Location: [Hybrid - London, 2 days per week] Level: Please note 'Associate Director' is an external job title, internally our levels are broader meaning the internal job title is 'Senior Manager' within our structure.

About the Role

We are looking for a Media Planning Associate Director (6-9 month FTC) to join our centre of excellence. In this role, you will lead our full-funnel media strategy, driving both brand-building and performance-led outcomes across digital, traditional, and emerging channels. You’ll craft impactful integrated media plans that not only boost brand visibility but also deliver tangible business results—sales, leads, and customer growth.

If you love variety, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and embrace change with energy, this could be your right role.

Why SMG?

At SMG, we hire for the future, which is fast-moving and changing shape. Do you have the potential to help shape our business? We’re looking for brilliant, diverse talent who want to grow with us—people who are curious, ambitious, and eager to learn, whether as specialists or across teams.

Our culture is everything. If you’re someone who stays honest, stays hungry, stays foolish, and has fun, you’ll feel right at home here.

We value those who take ownership of their growth and bring fresh perspectives. That’s why we’re committed to equity, inclusion, and building a place where everyone feels empowered to grow. At SMG, it’s not just about filling a role but building the future together.

We’re proud to be ranked the #1 Best Marketing and Media Agency and to have received World-Class accreditation from Best Companies.

• £1,800 yearly wellbeing fund (on top of your salary!)
• Free Headspace subscription
• £500 yearly “Uni Fund” for learning
• 4 extra Wellbeing Days off per year
• Summer & Winter conferences + year-round celebrations
• 4pm finishes every Friday
• Flexible and hybrid working

Explore all our benefits here

Are We What You’re Looking For?

We move fast, adapt quickly, and like to challenge each other. We're looking for people who enjoy the buzz of change, the satisfaction of building something better, and the joy of working with a close-knit, values-driven team.

This isn’t for everyone, but if you thrive in this environment, we’d love to meet you!

A Little Bit About You

You’ll bring:

• Proven expertise in full-funnel media strategy—from brand-building to performance marketing.
• Strong experience across both traditional and digital channels (including 1PD digital, social, OOH, retailer media, and eCommerce).
• High proficiency in audience segmentation, analytics, and budget allocation.
• Leadership skills to manage teams and drive cross-functional collaboration.
• Client-facing confidence with strong communication and presentation abilities.
• A proactive, solutions-driven mindset with the ability to thrive in a dynamic environment.
• Experience in retail media and working with CPG brands is a plus.
• Ahustler mentality, adaptability across categories, and a passion for sharing knowledge.

Don’t meet every single requirement? We still want to hear from you. If you believe you’d thrive in this role, your unique perspective might be just what we’re looking for.

What You’ll Be Doing

Your days will be dynamic. You might find yourself:

• Developing and overseeing integrated media strategies that span awareness, consideration, and performance goals.
• Leading media planning across digital, social, retail, and traditional channels.
• Defining KPIs and building robust measurement frameworks to track performance and inform optimisations.
• Using data and insights to guide channel selection, messaging, and audience segmentation.
• Collaborating closely with internal teams (client, strategy, measurement, ops, and sales) to align on execution.
• Managing media budgets and unlocking incremental investment opportunities.
• Presenting clear, compelling updates to clients and stakeholders.
• Keeping ahead of industry trends to drive media innovation.

Our Values

Stay Hungry – Be proactive. Take pride.
Stay Honest – Seek to understand. Build trust.
Stay Foolish – Embrace change. Always learning.
Have Fun – Champion positivity. Win together.

Explore what that means to us here

Still Curious?
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