Contract: 12-month FTC (with a view to becoming permanent)

The Role

A rapidly growing, independent media business is seeking a senior Director of Planning to define and lead its strategic planning approach.

This position will establish a clear, future-facing planning methodology that brings consistency across client work, new business, and agency partnerships. You’ll play a central role in shaping how strategy is developed, how media investment decisions are made, and how planning contributes to commercial growth.

The successful candidate will be equally comfortable building frameworks from the ground up and applying them to live briefs, while influencing stakeholders at all levels.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Design and implement a unified planning approach that can be scaled across multiple client categories and partner agencies.

• Lead the strategic response to client challenges and new business opportunities, translating briefs into compelling, commercially grounded recommendations.

• Work closely with client leadership and account teams to create clear, persuasive planning narratives.

• Collaborate with creative partners to ensure media thinking strengthens and amplifies the impact of ideas from the earliest stages.

• Identify and integrate relevant data sources, tools, and partnerships to improve the quality, accuracy, and effectiveness of planning outputs.

• Support the rollout and adoption of AI-enabled planning solutions, embedding them into day-to-day workflows.

• Contribute to thought leadership, marketing initiatives, and the external profile of the agency.

• Raise the overall standard of planning capability and help define the future structure of the function.

What We’re Looking For

• Extensive experience (typically 8+ years) in media strategy, communications planning, or a similar discipline.

• Proven ability to work across a full range of channels, both digital and offline.

• Strong commercial mindset, with a track record of connecting media strategy to business performance.

• Highly developed storytelling skills, with the ability to build impactful presentations and strategic narratives.

• Experience in high-growth, entrepreneurial, or evolving environments where autonomy and pace are essential.

• Curiosity about the role of AI and emerging technology in improving planning quality and operational efficiency.

• A proactive, self-starting approach with the confidence to shape new ways of working.

Why This Role Stands Out

• A genuine opportunity to build something from the ground up and influence the long-term direction of the business.

• A culture that prioritises effectiveness, innovation, and commercial outcomes over process and hierarchy.

• Close collaboration with senior stakeholders and creative partners.

• A fast-moving environment where ideas are implemented quickly and your impact is visible.