Account Director - Comms Planning United Kingdom

1234 – Account Director, Comms Planning
- Client Services

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit

WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit

Essence Mediacom is a new breed of media agency. Grounded in analytics & insights and powered by data & technology, we believe in the power of media and creative to drive breakthroughs for the world’s best brands. We help clients understand the modern marketing paradox and discover the breakthroughs brands need to win with their consumers. We are designed for the new communications economy — built on data & technology, built for people & algorithms, built around diverse schools of thought, built to test & learn at scale, and, crucially, built to evolve.

We’re looking for an Account Director to join the Universal UK team– working across UK theatrical film releases. The role sits within Essence Mediacom’s specialist entertainment department – TED.

The successful candidate will have regular client contact from the outset and be exposed to all media disciplines, each of which play a role on our plans.

What are the measures of success?

• Able to comfortably and consistently deliver high-quality work across multiple live briefs at various different stages in the campaign cycle.
• Can take complete ownership of developing strategic and implementational frameworks, responses to briefs, campaign laydowns and PCAs across varying budget levels
• You are passionate about the development and management of junior members of the team; you will be responsible for their success, growth and work-life enjoyment.
• Build and maintain the strong working relationship we have with our specialist teams (AV, OOH & Digital) who are a key component of our success as a team.
• Strong financial acumen demonstrated through the adherence and continuation of Essence Mediacom’s best financial practices on the accounts.
• Ownership of the billing process on a monthly basis with the help of EM finance team as well as Universal finance teams.
• Managing larger scale releases, specifically managing larger partnership conversations with media owners.
• Positive client feedback – our clients are incredibly collaborative and want us to challenge them.

What would you expect to achieve in the first 3 months?

• Gain the trust and respect of our local clients, working through live briefs and campaigns. Our clients are experts in their field and passionate about their products and the wider film industry; they expect to be challenged by our team in order to get to the best outcomes.
• Integrate into the team dynamic – we are strongly motivated by the success of everyone in the team and enjoy working together. Positively contribute to values and culture of the team.
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the film and wider media landscape, the complexity of the different audience segments and how this impacts the way in which we plan media.
• Develop a positive working relationship with our specialists in TED as well as the Global and Central Media Com teams.

At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s shared core values:

• Be Extraordinary by Leading Collectively to Inspire transformational Creativity.
• Create an Open environment by Balancing People and Client Experiences by Cultivating Trust.
• Lead Optimistically by Championing Growth and Development to Mobilize the Enterprise.
• Experience in film is preferred
• Strong online and offline channel planning experience
• Desire to see the whole team succeed
• Thrive under pressure: both businesses are high volume, short turn around types of account.
• Ability to deal with regular [often urgent] adhoc…