Group Planning Director

Agency:

Carmichael Lynch

Job Function:

Strategy and Planning

Job Subfunction:

Strategy

Job Description:

Role:

The group planning director on this business will be a leader both within the agency and on this account. Specifically helping set the strategy by partnering closely with the account and creative leadership and by developing a deep and positive client relationship. This person will directly manage and lead a team of 4-5 planners on the account and make sure the whole team is developing and acting upon business and consumer insights that are actionable and inspiring for both clients and internal teams.

Areas of Focus:

Provide Strategic Leadership

• Manage the development of thoughtful strategic recommendations for clients
• Model deep client and internal team partnership behavior across the breadth of the business.
• Lead cross-functional integrated strategy and idea generation for internal and client teams 
• Assess multiple sources of client, market and consumer information and quickly translate them into clear and simply articulated strategic direction 
• Develop and lead client presentations that are compelling, clear and actionable 
• Ensure depth, quality and articulation of the strategic vision for our clients 
• Work with senior members from each agency discipline to find unique and impactful opportunities for our clients
• Provide direction on how to convert data and observations into clear, actionable insights 
• Maintain relationships with senior and executive agency staff - communicate project status and provide insight into organic growth potential 
• Mentor junior team members by providing feedback on performance, guidance on work projects and identifying career development opportunities 
• Contribute to new business initiatives by identifying creative opportunities and providing strategic direction to prospective clients

Manage Research Projects 

• Work with clients to determine research objectives and craft actionable learning agendas 
• Supervise the development of research proposals and vendor selection 
• Lead analysts and strategists on sophisticated research and strategy projects 
• Oversee and approve target audience creation and insight development 
• Demonstrate thought leadership for internal teams and clients by leading presentations on key trends and current events

Guide Brief Development 

• Manage the process of writing briefs and kicking off integrated teams on projects 
• Provide input, direction and feedback on briefs and other strategy presentations 
• Work with other teams to ensure clarity of message and action items 
• Advise strategists on how to lead informative, inspiring creative briefings 
• Ensure all briefs exceed expectations and are inspiring for cross-functional teams 
• Become a trusted partner for senior team leaders in developing and refining creative ideas and campaigns
• Proactively work to elevate the quality of the agency’s creative product by making sure the planning team is collaborating with creative and consumer engagement teams to develop highly effective and progressive ideas 

Qualifications/Traits:

Education:

A bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on psychology, sociology, anthropology, advertising, or related field or strong relevant experience.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• A minimum of 10+ years of planning or related business experience at a creative agency or working on creative brands. 
• Proven ability to work in partnership with senior clients and creative teams. 
• Significant quantitative research experience and qualitative research experience (tracking studies, focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic research etc) with an ability to see and adapt insights. 
• Proven ability to work quickly and efficiently, meeting all deadlines and working with other agency teams to set realistic expectations. 
• Expert knowledge of presentation software (Keynote & PowerPoint) and Word. 

• Experience working with Simmons/MRI and syndicated research partners. 





The salary range for this position is listed below. Where an employee or prospective employee is paid within this range will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to budget, relevant experience, qualifications, and tenure in similar roles. Consideration may also be given to internal salary data for current or former employees in the same or similar positions.

Salary Range: $150,000 - 170,000 annually

Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager. Our objective is to increase this requirement over time, and many of our agencies as well as Omnicom’s corporate group already require five days of in-office attendance.

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