Media Director

The Shipyard•San Diego, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Shipyard is seeking a Media Director to join its San Diego team. The Media Director is the planning team's standard-bearer for executional excellence and talent development, ensuring client media plans are rigorous, insightful, and outcome-focused while supporting planners’ growth. This leader serves as a media planning expert, trusted client partner, strategic thinker, and people leader who elevates the work and builds a capable team. The role owns strategic excellence across assigned accounts, including full-funnel media strategy, audience and channel planning, budget allocation, measurement, and optimization. It leads complex budget modeling and financial analysis; applies research and planning tools with rigor; partners with analytics, investment, creative, communications/PR, brand planning, and client engagement teams; and identifies opportunities that create value for clients. The Media Director leads client presentations, manages vendor relationships, and contributes strategic expertise to agency growth and new business efforts. The position directly manages Associate Media Directors and, in some cases, Media Supervisors. It provides strategic direction, feedback, coaching, stretch opportunities, and accountability, while partnering with media leadership on hiring, onboarding, and team structure. This is a hybrid work-from-home/office position, with in-office attendance required Tuesdays and Thursdays. Candidates must live near San Diego, California.

Requirements

Expert, current knowledge of the full media ecosystem, including digital and traditional media.
Expert-level ability to apply media research and planning tools, including MRI/Simmons, YouGov, Commspoint, SimilarWeb, and MediaRadar.
Ability to lead complex budget scenario modeling, financial analysis, and investment strategy.
Strong strategic media planning expertise, including audience strategy, channel strategy, budget allocation, measurement planning, and optimization.
Ability to apply data and audience intelligence rigorously and partner effectively with analytics teams.
Strong client presentation, written communication, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex strategies to senior stakeholders.
Ability to build trust-based client relationships and manage media vendor and partner relationships.
People leadership, coaching, feedback, and team development capabilities.
Must live near San Diego, California, and attend the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Responsibilities

Direct, review, and elevate full-funnel media strategies across assigned accounts using current knowledge of digital and traditional media.
Set and enforce rigorous use of research and planning tools, including MRI/Simmons, YouGov, Commspoint, SimilarWeb, and MediaRadar.
Lead complex budget scenario modeling, financial analysis, and investment strategy across assigned accounts.
Monitor changes in the media landscape and bring forward emerging opportunities, platform developments, and industry shifts.
Partner with data and analytics teams to embed measurement frameworks and audience intelligence in planning and evaluation.
Identify quality gaps in team work and coach planners toward greater strategic sophistication.
Own media plan strategy from audience and channel strategy through budget allocation, measurement, and optimization.
Ensure channels work together to create connected brand experiences and drive business results.
Identify and present client growth opportunities with a clear business case.
Lead the application of data and audience intelligence from initial brief through post-campaign analysis and learning.
Develop planners’ strategic capabilities through coaching, structured feedback, and shared ownership of planning.
Represent media strategy in cross-functional planning discussions and mentor Associate Media Directors and Supervisors.
Lead client presentations and connect media strategy to client business goals.
Develop and oversee presentation materials that communicate insights, strategy, channel rationale, and measurement persuasively.
Explain complex media strategies accessibly to senior client stakeholders with varying levels of media expertise.
Coach the team’s written and verbal communication and represent the media planning team in agency discussions.
Build trust-based senior client relationships and manage key media vendor and partner relationships.
Partner with media investment leadership to align planning and activation.
Collaborate with analytics, creative, communications/PR, brand planning, and client engagement teams.
Support agency growth and new business efforts with strategic media thinking and account expertise.
Directly manage Associate Media Directors and, in some cases, Media Supervisors, providing direction, feedback, and coaching.
Identify high-potential team members and create stretch opportunities for development.
Build a team culture centered on strategic rigor, curiosity, high standards, and collaboration.
Set performance expectations and hold team members accountable while supporting their development.
Partner with media leadership on hiring, onboarding, and team structure.