Director, Agencies & Media - Global

UCB•Atlanta, GA

10d•$184,000 - $241,500•Hybrid

About The Position

UCB is seeking a strategic, relationship-driven procurement leader to serve as Director, Agencies & Media – Global. This hybrid position is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The role owns global strategy, sourcing, and relationship management across the Agencies & Media category, including creative, media planning and buying, production, PR, and digital/social agency partnerships. The Director will bring the current U.S. and EU teams together under one global operating model, standardizing commercial terms and agency governance across regions. The Director will be the primary procurement partner to Marketing and Business Category leadership on agency- and media-related matters, and the executive sponsor for strategic agency and media holding-company relationships. The position owns an estimated $600 million in annual agency and working/non-working media spend and is accountable for an annual value-creation target and improving media investment effectiveness (ROI) in partnership with Marketing. The role reports to the Global Head of Marketing/Selling & Impact Procurement and leads and develops the U.S. and EU Agencies & Media Leads. It works closely with procurement directors, stakeholders across Marketing, Finance, Patient Insights, and Patient Services, and agency and media partners. UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on neurology and immunology, with more than 9,000 employees. Its hybrid-first approach generally expects employees to spend 40% of their time in the office.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related discipline.
At least 12 years of experience in marketing/agency procurement, media, or agency-side account leadership.
At least 10 years of experience leading teams.
Experience managing global or multi-region agency/media portfolios at significant spend scale.
Demonstrated knowledge of agency commercial models, including FTE-based, fee-based, media-commission, and performance-based structures.
Experience negotiating with major holding companies such as WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Dentsu, or Havas, as well as independent agencies.
Ability to influence senior stakeholders through clear, concise, executive-ready communication.
Direct experience with media transparency, media auditing, and value recovery, including rebates and AVBs.
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 improving media effectiveness (ROMI) in partnership with Marketing.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in business, marketing, or a related discipline.
Experience in pharma or life sciences, including familiarity with promotional review and regulatory processes.
Track record of standardizing commercial terms and governance across global regions.
Strong digital, analytics, and data fluency.
Experience 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

Lead enterprise-wide category strategy for agency and media procurement, including creative, media planning and buying, production, and digital/social agencies.
Bring the U.S. and EU Agencies & Media teams together under a single global operating model and align regional execution to global strategy.
Standardize commercial models, rate cards, rebates, and fee structures across U.S. and EU regions, including FTE-based, fee-based, media-commission, and performance/outcome-based models.
Establish media transparency, auditing, and value recovery as core disciplines; apply ANA-style transparency principles, govern principal-based and inventory media and agency trading practices, commission independent audits, and recover rebates, AVBs, and other non-transparent value.
Manage risks related to made-for-advertising inventory and digital/programmatic brand safety.
Partner with Marketing to improve return on media investment using media-mix and effectiveness insights to guide allocation, upfront negotiations, and agency incentives tied to measurable outcomes.
Lead or oversee major agency reviews and pitches, RFPs, and renewal negotiations for global and regional agency rosters.
Serve as executive sponsor for top-tier agency relationships, including agency-of-record and media holding-company partnerships.
Ensure agency-contract compliance with regulatory, legal, and policy requirements, including promotional review, data privacy, anti-bribery/ABAC, and transparency reporting where activity involves HCPs or patients.
Identify supplier and internal capabilities that can improve go-to-market efficiency, including in-housing strategies, retail media, creator/influencer ecosystems, and governance of generative AI in creative and media.
Own a structured third-party risk framework for agencies, media owners, and production vendors, including risk tiering, data-security and brand-safety due diligence, and ongoing monitoring with Compliance and Legal.
Embed ESG criteria, sustainable production, low-carbon media/print/events, Scope 3 considerations, and diverse-supplier access into sourcing decisions.
Lead and develop U.S. and EU Agencies & Media Leads, build senior-level agency relationships, drive alignment across markets and functions, and increase media transparency and recovery of non-working media value.