Client Planning Manager (Arla & Kellanova)

Job Description:

Introduction

Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world’s leading organizations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and now present in over 145 countries and regions, it has a proven track record of nurturing and developing innovations, combining the talents of its global network of leadership brands to develop impactful and integrated growth solutions for clients. Dentsu delivers end-to-end experience transformation (EX) by integrating its services across Media, CXM and Creative, while its business transformation (BX) mindset pushes the boundaries of transformation and sustainable growth for brands, people and society.

CARAT is an important part of our world-class offering -an award-winning media, content and branding agency that uses its peerless understanding of the passions, motivations, and behaviours of real people to bring brands and their customers together. Carat is privileged to work with some of the most eminent companies in the world.

We’re hiring for a Client Planning Manager working 50/50 split on Arla and Kellanova as part of Carat in London.

Purpose of the Role

Pringles

Pringles is a global icon and the largest brand in the Kellanova (formerly Kellogg’s) brand portfolio. This role sits within the Kellanova European planning team which includes brands such as Kellogg’s, Special K, Crunchy Nut, Pop Tarts, Rice Krispie Squares and Cheez Its.

Pringles over recent years has been the most awarded brand in Carat, with Gaming work in collaboration with the wider “Pringles United” agency group delivering success in Cannes, Media Week and Campaign.

The next two years will be huge for Pringles as they re-launch their brand platform with new creative agency FCB London. Agencies are all London based, with clients in Dublin (travel is limited but will happen occasionally). This role is a European planning role, with Pringles live in up to 28 markets annually.

Arla

Arla is a farmer cooperative owned business, owned by 12,000 dairy farmers of which 2,500 are based in the UK. Arla’s cooperative roots go all the way back to the 1880s, and the structure means that they work collaboratively with farmers to create a sustainable long-term future for the dairy industry. Arla’s farmer ownership means that all of Arla’s profits go back to our farmer owners, and that the owners take an active part in deciding how the business grows and develops.  

The coming years present an exciting horizon for Arla, offering significant opportunities to strengthen omni-channel planning and drive continuous learning and innovation.

The Manager will work closely with data and measurement teams for targeting, optimization, and evaluation, while also handling planning for smaller UK-based campaigns On Pringles.

The role supports the Pringles and Arla communications planning team, reporting to the Client Director on Pringles and Account Director on Arla and collaborating with Planning ADs, Managers, and activation teams to deliver strategies, audience plans, and responses to briefs across markets on Pringles and in the UK on Arla. Key responsibilities include assisting Account Directors, mentoring Account Executives, briefing specialists, and turning strategic plans into effective activations. The position demands strong client and agency relationships, innovative data-driven media plans, and expertise in media theory and commercial opportunities to guide investment toward the most effective partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Supporting the delivery of multiple workstreams in order to meet client expectations through effective mobilisation of the wider dentsu resources and people at all times.

• Work with the strategist, senior planners, and dentsu data sources to create robust consumer journeys to help inform strategic development 

• Supporting the delivery of outstanding client service for your clients and working with the Client Account Director and Client Director to deliver according to appropriate contact strategy and client service plan, whilst identifying opportunities for cross-sell and up-sell

• Responding in a timely and accurate manner to client requests for information, working seamlessly with internal stakeholders and colleagues across the network in order to deal with their requests.

• Demonstrate the ability to cultivate strong relationships across channel teams to ensure that work is delivered on time and to a high quality.

• Work with the Operations Director to ensure the finance process is smooth and error-free, obtain POs in an accurate and timely manner, ensuring the PO tracker is kept up to date and that all spend commitments are adhered to by the media teams.

• Working with activation teams and clients to ensure any learnings from campaign optimisation are actively applied to the campaign.

• Be responsible for actively developing direct reports. Must ensure they are motivated, have a clear and regularly reviewed development plan.

Qualifications + Skills

• Experience within a media role or agency, client facing is preferable alongside people management experience.

• Experience developing media strategies across the full media landscape, including AV, digital, OOH and partnerships.

• Well-versed in media planning within an agency environment and experienced with planning tools.

• Ability to analyse numerical data and pull out reasonable and rational conclusions and present back in a concise and credible format.

• Experience managing annual high-level budgets with multiple campaigns / bursts.

• Excellent client stakeholder management, skilled at translating information between clients and media teams to deliver the best outcomes.

• Good communicator: verbal, written, presentation, listening skills with internal and external stakeholders across all levels of seniority.

What we offer

• This is a permanent role. 

• The team is based in our London office but operates under flexible working arrangements. The team are currently in the office every Wednesday and Thursdays as a minimum.

• As well as a competitive salary, you’ll enjoy a benefits package that you can tailor to your needs.

Inclusion and Diversity

At Dentsu, we embrace diversity and inclusion, valuing the unique perspectives and contributions of every individual. We believe that diversity fuels creativity and innovation, benefiting our employees, partners, and communities.

We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic. Beyond recruitment, we strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work.

We recognise the importance of work-life balance and are open to discussing flexible working arrangements for all roles. If you need reasonable adjustments due to a disability or medical condition during our recruitment process, please contact us at accommodations@dentsu.com, quoting the reference number of the role that you are applying for. Your needs will be handled with respect and confidentiality to ensure an inclusive and accessible experience

#LI-Hybrid

Location:

London

Brand:

Carat

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent