Associate Director, Planning

Business Overview

UM is a global media agency committed to Futureproofing our clients' businesses. We leverage the transformational power of rich business analytics and real-time intelligence to maximize growth and activate the full consumer journey across content and connections. As the leading global media network in IPG Mediabrands, UM operates in over 100 countries, with more than 3,000 people innovating on a roster of global clients including Accenture, American Express, GoPro, Johnson & Johnson, Levi Strauss & Co, Mattel, Sony, and Spotify. UM is globally headquartered in New York, with North American offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Birmingham, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto.

At UM, we know our employees are our greatest asset. We are committed to fostering a culture rooted in Diversity, Equity & Belonging, where everyone feels they belong, and their contributions are valued. We prioritize personal and professional growth, encourage an entrepreneurial spirit to pursue passion projects, and celebrate our people and community with moments of joy and spontaneity. Our leadership is dedicated to building a culture of care that permeates every element of the company from work flexibility to career planning to regular talent reviews, and more. Our DNA, for UM, helps guide us in all that we do:

Fearless: We bring our authentic selves to work and put our whole selves into the work
Optimistic: We approach challenges with empathy and curiosity, infusing joy into everything we do
Relentless: We’re unwavering in our pursuit of the right solution, eager to reimagine what’s possible
Unified: We band together to accomplish what we could not otherwise do alone
Masterful: We’re constantly growing in our craft, setting new standards for our industry and our world

We are proud to be named an AdAge Best Place to Work several times over, a Top Workplace in the US by Great Places to Work, a top 10 FORTUNE 2022 Best Workplaces in Advertising & Marketing and She Runs It’s 2021 Outstanding Company for Working Mothers. But feedback is most meaningful when it comes from our own people: over 90% of our employees say the agency is a great place to work and 95% say they are proud to work at UM.

Position Overview

As Associate Director, Planning, you’ll support the vision and strategic plan for the account, ensuring success across Work Quality, Client Relationships, Financials, and Team Health. You’ll play a key role in planning and executing media strategies integral to their business success and launch industry-leading work that propels the business forward.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the day-to-day management and communication of media plans for designated client from ideation to delivery
• Lead communication and relationships with internal agency specialty teams and creative partners
• Ensure the strategy and audience insights are funneled down into the tactical media plan
• Ensure accuracy of all client deliverables
• Ensure measurement and learning agendas are implemented within the media plan and delivered to the client
• Lead day to day communication and relationship with investment teams to identify the right channels and partners to execute the media plan
• Responsible and accountable to the implementation of media plan and deliverables, driving relationship with internal teams and partners including strategy, buying, analytics and SBUs
• Responsible for development of the media plan, making strategic ideas come to life in partnership with cross functional partners (i.e. SBUs, buying team, analytics, etc.)

Required Skills and Experience

• Strong institutional knowledge of media planning principals
• Build strong collaborative relationships with cross functional partners, internal teams, and stakeholders
• Comfortable exploring new technologies, platforms and approaches to push the needle on big ideas
• Ability to manage both upwards and downwards to ensure cross team communication
• Ability to speak/present to both junior and senior level clients
• Strong presentation skills
• Proactive approach to problem solving
• UM does not require candidates to have a college degree

Desired Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of integrated planning and 2-3 years experience in a people manager role; strong ability to delegate, train, and support direct reports
• Experienced people manager, supporting team in career development, training, and workload management
• Ability to learn/master agency tools specific to your account (MediaTools, Growth Accelerator, NMI)
• Project management; effectively managing multiple projects and meeting tight deadlines under a fast-paced enviro