Job Summary The Associate Director, Integrated Media Planning provides strategic and operational leadership across assigned accounts and media planning teams. This role oversees the development and delivery of integrated, channel-agnostic media strategies; ensures planning quality, financial stewardship, and cross-functional alignment; and serves as a senior day-to-day advisor to clients and agency partners. The Associate Director, Integrated Media Planning leads multiple or complex planning assignments, provides direction and escalation support to Managers and planners, and translates department standards into consistent account-level practices. The role also contributes to talent development, staffing and workload planning, new business, process improvement, and broader department priorities in partnership with senior media leadership.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities- Leads integrated media planning across multiple, significant, or complex accounts, ensuring plans connect audience insights, client objectives, channel roles, investment strategy, measurement, and optimization.
- Provides strategic direction and quality oversight throughout the planning process, including brief development, audience and consumer target definition, objectives, strategies, channel architecture, recommendations, and presentations.
- Oversees account planning workflows and deliverables; establishes priorities, monitors progress, resolves barriers, and ensures work is strategically sound, accurate, timely, and client-ready.
- Serves as a senior planning advisor to assigned clients and internal partners; anticipates business needs, facilitates strategic decisions, and takes ownership of complex media issues, growth opportunities, and test-and-learn initiatives.
- Leads development and presentation of integrated media recommendations and points of view; ensures the strategic rationale, investment choices, tradeoffs, and measurement approach are clear and defensible.
- Partners with SPARQ, Client Leadership, Creative, MAA, and other agency teams to ensure planning, activation, measurement, and optimization are cohesive and accountable.
- Maintains oversight of campaign performance, budgets, media spend, pacing, billing, deliverables, and strategic optimization; ensures significant variances and risks are communicated and resolved or escalated appropriately.
- Guides planning across digital and offline media channels and ensures channel recommendations work together within an integrated campaign strategy.
- Uses syndicated research, audience data, market intelligence, and planning tools to shape insights, strategies, and recommendations.
- Evaluates vendor, partner, and publisher capabilities and proposals; leads or provides guidance during negotiations; and ensures recommendations reflect client needs, investment considerations, and sound strategic rationale.
- Builds productive relationships with media partners and vendors and maintains knowledge of emerging capabilities, marketplace developments, and planning best practices.
- When assigned direct reports, manages, coaches, and develops team members by setting clear expectations, providing ongoing feedback, supporting career development, and reinforcing accountability.
- Provides direction and escalation support to junior team members; reviews work, strengthens planning skills, and promotes consistent application of department standards and processes.
- Partners with senior media leadership on staffing, workload planning, resource allocation, scopes, and account team structure for assigned business.
- Contributes to new business development, including discovery, research, strategy, proposal development, scoping, and presentations.
- Develops and shares media points of view, thought leadership, and planning best practices for internal and client-facing use.
- Identifies opportunities to improve planning tools, processes, collaboration, quality, and team performance; supports implementation of approved changes.
- Promotes positive working relationships and collaboration across the department, agency, clients, and vendor partners.
Qualifications:Education, Experience and Certifications- Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university preferred.
- 8+ years of progressive media planning experience, including experience leading complex integrated planning assignments.
- Broad knowledge of offline and online media channels, audience insights, and performance analytics.
- Demonstrated experience with shopper marketing and the development of integrated media solutions.
- Strong knowledge of digital disciplines, including display, online video, CTV, programmatic, social media, influencer media, SEM, digital coupons, and ad operations.
- Advanced understanding of media strategy, planning, negotiation, implementation, budget stewardship, measurement, and performance analysis.
- Demonstrated experience developing and presenting integrated media proposals, plans, and recommendations to clients.
- Demonstrated experience leading teams, developing talent, reviewing work, and coordinating resources across multiple assignments.
- Experience contributing to new business strategy, proposals, or presentations.
Blue Chip Benefits
- Hybrid Work Environment
- Medical, Dental & Vision Benefits
- 401K Contributions
- Flexible PTO Policy & Generous Holiday Schedule
- Rewards & Recognition Program
- Bonus Eligibility
- Summer Hours
- Parental Leave
The pay range for this position in Illinois is expected to be between $90,000 to $120,000 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective considerations
