Digital Planning Lead

Job Title: Digital Planning Lead
Company: WPP Media South Africa
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Reports To: Digital Strategy Lead

Role Overview
The Head of Digital Planning is responsible for translating brand and performance strategies into integrated, full-funnel digital plans that drive measurable business outcomes.
This role sits at the centre of the digital ecosystem, orchestrating investment, channel roles, and timing across brand and performance to ensure a cohesive, effective, and commercially optimised approach.

They are the custodian of:
•    Budget allocation 
•    Channel integration 
•    Full-funnel design 
•    Planning principles and governance 

Core Role in the Structure
•    Not the originator of strategy 
•    Not the executor of channels 
•    But the owner of how strategy comes to life in-market 

Key Responsibilities
1. Full-Funnel Planning & Integration
•    Develop integrated digital plans spanning: 
o    Upper funnel (awareness & reach) 
o    Mid funnel (engagement & consideration) 
o    Lower funnel (conversion & retention) 
•    Define the role of each channel within the funnel 
•    Ensure seamless connection between brand-building and performance activity 

2. Investment Strategy & Budget Allocation
•    Own digital budget allocation across channels and objectives 
•    Balance investment between demand creation (brand) and demand capture (performance) 
•    Continuously optimise investment based on performance and learning 

3. Channel Orchestration
•    Ensure all channels work together as a system, not in silos 
•    Define how search, social, display, eCommerce, and content interact 
•    Align timing, sequencing, and weight of activity across channels 

4. Planning Principles & Governance
•    Establish and enforce clear planning frameworks and principles 
•    Standardise ways of working across teams 
•    Ensure consistency in approach across clients and portfolio 

5. Data-Informed Planning
•    Use data and insights from both brand and performance teams to inform planning decisions 
•    Incorporate learnings from test-and-learn programmes into future plans 
•    Partner with analytics teams to refine planning effectiveness 

6. Collaboration Across Leadership Roles
•    Work closely with: 
o    Integrated Head of Strategy (big idea & ATL direction) 
o    Digital Strategy Lead (brand & social ecosystem) 
o    Performance Strategy Lead (conversion & optimisation) 
•    Translate all inputs into a single, unified plan 

7. Commercial Accountability
•    Ensure plans are aligned to client business outcomes 
•    Track effectiveness of media investment 
•    Identify opportunities to drive incremental growth 

Key Skills & Experience
•    Strong experience in digital/media planning across full funnel 
•    Deep understanding of both brand and performance dynamics 
•    Proven experience managing large budgets and complex portfolios 
•    Strong commercial and analytical mindset 
•    Ability to simplify complexity and drive alignment across teams 

Success Metrics
•    Effectiveness of full-funnel plans (brand + performance outcomes) 
•    Efficiency of budget allocation and ROI 
•    Level of integration across channels and teams 
•    Client satisfaction and business growth