Associate Director, Media Planning

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.

For more information, visit wppmedia.com.

About the Role  

Your primary objective as the Associate Director is to supervise all implementation needs and communication to the client(s) and agency client/planning/other teams.  In this role liaising and coordinating with global marketing teams and understanding international marketing will be a key part of your duties.  In addition, you will have oversight of client implementation team to ensure productivity, including managing staffing and workload issues at the client team level.  You will provide strategic rigor to the implementation of the idea, ensuring integration of the work between creative and media. Above all you will be well versed in 360 media planning to be able to effectively convey and manage the media deliverable within the agencies.   

Your Impact  

• Coordinate international marketing initiatives with global internal teams   

• Help create and deliver on strong briefs   

• Develop strategic media plans across several portfolios   

• Effectively convey and manage the media output   

• Effectively works across all areas of the media process and closely with brand managers and creative agencies   

• Will have opportunities for creative and strategic input both with agencies and clients   

• Will need to manage client, agency, and vendor relationships   

• Help drive the overall media process and manage go-to market strategies   

• Ensure a high quality of execution cross-channel   

• Manage client and planning teams regarding marketplace conditions, industry intelligence and buying recommendations   

• Present insights, QBR’s and post reporting to clients   

• Gain client approval on optimizations and budget shifts   

• Maintain strong professional relationships with clients, suppliers, and agency partners   

• Have a strong working knowledge of agency and industry systems and tools   

• Responsible for fiscal management of brands within their portfolio   

• Ensure that recommendations and decisions are consistent with client’s marketing/advertising objectives and strategies   

• Provide strategic guidance and thought leadership within the media group   

• Oversee and approve Communications strategy for client businesses   

• Advise and direct planning staff regarding insightful and strategic points-of-view   

  Your Qualifications  

• Minimum 7+ years of implementation experience or related   

• Bachelor’s degree in advertising, marketing, business administration, and communications; OR equivalent professional work experience    

• International Marketing experience is a must   

• Agency or vendor experience preferred   

• Demonstrates advanced knowledge and understanding of media fundamentals and current trends   

• Proficient with MediaOcean, Infosys, Microsoft Office Software (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc.)   

About You  

• Digitally savvy: uses digital and social media, demonstrates passion about emerging media, Google Analytics, Google Images, ability to search and research topics, etc.   

• Works well in a team setting   

• Thrives in fast paced environment   

• Desire to learn, develop and progress   

• Embraces PACED (Passionate, Agile, Collaborative, Entrepreneur, Diversity) core values  

• Demonstrates expert understanding of the business successes, challenges, and strategic objectives; draws from experience to evaluate solutions from the business’s perspective and provides advice regarding potential opportunities and risks.  

• Owns the delivery of high-impact technical communications to drive maximum impact. Represents the business at the most senior levels to deliver a compelling and credible message.  

• Manages multiple overlapping timelines and competing demands, weighing the needs of different stakeholders across the business to determine priorities for parallel projects and sets priorities according to business needs.