Senior Communications Planning Director

Company Description

At Zenith, we are a connected team with purpose. We are driven to create new perspectives through modern media. We believe marketing is a powerful investment that can build and grow brands and increase business profitability. So we unlock opportunities for growth by placing consumer behavior, attitudes, and insights at the heart of everything we do. We pride ourselves on delivering return on investment, imagination, and insight.Central to this vision is the knowledge that we are only as good as our people. To grow our clients' business, we need to attract, retain, develop, and grow the brightest talent in the industry. We know it is not the sum of one but the sum of all of us that make us great. Our behaviors are: Be Bold, Be Kind, Be Better Together.We're determined to eradicate any barriers that prevent our people from achieving their fullest potential.We offer progressive flexible working options to everyone at all levels - it's not a policy. It's behavior-led and reinforced through our values.Mental health & wellbeing is something we consider a priority - it's championed by our own people internally and is a regular conversation.We have a lot of fun - we're constantly looking at reinventing how we're connecting with each other.

Overview

About the role

As a Senior Communications Planning Director, you'll sit at the heart of a global blue-chip client, shaping how audiences experience a brand across markets and moments.

This is a rare opportunity to step into a high-profile piece of business where the scale, complexity and visibility are unmatched. You'll play a central role in establishing the planning approach from the ground up, helping define how this client shows up across channels, regions and key cultural moments.

In this pivotal strategic role, you'll connect business ambition, audience insight and channel thinking to deliver measurable impact. You'll lead end-to-end communications planning, balancing long-term brand building with performance outcomes, while operating across a sophisticated, multi-market ecosystem.

You'll partner with senior stakeholders, influence internationally connected strategy, and bring together the best of creativity, data and media innovation - from advanced digital channels to high-impact, culturally meaningful campaigns.

If you're motivated by solving complex challenges, working at scale, and building something with real influence - this is a career-defining opportunity.

What you will do with us:

• Lead the development of insight-led, data-driven communications strategies that deliver measurable ROI across digital and offline channels.
• Establish and govern planning frameworks, ensuring consistency, quality and best practice adoption across markets and teams.
• Own the end-to-end planning craft, ensuring consistency, quality and clarity across all outputs.
• Design full-funnel communications approaches across paid, owned and earned channels, mapping the complete consumer journey.
• Build trusted relationships with clients and stakeholders, acting as a strategic advisor on channel strategy, audience insight and campaign effectiveness.
• Present strategies and recommendations with clarity, confidence and influence.
• Oversee the rollout and governance of planning frameworks and playbooks across markets, ensuring local adaptation without compromising strategic integrity.
• Develop scalable ways of working that enable consistency while allowing for regional nuance and flexibility.
• Lead post-campaign analysis, translating results into actionable learnings and future planning principles.
• Drive continuous optimisation of channel mix, sequencing and audience strategies to maximise impact.
• Coach and mentor, fostering a culture of collaboration, curiosity and continuous improvement.
• Work seamlessly across strategy, analytics and specialist teams to deliver integrated, high-impact outputs.
• Champion new thinking in communications planning, pushing boundaries across digital, social and emerging channels.
• Act as a communications planning subject matter expert, contributing to capability uplift through coaching, collaboration, and hands on problem solving.

What You'll Bring:

• 6+ years' experience of full-funnel media planning across digital and offline channels, ideally in a regional or multi-market environment for complex, high-value client accounts.
• Strong strategic mindset with the ability to translate data and insights into clear, actionable plans.
• Experience developing and governing planning frameworks, playbooks or ways of working across teams or markets, balancing strategic direction with local market flexibility and consistency at scale.
• Confident stakeholder management, with experience engaging senior clients and influencing decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to connect brand and performance thinking to drive measurable business outcomes.
• Strong storytelling and presentation skills, with the ability to simplify complexity.
• Experience mentoring or leading teams, with a collaborative and inclusive leadership style.
• Curiosity and passion for innovation across media, technology and consumer behaviour.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritise, manage multiple workstreams, and operate effectively in fast-paced environments.
• Exposure to test-and-learn frameworks, innovation programmes, or advanced data-led planning environments.
• Experience managing teams, coaching talent, or contributing to capability building within an agency environment.
• A clear sense of planning rigour and governance, including budget stewardship, risk awareness, and accountability.

You are:

• Strategic, curious and solutions focused.
• Commercially minded, with a focus on delivering measurable business outcomes and continuous improvement.
• A confident communicator who can simplify complexity.
• Collaborative, inclusive and team oriented.
• Adaptable and comfortable navigating change.
• Detail-oriented, organised, and accountable.

What you're looking for:

• A supportive and collaborative culture.
• Clients who are encourage innovative thinking and are open to be challenged.
• Ambition to fulfil your career goals in a business large enough to accommodate them.

#LI-LJ1

Additional Information

Publicis Groupe benefits: Be a part of the Publicis Groupe family, recent winner of the Employer of Choice Awards and one of the world's most progressive and dynamic modern communications businesses. You can learn more about us at www.publicisgroupeanz.com.

Enjoy all the perks that come with our network offering:

• A comprehensive Wholeself program supporting physical, mindful, and financial wellbeing.
• A creative, lively, and rewarding office environment where people love working with each other, supported by our Publicis Liberte flexibility approach - "working your way with us."
• Access to our Global AI Platform Marcel, connecting Publicis Groupe employees with opportunities for career mobility and collaboration across our global network.
• Extensive Learning & Development opportunities including more than 15,000 learning programs via our online learning platform, Marcel Classes.
• A culture of open feedback and support to reach your goals through our Career Conversations program.
• A committed Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion strategy driven through our Viva Women, Egalite, enABLE, EmbRACE, and Ecologique committees.
• Leave benefits including Birthday Leave, Flexible Public Holidays, and an additional 5 days of leave after 2 years of service.
• Work Your World program enabling employees the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks per year.
• Parental leave policy with up to 18 weeks based on tenure, paid primary carer leave, secondary carer swap, and Cub Care leave.
• Access to counsellors, psychologists, and professionals through Sonder, an all-in-one digital wellbeing technology platform designed to support psychological, medical & safety needs.
• A workplace that stands together to provide a more open, supportive, and recovery-forward culture for all employees with life-threatening illnesses. Read more about our Working With Cancer Pledge: https://workingwithcancerpledge.com/
• Proud partners of Diversity Council Australia, Pride in Diversity, Family Friendly Workplaces, Supply Nation, and the Australian Disability Network.

If you don't tick every box in this ad, please don't rule yourself out. Research suggests that women and other people in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they meet every requirement. We focus on hiring people who share our values of inclusion, collaboration, adaptability, fearlessness, and integrity rather than ticking boxes - so if this role resonates with you, please apply.

Diversity. Inclusion. Equity. More than just words; these are part of our DNA. At Publicis Groupe, we are committed to the inclusion and recognition of all people regardless of race, age, culture, ability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, and religious affiliation. We believe that to deliver the best solutions to our clients, our people need to reflect the diverse communities in which our clients operate. We value diversity and the skills, knowledge, and experience that difference brings to our culture and solutions.

Uniqueness is powerful; without it, we wouldn't be where we are today. So be you - we like it that way.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for people with disability or those that require additional support throughout the application process. If you need any assistance or adjustments, please contact us via recruitmentpublicisgroupe.com; your personal information will be kept confidential.