Account Director, Planning in London

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth. WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

Role Summary and Impact

This is an unparalleled opportunity to accelerate your career, empowering Colgate brand teams to lead, fostering robust collaboration with our hubs and growth markets, and spearheading true innovation in communications planning. You will be instrumental in leading the end-to-end BEP/IMC development process, overseeing the timely delivery of planning templates, content needs, and activation guidelines across EMEA.

Job Summary:

As an Audience and Communications Planning Director, you will serve as a strategic planning leader, responsible for implementing the development of audience and communications strategies within Colgate’s BEP/IMC framework for EMEA. You will translate detailed consumer insight work, market trends, and client business objectives into actionable, integrated comms and audience plans that leverage the full breadth of WPP Media's capabilities and the wider WPP network expertise (creative, production, specialists). This role demands confident client collaborative leadership, analytical prowess, presentation skills, and a relentless passion for pushing the boundaries of media effectiveness and customer experience.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership & BEP/IMC Development: Drive the end-to-end development of comprehensive audience and communications strategies for Gold and Silver IMC projects and multi-market brands, ensuring alignment with overall brand objectives, business goals, and our established BEP/IMC development framework. Be a key player in our strategic evolution, actively contributing to the 'Leading' and 'Collaborative' shifts outlined in our 2025 vision, acting as a primary strategic partner to clients and internal teams across WPP. Contribute significantly to the strategic direction of BEP for the EMEA region, guiding its implementation and internal training initiatives.
• Audience Expertise & Insight Generation: Leverage your deep understanding of consumer behaviour and WPP's resources to drive profound audience understanding through proprietary tools, market research, behavioural data, and cultural insights. Identify key segments, motivations, and journey touchpoints, maintaining and evolving Colgate Audience Catalogue for the Division. Identify sources of growth and translate them into locally relevant audience strategies, advising our Hubs on effective audience activation and enrichment. Oversee the development of critical WPP comms-specific insight work for EMEA, sharing best practices across the network.
• Communications Frameworks & Ecosystem Orchestration: Develop robust communications architectures and ecosystem maps that define the role of different channels (paid, owned, earned) and content types across the consumer journey, encompassing Colgate’s Brand Experience planning process (touchpoints, roles, formats, KPIs, messaging, destinations). Lead content briefing alongside creative teams and ensure timely delivery of key comms planning elements, including the creation of comms planning (Attention Consideration Purchase Loyalty) templates, asset lists, and toolkit production. Oversee the integration of division-level initiatives (e.g., Ogilvy social strategy, OAC 1PD workstream) into comprehensive comms plans, ensuring seamless execution.
• Client & Stakeholder Management: Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to clients, presenting complex strategies with clarity and conviction, fostering strong relationships, and identifying opportunities for growth and innovation. Manage the planning process end-to-end, coordinating crucial internal and external meetings (briefings, check-ins, creative strategy, market alignments), managing timelines, scope, expectations, and writing internal briefs. Ensure market needs are thoroughly accounted for in division comms plans, acting as a key liaison.
• Integrated Planning & Collaboration: Collaborate seamlessly with your colleagues in media buying, creative, data sciences, analytics, and other specialist teams (e.g., WPPCP creative planners, WPPCP client teams, WPP Media Digital, Audience team, ACE team, Ogilvy), ensuring strategies are translated into effective and measurable execution within the BEP process. Work closely with Channel specialists, including Retail/eCommerce, to develop integrated, omnichannel strategies and lead WM Hub teams on eCommerce and eRetail strategy.
• Innovation & Future-Forward Thinking: Stay at the forefront of evolving media landscapes, ad-tech, consumer behaviour shifts, and emerging platforms, proactively integrating new approaches into planning frameworks, specifically championing 'True Innovation' via target test-and-learn approaches. Drive the evolution towards enhanced 'CX' by fostering closer integration of commerce with the ACE team and stronger insight capabilities, leveraging your internal understanding. Contribute to adding innovation and challenging existing approaches in IMC briefs.
• Team Development & Mentorship: Guide, mentor, and inspire junior planners, fostering a culture of strategic thinking, creativity, and continuous professional development, and actively participating in upskilling brand teams.
• Performance & Measurement: Define clear KPIs, work with analytics teams to establish measurement frameworks, and contribute to post-campaign analysis to optimize future strategies and demonstrate ROI, including supplying data for MMM analyses for priority/lead markets and brands.
• Thought Leadership: Contribute to internal and external thought leadership initiatives, sharing best practices, case studies, and insights across the WPP network and industry, including contributing to professional strategy, 1PD, influencer, and special projects. Actively participate in new business pitches, bringing strategic vision and innovative planning approaches to prospective clients.

Skills and Experience

Experience:

• Progressive experience in media planning, communications planning, or strategic planning roles, with experience on multi market or global clients.
• Proven track record of developing and leading successful, integrated omnichannel communications strategies for major brands across multiple markets, with a strong emphasis on EMEA.
• Demonstrated experience in a leadership role (director level), managing and mentoring strategic planning teams.
• Strong background in digital media planning and strategy, with a solid understanding of traditional media.
• Direct experience with Brand Ecosystem Planning (BEP) and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) frameworks is highly desirable.

Skills & Knowledge:

• Expertise in audience segmentation, consumer journey mapping, behavioral economics, and demonstrated proficiency in leveraging WPP's Audience Catalogue and proprietary tools.
• Proficiency with media planning and research tools (e.g., Comscore, Nielsen, MRI, GWI), with a strong command of WPP proprietary tools like Connect+ (WPP Open).
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights and compelling narratives.
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills (written and verbal) with the ability to articulate complex strategies clearly to diverse audiences.
• Deep understanding of the ad-tech ecosystem, programmatic buying, social media platforms, emerging media channels, and the integration of Retail/eCommerce strategies.
• Proven familiarity with WPP's internal ecosystem (e.g., Ogilvy social strategy, OAC 1PD, and ACE team functionalities) is key.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, particularly in managing complex processes, timelines, and deliverables (e.g., ACPL templates, asset lists) within our operational framework.
• Highly collaborative, with a proven ability to work cross-functionally and build strong internal and external relationships across the WPP network (e.g., with WPPCP, WPP Media Digital, ACE team, Hubs).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word).

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Be Extraordinary, investing in our employees to inspire transformational creativity. We also Lead Optimistically, firmly believing in and Championing Growth and Development for every individual. This commitment allows WPP Media employees to leverage the extensive global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, build vital professional connections, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising.

We Create an Open environment built on trust and respect, where everyone feels they belong and has opportunities to progress. This inclusive culture is fostered through a variety of employee resource groups and frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our comprehensive benefits package reflects this commitment, including competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection in this open and supportive environment. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

Please note that while our philosophy is the same across WPP, benefits may vary by office/country.

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location.

While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.