Senior Director, Media

Overview

We are seeking a strategic yet hands-on media leader to strengthen and grow our UK-based paid media function. This role will play a key part in new business development through proposal writing, pitch participation, and strategic media leadership, while also overseeing and supporting our London media team and ensuring excellence across strategy, planning, and execution for both local and global clients.

While this is a senior leadership position, the successful candidate must be comfortable rolling up their sleeves and actively managing campaigns. The UK paid media team is currently small, and this role will be instrumental in both execution and establishing the foundation for scalable growth. As the team expands, the focus will naturally evolve toward leadership, mentorship, and strategic oversight.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Growth

• Lead paid media contributions to UK new business efforts, including proposal development, pitch strategy, and client presentations (not sales or lead generation).
• Partner with the EVP of Media (NY) to enhance and expand the London-based paid media team
• Support and guide the London media team’s work across local and global clients, ensuring consistent quality, innovation, and strategic alignment.
• Contribute to a team development plan, nurturing cross-disciplinary skills and fostering a collaborative, growth-oriented culture.
  
  

Hands-On Campaign Management

• Manage day-to-day paid media campaign planning, execution, and optimisation across digital and traditional channels
• Build and oversee media plans, negotiate buys, manage budgets, and ensure accurate reporting and performance analysis
• Troubleshoot and optimise campaigns in real-time, ensuring all activity meets client KPIs and agency standards.
• Work closely with platform partners and internal teams to test and implement innovative approaches, including AI-powered and automation-driven tactics.
• Balance strategic thinking with tactical execution until the team structure allows for greater delegation.

Strategy, Collaboration & Innovation

• Develop and implement integrated media strategies that connect paid media to broader brand and business goals
• Collaborate with global territory teams to ensure campaigns ladder up to a unified global strategy.
• Partner with the S&I (Strategy & Insights) team and media leads in other regions to refine proprietary tools and reporting capabilities.
• Act as an advocate for AI and emerging technologies, helping integrate new approaches into planning and execution.
• Build cross-functional relationships across creative, strategy, and client services to deliver holistic, insight-driven work.

Qualifications & Experience

• 6-8+ years of paid media experience, ideally within an integrated agency environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead strategically while remaining hands-on in execution and optimization. 
• Strong experience across digital and social-first media, with expertise in: Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, Google Ads, DV360, and YouTube, Pixel and SDK setup, tracking, and measurement frameworks
• Proven success in campaign optimization, budget management, and performance measurement.
• Experience mentoring or developing junior team members, and interest in building team structure and process.
• Experience in entertainment, culture, travel, or adjacent passion-driven sectors is a plus.
• Enthusiasm for AI, automation, and innovation in the media landscape.
• Strong communicator and collaborator, comfortable working across teams and global time zones.

This will be a hybrid role with two mandatory days in our London Office (Soho) per week (Tuesdays and Thursdays.)