Senior Manager, Planning

Carat is seeking a Senior Manager of Media Planning with strong integrated media expertise to support and grow one of our major client partnerships. This role requires a well-rounded media background with experience across both traditional channels (TV, radio, print, OOH) and digital media.  

The Senior Manager will play a central role on the account team and serve as a key point of contact for clients. This is a highly hands-on role, deeply involved in the day-to-day management of a newly expanded business. In addition to core client responsibilities, this individual will contribute to broader agency growth initiatives, including training, thought leadership, and new business efforts. 

As a Senior Manager at Carat, you will be responsible for translating communications strategies into actionable media plans and leading their execution. In partnership with senior leadership on the team, you will help shape the strategic direction of the account and ensure planning excellence across all channels.  

Beyond day-to-day account responsibilities, the Senior Manager will contribute to broader agency initiatives such as new business pitches, internal committees, and cross-functional task forces. This role is designed as a pathway to greater leadership within the agency overall.  

Media Planning: 

• Accountable for media plan development, ensuring timeliness, accuracy, and overall excellence of client deliverables  

• Lead end to end campaign management across multiple campaigns, demonstrating strong project management, organization, and time management  

• Demonstrate ability to work nimble across multiple workstreams, adapting to shifting priorities and timelines 

• Oversees the development of media plans and presentations and ensure seamless transition from brief to wrap report 

• Ensure cross-channel collaboration to deliver cohesive, integrated media strategies and execution across all touchpoints 

• Lead local broadcast goal and purchase order coordination in partnership with local broadcast team members  

• Support the Associate Director in overseeing and managing the account’s media budgets, ensuring accuracy and fiscal responsibility  

• Leverage Dentsu media planning tools, historical performance data, and audience insights to inform full-funnel media budget allocation and investment strategy  

• Champion innovative media approaches that thoughtfully align channel selection with creative concepts and brand storytelling 

• Stay informed on emerging media, technologies, and opportunities to continuously evolve campaign approaches 

Client & Internal Relationships 

• Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with clients, creative agency, and internal stakeholders 

• Effectively manage client expectations, timelines, and deliverables across multiple concurrent campaigns 

• Clearly communicate strategy, performance and optimization recommendations in a client friendly manner 

• Accurately represent the client perspective in planning, execution, and internal decisions 

• Collaborate cross-functionally (strategy, activation, analytics, creative, partners) to ensure aligned execution 

• Be a liaison with the creative agency partners to ensure collaborative integration for media campaigns 

Strategic Thinking & Leadership 

• Translate business objectives into actionable media strategies across planning and activation 

• Demonstrate strong problem-solving skills, identifying root causes and implementing solutions quickly 

• Provide ongoing thought leadership on media trends, partner capabilities, and performance insights 

• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement within the team 

• Ensure teams are operating efficiently across multiple projects with clear priorities and timelines 

Qualifications: 

• 4–6 years of experience across media planning and digital activation/execution 

• Strong understanding of digital media ecosystem, including programmatic, social, video/CTV, and emerging platforms 

• Experience analyzing campaign performance and working with partners/analytics teams to optimize campaigns 

• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple campaigns simultaneously 

• Proven leadership and team management experience 

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) 

• Strong communication and presentation skills 

Dentsu is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We do this without regard to race, color, national origin, sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religious practices and observances, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. 

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