Director, Agencies & Media - Global

UCB•Atlanta, GA

8d•$184,000 - $241,500•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a strategic, relationship-driven procurement leader to serve as our Director, Agencies & Media – Global. This leader will bring deep agency and media commercial expertise, sophisticated executive presence, and a proven track record of building high-performing global teams. This hybrid position is based in Atlanta, GA. In this role, you will own global strategy, sourcing, and relationship management across the Agencies & Media category — spanning creative, media planning/buying, production, PR, and digital/social agency partnerships. You will bring the current U.S. and EU Agencies & Media teams together under one global operating model, standardizing commercial terms and agency governance across regions. You will serve as the primary procurement partner to Marketing, and Business Category leadership on all agency- and media-related matters, and as executive sponsor for our most strategic agency and media holding company relationships. You will own an estimated $600M in annual agency and working/non-working media spend and be accountable both for a defined annual value-creation target and for improving media investment effectiveness (ROI) in partnership with Marketing — value creation, not cost reduction alone.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred, in business, marketing, or a related discipline
12+ years of experience in marketing/agency procurement, media, or agency-side account leadership, including 10+ years leading teams
Experience managing global or multi-region agency/media portfolios at significant spend scale
Demonstrated knowledge of agency commercial models: FTE-based, fee-based, media commission, and performance-based structures
Experience negotiating with major holding companies (e.g., WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Dentsu, Havas) and independent agencies
Ability to influence senior-level stakeholders through clear, concise, executive-ready communication
Direct experience with media transparency, media auditing, and value-recovery (rebates/AVBs), and familiarity with principal-based media buying and programmatic supply-chain risks
Track record of delivering quantified annual value against a defined agency/media spend portfolio, and of improving media effectiveness (ROMI) in partnership with marketing

Nice To Haves

Experience in pharma or life sciences, including familiarity with promotional review/regulatory processes
Track record of standardizing commercial terms and governance across global regions
Strong digital, analytics, and data fluency
Known for developing and retaining high-performing regional teams
Experience with media/creative in-housing, retail media, and governance of AI in creative and media production
Familiarity with ESG/responsible-sourcing and supplier-diversity practices in marketing supply chains

Responsibilities

Global Category Strategy for Domain: Lead enterprise category strategy for agency and media procurement, including creative, media buying/planning, production, and digital/social agencies
Commercial Models & Benchmarks: Standardize commercial models, rate cards, rebates, and fee structures across U.S. and EU to close gaps in terms and drive cost efficiency, spanning FTE-based, fee-based, media-commission, and performance/outcome-based models
Media Transparency & Value Recovery: Establish media transparency, audit, and value-recovery as a core discipline — adopt ANA-style transparency principles; govern principal-based / inventory media and agency trading practices; commission independent media audits; and recover rebates, AVBs, and non-transparent value. Actively manage risks such as made-for-advertising (MFA) inventory and brand-safety in digital/programmatic
Media Investment Optimization: Partner with Marketing to improve return on media investment (ROMI) — use media-mix and effectiveness insights to inform allocation, upfront negotiations, and agency incentives, tying commercial models to measurable outcomes
RFx Processes: Lead or oversee major agency reviews/pitches, RFPs, and renewal negotiations for global and regional agency rosters
Strategic Vendor Partnerships: Serve as executive sponsor for top-tier agency relationships, including agency-of-record and media holding company partnerships
Global Compliance: Ensure compliance with regulatory, legal, and policy requirements across agency contracts, including promotional review and data privacy, plus anti-bribery/ABAC and transparency reporting where agency/media activity touches HCPs or patients
Emerging Capabilities: Identify new capabilities in external suppliers / internal UCB capabilities to drive GTM efficiencies, including agency/creative/media in-housing strategy, retail-media and creator/influencer ecosystems, and governance of generative-AI use in creative and media
Third-Party Risk Management: Own a structured third-party risk framework for agencies, media owners, and production vendors — risk tiering, data-security/brand-safety due diligence, and ongoing monitoring, with Compliance and Legal
Sustainability & Supplier Diversity: Embed ESG criteria (sustainable production, low-carbon media/print/events, Scope 3) and diverse-supplier access (diverse-owned agencies, production houses, and media) into sourcing decisions