Media Planning Manager

Zenith is the ROI agency. We help brands make Bold Moves in communications to drive profitable, measurable growth.

At Zenith, Bold Moves are big, brave shifts to strategy, data, audience or activation. They’re grounded in evidence, backed by rigorous forecasting and designed to deliver stronger returns for clients and better experiences for consumers. We work as empathetic partners, taking the time to understand our clients’ businesses and tying our success to theirs.

Part of Publicis Media, Zenith has over 5,000 specialists across 90 markets. In the UK, we work with leading organisations including The Very Group, Macmillan and Morrisons – helping them make smarter, more impactful choices to unlock growth. We believe an inclusive culture strengthens our business, enabling greater idea exchange, innovation and creativity, and we actively encourage our people to drive positive change.

What you'll be doing:

• Lead the development of integrated media plans, translating client briefs and business challenges into clear, insight-led strategies across channels.
• Own key parts of the client relationship, becoming a trusted day-to-day planning partner and communicating recommendations with clarity and confidence.
• Bring together audience, category, cultural and media insights to uncover opportunities for major FMCG brands to connect more effectively with consumers.
• Use Publicis Groupe’s data, technology and planning capabilities to make planning more connected, evidence-led and effective.
• Explore how AI can improve the planning process, using new tools thoughtfully to accelerate tasks, strengthen insights and create more space for strategic thinking and creativity.
• Collaborate across specialist teams, including strategy, investment, activation, data and analytics, to turn a strong planning idea into brilliant execution.
• Help evolve how the team works, questioning established processes when there is a better approach, sharing learnings and contributing to a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.

Skills we're looking for:

• Strong media planning experience, with the ability to turn a client challenge into a clear, compelling and actionable media recommendation.
• A solid understanding of the media landscape and how different channels can work together to influence consumers throughout their journey.
• An interest in FMCG and consumer behaviour, with an appreciation of the challenges and opportunities involved in building large consumer brands.
• Confidence working with data and insight, using evidence to inform decisions while knowing when strategic judgement and creativity need to come into play.
• Curiosity about AI and emerging technology. You don't need to be an AI expert, but you should be comfortable experimenting with new tools and interested in how they can make planning better.
• A collaborative approach, with the ability to build strong relationships with clients, colleagues and specialist teams and bring different perspectives together.
• An open and adaptable mindset, comfortable challenging existing ways of working, testing new approaches and learning as the media planning process continues to evolve.

Zenith UK offers a wide range of benefits to support our employees. Full details are shared when you join, but highlights include core benefits such as Pension, Life Assurance, and Private Medical cover, alongside enhanced policies like Reflection Days and Shared Parental Leave. You’ll also have access to a range of additional initiatives, including:

📖 Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).

Publicis Groupe works primarily from the office or our clients' office four days per week.

At Zenith UK, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic. 

We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition - please let us know. We’ll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application.

Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.

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