Planning Director

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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.com.

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 wppmedia.com

Following a highly competitive pitch in Q4 2025, Reckitt consolidated its European media business with WPP. This was a major, high-profile win for WPP, and we are looking for a Planning Director to join the Reckitt central strategy and planning team at WPP Media. This team will act as the guardians of effective, industry leading strategic planning for Reckitt’s portfolio of brands across four categories; Self Care, Intimate Wellness, Germ Protection, and Household. We will be working closely with Reckitt’s central media, comms and strategy teams to look forward, push boundaries, deliver inspiration and have a positive impact on consumers and brands.

This role will entail:

• Develop an advanced understanding of comms ecosystems and habitats, and planning best practices.
• Create central, multi-market planning recommendations with clear implications and direction for regional and market-specific media planning.
• Build expertise in a broad set of relevant internal tools and agents, as well as external tools, to develop a deep understanding of the consumer, the client’s business, and specific growth opportunities within. Getting hands on with tools, agents and data, to provide analysis and insight which supports and informs central strategy development, will be central to the role.
• Have a strong, clear and informed POV of the media landscape and marketplace, including relevant trends for Reckitt’s audiences and categories, with implications for planning and activation.
• Working closely with central category strategy leads, to translate central strategic recommendations into tangible, actionable and specific media guidance to markets – balancing strategic direction with tangible planning implications will be key.

• Own planning presentations including defining the inputs needed, and work with the wider team across multiple disciplines (eg strategy, social, influencer, commerce, analytics, insight) to develop empirical, evidence-based planning recommendations.
• Problem-solve both independently and collaboratively, demonstrating intellectual curiosity to interrogate and understand data in order to unlock valuable insights.
• Demonstrate how strategic planning direction can be translated into tangible media and comms ideas and channel-level activations, with actionable examples to inspire and inform regional/local market plan development.

• Partner with Reckitt internal comms strategy team, to deliver rigorous, data-led planning guidance.
• Work closely with key Reckitt stakeholders in multiple disciplines, and external partners (such as creative agencies), to get central planning buy-in, and to shape/inform creative asset development and requirements.
• Work hand-in-hand with WPP Media central client leads to provide oversight and governance of local market planning responses, providing clear, actionable and specific media direction to ensure local/in-market planning is reflective of central strategy.
• Challenge (in a positive manner) and ‘stick with the fight’ to ensure that planning recommendations are delivered as designed, with effectiveness and business impact paramount.
• Demonstrate flexibility and agility to work positively and productively with different people in different roles/disciplines/organisations.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships; become a valued and valuable member of the Reckitt client/agency team!

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.