Business 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.

Join an award‑winning team at the heart of UK government, where your work will genuinely shape lives. As part of WPP650 you’ll be part of a supportive, collaborative environment that values curiosity, kindness, and growth. Together, we use behaviour change principles to design smarter services, influence better decisions, and help millions of people across the country.

WPP 650 is a bespoke agency unit within WPP, dedicated to serving the evolving communications needs of government clients. We bring together the best of WPP's talent, technology, and insights to deliver impactful, modern, and effective public communications. We are at the forefront of reimagining how government engages with its citizens.

This is meaningful work with real‑world impact – the kind you can point to with pride.

Role Summary and Impact

The planning team are the guardians of creating industry‑leading, unrivalled work at WPP 650. We are central conduits to all specialists, striving to push boundaries and have a positive impact on consumers and brand.

WPP 650 is looking for a Business Director to join our growing planning team, to drive forward our planning output and help to create amazing work for our clients.

In this role, you will:

• Media Planning Craft: Lead the WPP 650 planning output on your specific client to create unrivalled work. Be able to articulate the strategic approach into media behaviours and train and support the wider team. Require strategic thinking on how we utilise tools and specialism outside of planning on response – sources of growth, measurement, learning agenda, data, etc. Build presence outside of current teams and drive visibility of the planning team within the wider agency. Bring a fresh perspective to planning approaches, including the use of different tools, new insights and coach others to challenge the status quo.
• Effective Communication: Overall responsibility for the development of all planning responses, ensuring we are developing unrivalled work in all executions. Manage senior client relationships, understanding what they need for their business and how to drive growth for them. Manage the planning team ensuring they have clear personal objectives, structure and regular reviews.
• Idea Creation and Storytelling: Build and develop relationships with media owners and look for opportunities to create unrivalled work. Have an advanced commercial understanding of WPP 650’s products and services. Understand which are suitable for their clients and how to sell in solutions. Be a storytelling expert, driving added value with the team and quality boosting output.

Core Skills:

• Practice Area Knowledge – Advanced: Demonstrates advanced understanding of the industry as well as future trends. Serves as an internal consultant/expert on at least some tools and technology, effectively guiding junior team members on advanced elements. Works with the leadership team to develop new solutions and/or spot new applications.
• Problem Solving – Advanced: Performs complex analyses of a range of information and identifies issues before they become problems; helps others think about how to define or redefine complex problems. Supports business leaders to find solutions and evaluates others’ solutions to determine the best way forward. Understands how to resolve escalated issues and coaches others to problem‑solve. Manages escalations.
• Stakeholder Management – Advanced: Capitalises on deep understanding of (current or potential) client and agency organisational structures, business processes, strategic objectives and challenges in order to anticipate and meet their needs. Demonstrates expert knowledge and monitors the client’s industry in order to create effective solutions. Advises key stakeholders by continuously helping them to successfully navigate through critical business changes.
• Effective Communication – Advanced: Leads the delivery of relevant and accurate information to drive maximum impact. Consistently delivers communications to influence and educate all levels of seniority, appropriately judging the demands of the situation. Creatively develops presentations and communications to help with the understanding/education of complex information.
• Campaign Management – Expert: Sets the standard for accuracy and thoroughness so that sufficiently detailed information is logged correctly. Balances short‑term considerations with long‑term goals and ensures that critical deliverables are met. Manages multiple overlapping timelines and competing demands, weighing the needs of different stakeholders across the business to determine priorities for parallel projects.
• Compelling Storytelling – Advanced: Lead and direct the creation of a story, taking into account client knowledge levels and needs. Applies deep expertise and sound judgement to persuade key decision makers on recommendation, considering all implications.
• Ideas Creation – Expert: Develops strategies to bring new technologies, innovations and products to life. Challenges the client and team in innovating and designing new solutions, methods and products to remain competitive and lead the industry.
• Comms Planning – Advanced: High technical knowledge of all media touchpoints as well as how they interplay and future trends. Serves as a consultant and quality controls plans, strategies and frameworks that leave the building.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits:

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work, and we’re just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, grow their networks, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising.

We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in‑office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include 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 particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

We believe the best work happens when we’re together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. 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 this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location.