Sr. Director, Planning Innovation & Enablement

dentsu•Chicago, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Dentsu is a global network of 67,000 people dedicated to delivering end-to-end experience transformation. We integrate Media, CXM, and Creative services, pushing the boundaries of transformation and sustainable growth for our clients, people, and society. Through innovation, we ensure clients achieve the impact they need for growth while fostering a positive industry effect. We are seeking a Senior Director, Media Planning and Product Enablement, ideally based in New York City or Chicago. This role will elevate our planning product by driving the adoption of innovative planning processes and tools, enabling teams through structured training and coaching, and translating planning excellence into clear, compelling storytelling for new business pitches. This position operates at the intersection of planning strategy, innovation enablement, and new business communication, collaborating across strategy, planning, activation, and analytics to ensure our approaches are modern, consistent, and differentiated.

Requirements

11+ years of integrated media planning experience across traditional & digital channels.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills; able to translate complex tools into clear, benefited narratives.
Leadership experience managing or coaching teams.
Bachelor’s degree.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience participating in or supporting new business pitches a plus.
Experience developing or delivering team training or enablement programs a plus.

Responsibilities

Serve as the internal expert on innovative planning processes, tools, data sources, and platforms, translating their capabilities into practical application for client work.
Identify where new tools/approaches should be integrated into planning workflows to improve quality, insights, and effectiveness.
Evaluate evolving techniques and industry trends to ensure planning outputs reflect modern best practices.
Deliver structured training programs (team trainings & playbooks) to ensure rapid and consistent adoption of new tools and processes.
Create learning materials including tool guides, workflows, demos, and FAQs.
Partner with Client and Planning leads to set adoption goals and create repeatable enablement frameworks.
Act as a coach and advisor to planning teams, helping them apply new processes in active client work.
Translate planning tools and processes into clear, compelling pitch narratives that help differentiate the agency.
Contribute to RFP/RFI responses and Creds content by articulating how our planning product, capabilities, and tools drive client outcomes.
Help shape pitch storylines, ensuring planning insights and innovation tie seamlessly to audience strategy, channel approach, and business impact.
Collaborate closely with additional stakeholders (i.e. activation leads) to ensure planning guidance is actionable and flawlessly executed.
Maintain awareness of industry dynamics, cultural trends, and evolving media opportunities.