Associate Director of Integrated Planning

Noble's Associate Director of Integrated Planning sits between strategy and execution. They are a paid media expert who plans across every channel, setting the strategy for paid media (both digital and traditional) on their accounts and connecting it to SEO/AEO, content, creative, social, and PR so every channel works toward the same client goals. They play a key role in bridging the gap between strategy, creative, and performance, ensuring strategy carries through seamlessly from concept to execution.  For the foreseeable future, the Associate Director of Integrated Planning also works directly in ad platforms, building and optimizing campaigns alongside the Performance Marketing team within our integrated marketing agency.

Key Responsibilities

Integrated planning

• Cross-channel plans: Connect paid strategy (digital and traditional media) with SEO/AEO strategy, content, creative, social and PR so channels share audiences, messages and goals.
• Briefs and kickoffs: Contribute to briefs alongside Client Experience and Strategy, then guide Performance Marketing, SEO, Creative, Content and Analytics in building one integrated recommendation.
• Budget recommendations and consultation: Recommend how clients should split budget between paid media and other channels, and across brands or regions for clients with more than one.
• Plan management: Keep media flowcharts and integrated calendars current as plans change, and ensure that channel teams' execution aligns with the approved plan.
• Campaign planning: Lead planning for major campaigns, seasonal pushes and launches that involve several channels, both digital and traditional.
• New business: Support Client Experience and Deals teams with paid and integrated plans for pitches to current and prospective clients.
• Process and documentation: Build and maintain planning templates, briefing documents, flowchart standards and QA checklists.

Paid media strategy

• Paid strategy ownership: Own paid media strategy on assigned accounts across search, social, programmatic, video, CTV, audio and traditional media, and set direction for the Performance Marketing team that executes alongside them.
• Creative alignment: Work closely with the creative team to ensure alignment and synergy between strategy, creative execution, and brand identity.
• Media planning: Build paid media plans from brief to recommendation, including objectives and KPIs, audience targeting, channel and partner mix, budget allocation, flighting and forecasts.
• Hands-on execution: Build, launch, optimize and troubleshoot campaigns directly in the ad platforms on assigned accounts. 
• Budgets and forecasting: Set paid budgets and forecast results by channel. Work with Performance Marketing Managers on budget pacing, and collaborate with the Associate Director of Paid Media on process and operational improvements.
• Strategic optimization: Review paid performance with the team, decide when results call for a strategic change rather than routine optimization, and make it.
• Platform and industry knowledge: Track changes to ad platforms, privacy and tracking rules, and automated bidding and campaign types, and turn them into recommendations for clients and for Noble.

Team leadership

• Cross-functional leadership: Guide integrated teams through activation, making roles, priorities and hand-offs between disciplines clear.
• Unblocking work: Step in when cross-channel work stalls or teams disagree on direction, and make the decision that moves the plan forward.
• Mentoring: Coach planners, strategists and paid media team members on research, plan building and presenting. This role is expected to take on direct reports as the planning practice grows.
• Performance reviews: Once managing direct reports, run their annual reviews and set goals and development plans.
• Review and QA: Review and approve quarterly and annual paid and integrated plans for high-profile accounts against Noble's quality standards and the client's business goals.

Measurement and reporting

• Measurement plans: Work with Analytics to set the measurement approach for each plan, including KPIs by funnel stage and how each channel gets credit for results.
• Reporting: Build and present paid and cross-channel performance reports for high-profile clients, explaining what happened and what to do next.
• Testing: Plan paid and cross-channel tests and recommend moving budget between channels based on results.
• Quality: Own the accuracy of plans and reports before they go to the client.
• Strategy changes: Spot when results show the overall plan needs to change, and lead that conversation with the client.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of paid media experience, preferably at an agency, with hands-on work in search, paid social and programmatic.
• Experience setting paid media strategy and managing budgets for several clients at once.
• Current, hands-on skill in Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, Google Campaign Manager and at least one DSP (such as The Trade Desk or DV360) and GA4, including building, launching and troubleshooting campaigns without support.
• Experience planning or buying traditional media (TV, radio, out-of-home or print) is required.
• Experience working with SEO, content, creative and social teams toward shared client goals. Formal integrated or communications planning experience is required.
• Experience building full-funnel plans and splitting budget between brand and performance goals.
• Experience planning for clients with multiple brands or regions. Travel, tourism and hospitality experience preferred.
• Experience mentoring or coaching others, and readiness to manage people. Prior direct management is a plus.
• Comfortable presenting and defending recommendations to senior clients, in writing and in person.
• Familiarity with measurement methods such as multi-touch attribution, incrementality testing and media mix modeling and with research tools such as GWI or MRI-Simmons.