SVP, Planning

The SVP of Media Planning is a critical senior leadership role within MissionOne Media and BarkleyOKRP, responsible for elevating the planning product and driving growth across a portfolio of enterprise and growth accounts.

Reporting to the EVP, Head of Planning, this role will play an instrumental part in shaping how media strategy integrates with creative, strengthens client relationships, and differentiates our agency in the marketplace.

This leader must combine deep media planning expertise with strong business acumen, marketplace fluency, and the ambition to build a best-in-class planning organization.

Role Overview

The SVP of Media Planning will:

• Lead the development and deployment of integrated media plans across a defined portfolio of accounts

• Serve as a senior strategic partner to clients and internal agency leadership

• Drive growth through sharper, differentiated media thinking

• Elevate the planning standard across teams, including but not limited to activation, partnerships, creative media, and analytics

• Contribute meaningfully to new business and organic expansion efforts

This role requires both hands-on planning expertise and portfolio-level judgment, ensuring that planning resources are applied thoughtfully and impactfully.

Strategic Media Planning & Integration

• Accountable for the development, presentation, and oversight of strategic media plans that deliver against clients’ short and long-term business goals

• Translate complex business challenges into scalable, outcome-driven media strategies across paid channels

• Generate audience-first strategies grounded in data, marketplace intelligence, and cultural insight

• Partner closely with Client Experience, Creative, Strategy, Investment/Activation, Analytics, and CRM teams to ensure integrated, cohesive planning output

• Identify opportunities to sharpen media ideas in partnership with creative teams to maximize impact

• Ensure innovation is purposeful and aligned with business objectives, not trend-driven

Growth & Marketplace Leadership

• Play a central role in driving organic growth across assigned accounts by identifying new opportunities rooted in strategic insight

• Contribute to new business efforts, including RFI/RFP responses, strategic development, and presentations

• Maintain a strong pulse on the competitive and holding company landscape — understanding who is pitching, how media products are evolving, and where differentiation exists

• Continuously assess and refine our planning product to ensure it remains sharp, relevant, and competitive

• Develop and articulate POVs that position MissionOne Media at the forefront of industry thinking

Client Leadership

• Serve as senior point of contact on key accounts, building trusted relationships with client leadership

• Demonstrate deep understanding of client business objectives, industry dynamics, and growth challenges

• Navigate complex conversations with clarity and confidence, influencing decision-making at senior levels

• Ensure consistency and quality across all client-facing deliverables

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and mentor Directors, Supervisors, and Planners within a pod-based structure

• Establish clear roles, expectations, and accountability within the planning team

• Coach team members to elevate strategic rigor and planning craft

• Delegate appropriately to build capability and reduce unnecessary senior involvement in day-to-day execution

• Foster a collaborative, high-performance culture focused on quality, growth, and accountability

Operational Discipline

• Maintain visibility into the health and workload of accounts within the portfolio

• Partner with Client Experience, Activation, Analytics, Legal and Finance to ensure plans are feasible and aligned with business realities

• Drive process improvements and best practices to increase efficiency without compromising quality

• Manage up effectively, keeping senior leadership informed on account health, risks, and opportunities

Qualifications

• 12+ years of media planning experience, with significant team leadership responsibility

• Proven ability to lead integrated media planning across traditional and digital channels

• Demonstrated success driving organic growth and contributing to new business wins

• Strong understanding of audience strategy, analytics, and marketplace dynamics

• Executive presence with exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills

• Deep knowledge of planning tools such as Vivvix, Pathmatics, MRI-Simmons, Nielsen, SQAD, Guideline, and related platforms

• Strong analytical acumen and ability to translate data into actionable insight

• Experience operating in a fast-paced, collaborative agency environment

Originally posted on Himalayas