Media Planning Director

Functional Competencies:

Client Management
- Establish a partner-relationship with clients by being involved in the business environment.
- Provide business solutions through media approaches for assigned brands.
- Overall account stewardship to ensure communication strategy and implementation are in sync towards clients' business direction.
- Undertake key initiatives/business solutions in tandem with clients' goals, business objectives and priorities.
- Manage clients' requests appropriately (e.g. push back on unreasonable timelines, make judgment or evaluate value on ad hoc requests).
- Take ownership for assigned brands.
- Maintain regular WIPs, dialogues and reviews to ensure effective work processes.
- Improve and uphold agency evaluation.
- Create and deliver digital media solutions blending strategy, innovations & insights with creative excellence to achieve a brand's marketing objective.

Business Partner Management
- Leverage good relationships with senior business partners (e.g. creative, media owners) to obtain updated information that contributes to the brand objectives and value-add to clients.
- Conduct professional briefings to business partners on innovations and ensure alignment to clients' objectives.
- Establish partnership processes with business partners (e.g. rules of engagement).
- Establish rapport and understanding with senior business partners and ensure clear documentation on all communications.
- Ensure best value from all negotiations across media owners and campaigns.
- Manage and resolve conflicts for Level I & II (Executives and Managers).

Research & Media Applications Proficiency
- Guide and troubleshoot for Level II on applications usage.
- Display competency in using advanced functions in each tool.
- Able to tap into proprietary consumer insight applications or alternative sources for more in-depth analysis.
- Proficient in using agency's planning approach.

Financial
- Identify opportunities for organic growth of the business.
- Uphold financial policy and integrity to avoid violation or potential fraud.
- Assist team members to reconcile all media payment variances of assigned brands.
- Work with team members to ensure accurate and timely invoicing (e.g. regular review of unbilled reports, resolve unbilled cases with Finance).
- Resolve all ageing matters.
- Accurate business forecast of assigned accounts (monthly and annually).

Industry Knowledge (Consumer, Business or Brand Insights)
- Exhibit good understanding and forecast on media/ industry/brand development & implications to the businesses.
- Evaluate the strategic implications of media/ industry/brand developments and identify opportunities & threats to businesses (short to long term).

Investment Management
- Optimize the given investment or allocate appropriate investments by medium/brands.
- Provide investment consultation to clients on appropriate budget to meet the desired objectives.
- Supervise cost management for brand across medium used.
- Master contract management (e.g. propose, negotiate, track fulfillment, etc.)
- Input on action plans in expenditure reports.
- Reconcile all sources of costing/investment variances.

Corporate Responsibility
- Lead/participate in pitches.
- Drive awards submission.
- Demonstrate appropriate behaviors to uphold the company's image, reputation and credentials.
- Identify new business opportunities.
- Collaborate with function/practice leads on best practice development.
- Demonstrate responsible hiring of talents (e.g. fair employment practice) and ability to manage termination well with due diligence.
- Mentor and ensure all direct reports master the skills and organizational savvy required for advancement.

• Support the Media Director in ensuring that we deliver high client satisfaction scores (which means we constantly have a pulse on the relationship).
• Lead on day to day running of the account with clients & agency partners.
• Drive relationships at the appropriate levels of our client organizations.
• Help provide communication solutions that consider all potential appropriate routes, e.g. with a focus on performance media – paid search, programmatic, digital, social as well as offline media, web analytics, branded content, communications planning etc.
• Create strategies and make in-depth recommendations based on strong grasp of analytics, marketing & research concepts.
• Manage the daily workflow of all client campaigns, and work with various internal and external stakeholders, including creative agencies and media owners to deliver campaign objectives.
• Able to organize & delegate, sensitive to needs & problems of reporting staff – works across buying & planning issues.
• Be aware of opportunities to drive revenue streams from existing relationships and leverage cases from existing relationships to create new relationships.
• Assist in mentoring and developing team members.

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Min. 8+ years' experience in a client-facing consultative role, primarily in a media or consulting discipline.
• Progressive levels of responsibility and business acumen in marketing and communications, team management, p/l management.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills – effectively presents formal POV internally and externally.
• Converts ideation into strategy and operational plans to create breakthrough results – leverages broad and deep understanding on industry, media, marketplace, client and company.
• Strong EQ - Excellent inspirational team leader - demonstrated ability to establish high levels of trust and credibility internally and externally and influence others to action; actively open to learn from others at all levels.
• Team oriented- approachable and viewed as coach and mentor to others.
• Critical assessor and builder of talent - attracts, develops and motivates high performing team with diverse perspectives and experiences. Actively focused on succession and pushing talent to exercise greater confidence and authority to act. Quickly addresses performance issues.
• Demonstrated critical thinking skill and strong problem-solving skills – navigates effectively through conflict and risk to build required consensus to drive innovative business needs and results.
• High results orientation and able to effectively juggle and prioritize many competing demands – high tolerance to effectively manage change.
• Strong workflow management skills including organizational, time/project management, planning and implementation, prioritization, ability to delegate when necessary.

Our employee benefits package comprises the following:

• Generous leave entitlements, including birthday leave, rest day and family care leave.
• Office closure for World Mental Health Day 10th October.
• Additional Company closure for all 4 major festive Celebrations.
• Cashless comprehensive medical coverage, including access to a panel clinic, dental and optical care.
• Life and personal accident insurance and group hospitalization and surgery.
• A hybrid working schedule and with Friday disconnects.
• Rest Relax & Recharge - office closure last week of December every year.
• Phone Allowance.