Head of Media Planning (Maternity Cover)

As Head of Media Planning at Hearst Networks, you will lead a high-performing team in translating marketing and programming goals for 11 territories into impactful promo strategies across linear and BVOD platforms.

Reporting to the VP of Marcomms, this role holds ultimate responsibility for the Media Planning function while collaborating closely with other areas of the Marcomms department—such as Social, PR, and Marketing—and key stakeholders across the business, including Presentation, Programming, and Creative, to ensure optimal outcomes.

Driving strategic initiatives, optimizing workflows, and fostering partnerships—most notably with Sky—you’ll play a critical role in shaping and delivering our integrated media planning vision.

This is a 12-month fixed term contract maternity cover position. This role will be hybrid based in the London office, working on exciting, award-winning brands like Sky HISTORY and Crime+Investigation.

About Us

At Hearst Networks EMEA, we share stories that matter, inspiring and exciting our audiences with hit US franchises (The Curse of Oak Island, Pawn Stars), must-see docudramas (Royal Kill List and Colosseum), and original commissions (Sex: A Bonkers History with Amanda Holden, Royal Autopsy, Cops Gone Bad with Will Mellor). Over the past few years, we’ve championed our own original programming and relished in the successes of recent series’ such as The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd, Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Royal Mob.

We welcome talented candidates with infectious enthusiasm and creativity, who love what they do, and are ready to learn, develop and thrive. Here you’ll find a community of innovative, collaborative and inspiring people who aren’t afraid to embrace responsibility and try new things together, as a team.

We are a certified Great Place to Work® with a motivated and supportive culture that believes in working to live, not just living to work. Every employee has a voice and is encouraged to be themselves and be ambitious. With offices in Rome, Madrid, London, Warsaw, Munich and Johannesburg, we are a truly international organisation that celebrates difference and diversity.

As an inclusive employer, we value the diversity of our teams and want our workforce to reflect our wider society. We encourage and welcome applications from people from under-represented backgrounds and are keen to make sure we are inclusive and accessible to all. Please do let us know if you require any adjustments or assistance for meetings and communications with you when you apply for a role with us.

Key responsibilities:

• Strategic leadership of the Media Planning function; overseeing the translation of marketing & programming objectives from 11 territories into business building promo strategies across on-air & BVO.
• Line management, development and training of three team members.
• Delivery against the Media Planning FY25 goals; including the project management of a new media planning system roll out across the wider Marcomms department, and the further development of our integrated media strategies.
• Lead the monthly Airtime Steering Committee and prioritization process (including the formation of a monthly make list, stipulating airtime recommendations to senior stakeholders and ensuring all parties are kept informed on relevant topics, projects and learnings from the Media Planning area).
• Maintain and enhance the valuable relationship and airtime exchange with our Media Planning partners at Sky.
• Continual workflow & process optimisation, ensuring the team is operating efficiently and effectively.

To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following key competencies:

• Strategic Thinking
• Leadership & decision-making
• Persuading & influencing
• Relationship Building
• Planning & Organising
• Analysing & interpreting data

Essential Skills / Knowledge:

• An expert media planner with extensive experience in a senior / managerial media planning role.
• Thorough understanding of promotional strategies across linear broadcast channel and, BVOD.
• Excellent operational experience and knowledge, able to identify opportunities for workflow & process optimisation.
• A deep understanding of BARB and Techedge data, along with the skills to analyse and use this data for customised media planning solutions.
• A skilled problem solver with the ability to develop innovative and creative solutions to address marketing challenges.
• Exceptional emergent leadership skills, stakeholder management, curious, enthusiastic, tenacious, collaborative and a confident communicator with the ability to influence and inspire at all levels.
• Experienced line manager with a passion for team development.

Desirable Skills / Knowledge:

• Experience delivering integrated media planning solutions across a range of media.
• Understanding and experience of working with AdSmart / PromoSmart technology.

What We Offer:

• Opportunities for professional growth within a leading media company.
• Collaborative and dynamic work environment.
• Hybrid working arrangements.

Please review our Company Values below before applying for this role:

Think Next - Embrace and anticipate change, invent for tomorrow and challenge the status quo.Be ambitious, identify future trends and aim for bigger and better

Own It- Commit to your idea and run with it, be brave, be daring and overcome obstacles. Embrace responsibility, acknowledge mistakes and learn from them.

Fight as a Family, Win as a Team - Be passionate about your ideas. Challenge, collaborate, unite and celebrate in everyone’s success. Build friendships because we work at our best when we’re in it together.

Love What You Do - When you love what you do, your enthusiasms infectious. Be proud of our brand and help bring it to life.

Be You - Let your personality shine and champion difference in people. Be honest with yourself and others and keep developing your potential.