Director, Media Planning

BarkleyOKRP•Kansas City, MO

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a full-time, hybrid position for a Director, Planning at BarkleyOKRP. In this role, you will own client relationships and lead a team in the development of Media Strategy & Tactical Media Recommendations that allow for a tight alignment between media placement and the message. You will work closely with others across MissionOne Media and BarkleyOKRP client experience teams, and you will partner closely with clients.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field
6 or more years of media planning experience required
Able to apply a strategic filter to solve client challenges
Strong knowledge of traditional media channels with an understanding of digital is preferred, but not a requirement
Ability to think critically and apply a strategic approach to all plans or projects
Ability to work effectively with a variety of internal teams and business groups, including Creative, Media, Data & Measurement, Project Management and Finance
Ability to communicate effectively within a team environment as well as with outside media sales reps
Displays a passion for media and advertising
Strong organizational and mathematical skills (including basic media math)
Ability to multi-task and deliver work on-time for set deadlines
Must be prepared for a fast-paced environment and be comfortable making decisions

Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day of all media planning work across the team, delegating when possible to ensure even workload across team and allow for individual growth.
Acts as a reviewer and approver of all work the team completes, getting VP feedback/approval as necessary.
Ownership of key client list, leading client communication on key media projects and acting as a key point of integration across other departments internally (such as Data & Analytics, CRM, Strategy, Creative, PR.)
Acts as a strategic lead across clients, bringing a keen eye for how to showcase the strategic direction of media, and ensuring tactical recommendations clearly align.
Generates creative, ownable ideas to create break-through audience moments that go beyond standard media opportunities, and pushes team to think more creatively on how they approach media recommendations.
Manages a team, and will balance the need for delegation with support for the projects and plans they’ve been assigned
Leads team training on trending media topics, media planning approach, process, and tools.
Coaches team on media deliverables, ways of working, competencies and soft skills to continually improve the client experience and grow team members.
Build and maintain strong working relationships with internal teams, including client experience, activation, data & analytics, CRM, strategy, and finance
Translate audiences identified by client and Strategy teams into strategic media audiences through the use of 3rd party syndicated audience tools (MRI-Simmons, Resonate, YouGov Profiles), and support teams in creating a clear picture of who the audience is, driving the direction for a strategic media approach
Use competitive intelligence tools to identify category white space and drive the direction of a media strategy, and identify unique ways to illustrate competitive impact on media.
Oversee the flawless management of client media budgets, including reviewing and approving media flowcharts and authorizations for Activation teams to purchase as needed.
Support the team in client billing, including partnership with Activation and Finance teams to improve billing process and solution for any challenges that arise.
Identifying new opportunities for POVs, both internal and external, based on trending topics impacting the media landscape, category or market trends, and crafting them to clearly articulate the anticipated impact to clients.
Ensuring media reports have a clear POV based on performance trends and implications, and learnings are applied to future media strategies and recommendations.
Read industry trades and engage with the Media Team to stay current on all media trends, and how those trends present opportunities for clients.
Has thorough knowledge of key media planning tools, such as Vivvix, Pathmatics, MRI-Simmons, SRDS, SQAD, Nielsen NMI/IMS, Guideline Planning, and others.
Identifies the need for, and leads the development of, strategic analyses on audience, geography/market approach, media vendor information necessary to develop the media plan recommendation that best delivers upon the client’s goals and objectives.
Identifies the need for and prepares non-media projects and recommendations, including but not limited to competitive audits, target audience profiles, geographic analyses, etc.
Identifies potential organic growth opportunities across Media, Data & Analytics, and CRM, and crafting a strategic approach to growth with Leadership.
Maintains a positive rapport with media vendor partners, keeping up to date with the latest trends in the marketplace.
Works closely with the Activation team to ensure flawless implementation of all approved media recommendations. Integral lead in key client communication.
Present at all key client presentations.
Leads the team to prepare budget recommendations based on client goals and objectives.
Demonstrates a complete understanding of the client’s business, maintaining familiarity with the history, present organization and procedures of the client, as well as conditions of the industry.
Provides an energy level that brings new and exciting ideas, motivating other team members.
Keeps a pulse on all active campaigns, identifying opportunities to optimize for maximum performance.
Helps evaluate current processes, workflows and resources and is responsible for elevating to the VP, Planning when there are any additional needs or issues.
Evaluates current Planning resources and proactively bring proposals to VP, Planning for any additional tools needed to stay on top of current trends, and ensure we’re delivering best-in-class recommendations to clients.
Updates VP, Planning on status of current accounts on an ongoing basis, elevating key issues or concerns as they arise.