Business Director, 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.

EssenceMediacom, part of WPP, is a new breed of media agency. Grounded in analytics & insights and powered by data & technology, we believe in the power of media and creative to drive breakthroughs for the world’s best brands. We help clients understand the modern marketing paradox and discover the breakthroughs brands need to win with their consumers. We are designed for the new communications economy — built on data & technology, built for people & algorithms, built around diverse schools of thought, built to test & learn at scale, and, crucially, built to evolve.

We are looking for a passionate and enthusiastic Business Director to lead the Müller, Bolton and Gumtree Client Leadership team. Müller are a leading dairy and food manufacturer and is a fabric of the nation brand in its own right, with a portfolio of famous sub-brands from the iconic Müller Corner to new brand collaborations with the likes of Myprotein. Bolton, on the other hand, is an international consumer goods company with a portfolio of FMCG brands, who recently started advertising in the UK and have big growth ambitions. Whereas Gumtree is one of the UK's largest online marketplaces and classifieds platforms, who are transforming their business for the modern age. This role offers a lot of variety with one central theme: to help grow the clients' businesses and the agency in unison.

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.
• Our core values within our business unit are: -
  • All in – passionate about the industry, our clients and creating great work
  • Action-orientated – our clients move fast and there can be multiple workstreams to juggle Decision making and a keen focus on delivery are essential
  • Personal growth – we are motivated by growing ourselves and our teams
• Excellent leadership capability, both internally within the agency and with senior clients. Experience of leading large teams highly desired
• An analytical and inquisitive mindset and a passion for the industry
• A detailed understanding of communications planning with experience identifying the role for role for paid, owned, and earned media channels, and their contribution to business outcomes, both brand and performance
• Extensive digital experience, including working with in-house specialist teams
• Creative flair to enable campaign ideas to stand out and cut through a cluttered marketplace.
• Excellent communication skills, including leading cross agency teams and communicating effectively with multiple stakeholders
• Strong organisation skills, with the ability to manage a diverse workload and prioritise key work streams