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Director, Planning
2020 - Director, Planning @ Wavemaker
About Wavemaker & WPP Media
WPP Media, as part of WPP, is the AI-driven media operating unit—uniting media, data, and partnerships through WPP Open and Open Intelligence to deliver scale, creativity, and effectiveness.
Wavemaker reshapes consumer decision-making and experiences using media, content, and technology—empowering brands to navigate change, seize opportunity, and drive transformational growth.
Explore more at wppmedia.com.
Role Summary & Impact
The Planning Director is a pivotal force in Wavemaker’s commitment to brave brands and daring minds—someone who thrives on push boundaries, challenge norms, and deliver unrivalled results.
This role demands a strategic leader with an innate ability to plan media at scale, foster client-agency trust, and orchestrate campaigns with data-driven foresight.
Key Responsibilities
Media Planning Craft
- Deep expertise in media channels, ecosystems, and planning best practices.
- Translate strategic briefs into execution-focused plans for client pitches and active campaigns.
- Master Wavemaker’s Purchase Journey thinking—applying it in every engagement.
- Become an expert in our internal tools (OS, Architect) and external platforms (Telmar, data systems).
- Develop and nurture relationships with media owners and partners.
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Campaign Management & Change Leadership
- Oversee quality control—ensuring every output meets precision and ambition.
- Mediate commercial landscape between client realties and agency creativity.
- Build transparent relationships at mid-to-senior client-agency levels, translating complexity for stakeholders.
Storytelling & Comms Leadership
- Own planning presentations—defining scope, pulling insights, and refining narratives with fresh, strategic depth.
- Co-lead and provoke brainstorming for hömaing campaigns.
- Self-critically solve problems—combining data, insights, and experience to drive smarter decisions.
Required Skills & Experience
Wavemaker expects a **Planning Director who balances salted expertise with emerging curiosity, ensuring a dynamic tension between tradition and innovation.
Breadth & Depth of Practice
- Internal brand—deep familiarity with Wavemaker’s planning ethos and ** Purchase Journey framework**.
- Confident dissection/building of plans using both proprietary and third-party tools (e.g. *OS →*Telmar outputs, etc.).
- Experienced client management—complex objections require impact over yes-men.
Resilience
- Critical Thinking – Zen optics: Observe, challenge, rebalance.
- Dissect cross-channel trade-offs, troubleshoot in mid-campaign, collaborate.
- Client-agency Synergy – Operate fluently; unify internal forces and navigate client silos.
- Defining Moments – Present challenging propositions while keeping confidence cool and compact.
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Investment & Environment
Why Join Wavemaker?
WPP Media commits to Be Extraordinary and Lead Optimistically, growing creatives by:
- Advancing careers in a hybrid strengths factory—dial-in/outside power aligned with “situations over space.”
- Enabling bold ideas at every stage via global WPP+Wavemaker networks.
- Fostering authentic belonging through winnable moments and ERGs.
Committed Benefits (UK Role)
- Competitive protection packages (medical, dental, retirement, vision).
- Generous accrued leave + supplemental wellness hours.
- Wayfinding support with HR for tailored adjustments.
- Loyalty discounts for partners—offering 10$ savings per working day.
Global & Inclusive Culture
Wavemaker thrives in equality: Less on "tailored to you", more on "chose you" + "keep you."
Candid diagraming of our office: 4 days/week at Wavemaker’s HQ—teaming, sharing horseshoes, being seen.
Note: Usefulness and right to work (UK) are prerequisites. Please review here for privacy policy. We imagine, then we build reality—but actual invites to interview caps remain soul-searching “perform not holes.”
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