Associate Director - Strategy

Company description

Zenith is one of Publicis Groupe’s largest media agencies, spanning 95 markets globally with US offices in New York, Burbank, Chicago, Atlanta and Detroit. For more than 30 years, we have been at the forefront of media, helping to evolve and reshape the industry. We are highly regarded as a true agency partner by many high-profile brands for our expertise across numerous categories and wide range of capabilities that are unparalleled in the industry. Clients hire us for our track record of excellence in strategic planning, investment, and measurement. We also have specialist offerings, including content, commerce, multicultural and future-proofed data capabilities.

Overview

We are looking for an Associate Director, Global Media Strategy to help lead the day-to-day management on a  global media business. This role serves as a key connector across US Central, local markets and cross-functional teams, ensuring global priorities translate into clear, consistent and actionable media direction.

The role is focused on strategic stewardship, global coordination, insight development, quality control and team leadership. The Associate Director will manage a Senior Planner responsible for planning operations and will be accountable for ensuring work moves forward effectively across markets and disciplines.

While the Associate Director reports into the VP, the role operates with a high degree of autonomy and owns assigned workstreams end-to-end. The VP provides Global COE governance, strategic oversight and escalation support, while the AD is expected to independently drive the day-to-day business, proactively surface risks and decisions, and bring forward recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Global Media Leadership: Own day-to-day global media strategy and stewardship, connecting priorities across US Central, international markets, Strategy, Investment, Analytics, Data/DPS and cross-functional partners.
• Strategic Synthesis & Insights: Identify patterns, opportunities and strategic implications across market plans, performance, audience, competitive and business inputs, moving beyond consolidation to actionable recommendations.
• Global Alignment & Governance: Translate global priorities into actionable market direction, developing frameworks, guardrails and ways of working that drive consistency while accommodating local market needs.
• Deliverable Quality & Oversight: Own the quality of global deliverables, ensuring work is strategically sound, accurate, cohesive and executive-ready before advancing to senior leadership or clients.
• Cross-Functional Workstream Leadership: Drive workstreams end-to-end, aligning owners, timelines, milestones and decisions; lead working sessions, manage dependencies and ensure accountability for next steps.
• Stakeholder & Client Leadership: Build trusted relationships across clients and agency teams, confidently represent the agency POV, navigate stakeholders and proactively resolve issues, escalating material risks and decisions to the VP as needed.
• Team Management & Development: Manage and develop the Senior Planner, setting priorities, reviewing outputs, removing roadblocks and ensuring high-quality, timely delivery.
• Strategic Planning Support: Contribute senior strategic thinking and global perspective to planning initiatives where needed, without serving as the primary hands-on planner.
• Business & Market Intelligence: Maintain a strong understanding of our client’s business, global media landscape and competitive dynamics, proactively applying relevant intelligence to inform strategic recommendations.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Incumbents will be evaluated, in part, based on performance of each essential function.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Minimal supervision, relies on experience/ judgment
• Excellent management and motivational skills
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal and quantitative/analytical skills
• Strong client presentation skills and business writing skills
• Demonstrated expertise in strategic planning
• Detail-oriented and proven ability to thrive in a fast paced environment.

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree;
• 8+ years media planning experience including 3 years in a management capacity.

Business Competencies:

• Computer Skills/Software Knowledge: Microsoft Suite, Nielsen, Kantar Software, IMS, Flowchart Software, R/F and Optimization Software, Social Tracking tools, Comscore
• Solid written and verbal skills, with ability to present to clients, maintain client correspondence and internal documentation
• Demonstrate ability to learn new propriety software and processes quickly and proficiently.
• Understanding of Activation/Negotiation team functions
• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of each media type.
• Able to make independent decisions and identify priorities
• Meet client and internal deadlines and obligations.
• Manage projects, resources, stakeholders, and participants
• Orient, train, assign and review the work of subordinates
• Be able to identify and promote solutions 
• Be a resource to others in the resolution of complex problems/issues

Additional information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive.  Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K,  as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [email protected]. 

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Veterans Encouraged to Apply.

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Compensation Range: USD $106,780.00 - USD $170,937.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 12/8/2026.