibrant and inclusive work culture, where creativity and collaboration thrive. As a Planning Director, you will benefit from extensive professional development opportunities, a supportive environment that encourages innovative thinking, and the chance to work with leading global brands. Our commitment to employee well-being is reflected in our generous family-friendly policies, ensuring that coming to work is not just productive but also enjoyable.
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Contact Detail:

Wavemaker Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Planning Director

✨Tip Number 1

Familiarize yourself with the latest trends in media planning and audience insights. This will not only help you understand the role better but also allow you to engage in meaningful conversations during interviews.

✨Tip Number 2

Showcase your ability to synthesize data from various sources by preparing a case study or example of how you've successfully used data to inform a communications strategy in the past.

✨Tip Number 3

Demonstrate your understanding of the consumer purchase journey by discussing specific strategies you've implemented that were audience-led. Be ready to explain the 'why' behind your decisions.

✨Tip Number 4

Prepare to discuss your experience in managing teams and developing talent. Highlight any training programs you've led or participated in, as this is crucial for the people management aspect of the role.

We think you need these skills to ace Planning Director

Data Interpretation
Consumer Insight Analysis
Communications Strategy Development
Media Planning Expertise
Storytelling Skills
Audience-Led Thinking
Platform Innovation Knowledge
Campaign Management
Strategic Recommendations
Client Relationship Management
Project Management
People Management
Training and Development
Presentation Skills
Curiosity and Continuous Learning

Some tips for your application 🫡

Understand the Role: Before applying, make sure you fully understand the responsibilities and requirements of the Planning Director position. Tailor your application to highlight your relevant experience in media planning and account management.

Showcase Your Skills: In your CV and cover letter, emphasize your advanced expertise in industry planning tools, storytelling abilities, and experience in managing teams. Provide specific examples of how you've successfully developed and executed media strategies.

Demonstrate Curiosity and Thought Leadership: Wavemaker values curiosity and thought leadership. Mention any articles you've written, forums you've presented at, or innovative ideas you've contributed to past projects. This will show your proactive approach and alignment with their culture.

Tailor Your Application: Customize your cover letter to reflect Wavemaker's values and mission. Discuss how your background aligns with their approach to audience-led strategies and your enthusiasm for contributing to an award-winning culture.

How to prepare for a job interview at Wavemaker

✨Understand the Client's Business

Before the interview, make sure to research Wavemaker and its key clients. Understand their business challenges and how the Planning Director role can address them. This will help you articulate your insights and recommendations effectively.

✨Showcase Your Data Skills

Be prepared to discuss how you use data to inform your strategies. Highlight your experience with industry planning tools and insight gathering, and be ready to provide examples of how you've translated data into actionable recommendations.

✨Demonstrate Audience-Led Thinking

Emphasize your ability to put audience-led thinking at the heart of your strategies. Discuss how you have previously used consumer insights to drive media recommendations and how you can leverage novel data sources for effective communication.

✨Communicate with Empathy and Authority

Practice presenting your ideas clearly and confidently. In the interview, focus on how you can articulate your role in contributing to client growth and how you can steer conversations with external agencies effectively.

Planning Director
Wavemaker
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  • Planning Director

    London
    Full-Time
    43200 - 72000 £ / year (est.)

    Application deadline: 2027-02-07

  • W

    Wavemaker

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