Planning Director, MGM Theatrical

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ABOUT WPP & OPENDOOR

At WPP were constantly reinventing the future of creativity on an ever-broader canvas bringing together unrivalled talent resources and skills to provide an integrated offer of communications experience commerce and technology.

Over the last decade we have developed a dedicated global client practice with the mission of accelerating WPPs impact for our largest clients by bringing them the best of WPP. Each team is custom-built around a clients specific needs and challenges providing easy access to the right capabilities. And thats why weve builtOpenDoorforAmazon.

OpenDooris a unique integrationofthe best ofWPP and Amazon building on their respective strengths and WPP or at Amazon every project is an OpenDoor on new possibilities. Anything and everything can be an opportunity for our people to driveimpact for them to innovate learn thrive and occasionally fail too.

The unique OpenDoor partnership model is built to deliver next level Productivity fueled by our industry-leading approach to People Platforms and spans across all WPP agencies and disciplines such as media business consultancy communications and brand strategy tech and commerce public relations and production.

OpenDoors values are built from Amazons own16 Leadership PrinciplesandWPPs core values of Open Optimistic and when WPPs Creative Transformation meets Amazons next-levelcustomercentricity our people come together to challenge and impact whats done today and build a better future.

By joining OpenDoornot only are you joining a cross-function team partnering with one of WPPs top five global clientsbut youarealsotaking a step to challengeyourself and the world around you every day working in the most unusual way on some of Earths most ambitious opportunities in marketing tech media business and creativity.

Role Summary and Impact

The Planning Director serves as the senior leader responsible for the development quality and coherence of all international media planning for the MGM theatrical and digital distribution slate. This role leads the global planning hub translating strategy into clear actionable frameworks that scale across regions and ensuring every market operates from a unified planning spine channel architecture and process discipline.

The Planning Director oversees the planning system end-to-end defining global direction establishing planning standards guiding market interpretation reviewing priority market plans and ensuring a seamless transition into activation. The role shapes the multi-beat planning approach across early awareness main campaign opening weekend and chase maintaining strategic coherence and campaign readiness across the entire slate

Acting as the connective bridge across strategy planning activation insights operations and LA-based portfolio leadership the Planning Director maintains visibility across all markets and all titles. The role ensures clarity consistency and quality across markets while empowering teams with structured workflows tools and a fast-moving theatrical environment the Planning Director is accountable for providing the predictability and rigor required for exceptional global execution. This role reports into Prime Video Global Strategy Lead

RESPONSIBILITIES

Global Planning Leadership

• Lead the development of the planning for each title including audience architecture channel roles pacing and investment guidance.
• Translate strategic direction into clear modular frameworks that can be adopted by diverse markets.
• Define planning standards templates checklists and expectations that ensure consistent global quality.
• Maintain visibility across all planning workstreams and ensure coherence across titles and markets.
• Partner closely with client lead and studio leads to develop incremental recommendations and implement tracking drills at speed.
• Lead the development of filmmaker deliverables in partnership with strategy lead

Title Planning & Campaign Architecture

• Lead central planning for each release ensuring alignment with global strategy insights and studio objectives.
• Define the multi-beat planning approach trailer early awareness main campaign opening weekend and chase.
• Provide clear planning inputs (briefs guidance benchmarks timelines) to markets and activation teams.
• Partner with activation leaders to validate feasibility resourcing phasing and deliverable alignment.
• Anchor measurement inputs and learning agendas within the planning process.
• Recommend first-to-market betas and exclusive opportunities on relevant platforms
• Support content and strategy in global ideation sessions connecting actionable ideas to activation teams

Global-to-Local Orchestration

• Ensure all markets understand what is global what is local and where adaptation is expected.
• Guide markets through interpretation of the planning spine providing clarity and senior-level direction.
• Conduct targeted reviews of market plans (priority titles major markets or escalations) to ensure alignment quality and accuracy offering course correction but not performing junior-level work.
• Ensure planning documentation flows consistently across markets the hub and LA teams.
• Partner closely with local planning leads to ensure pan regional plans are culturally relevant in market

Insights Research & Competitive Intelligence

• Oversee the integration of audience insights cultural trends marketplace data and competitor intelligence within the planning process.
• Lead creation of landscape reviews planning implications and audience deep dives for key titles.
• Partner with analytics to ensure performance learnings inform future planning frameworks.
• Work with strategy in development of internal and competitive film comps

Collaboration Across Strategy Activation & Ops

• Work hand-in-hand with the Strategy Director to ensure all planning ladders up to the global strategy.
• Partner with Digital AD and activation teams to ensure plans translate seamlessly into trafficking QA pacing and optimization structures.
• Collaborate with Operations to maintain planning workflows tool adoption timelines deliverable expectations and quality control checkpoints.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment during key beats (briefing pre-launch launch post-launch).

Leadership of the Planning Pod

• Lead and develop a Hub team of planners across levels providing coaching clarity and direction.
• Establish rigorous quality standards and ensure consistent use of templates tools and workflows.
• Support planning resourcing prioritization and capacity management in partnership with Ops.
• Foster a culture of curiosity accountability and integrated problem-solving.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to enhance the planning model strengthen global consistency or improve tools and frameworks.
• Introduce new planning methodologies rooted in platform intelligence testing and cross-title learning.
• Embed innovations and best practices into repeatable processes ensuring scalability across markets.

Skills and Experience

At WPP Media we believe in the power of our culture and our people. Its what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Medias 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.
• Significant global or multi-market media planning experience ideally in theatrical or high-velocity categories.
• Deep expertise in channel strategy across digital AV social programmatic OOH and partnerships.
• Demonstrated ability to lead planning across multiple markets titles and timelines simultaneously.
• Strong ability to synthesize insights simplify complexity and translate strategy into actionable plans.
• Experience managing and developing a planning team.
• Strong operational capability and comfort working within structured workflows.

BONUS POINTS

• Experience working with a studio distributor entertainment franchise or global content pipeline.
• Familiarity with Amazons narrative-first culture and leadership principles.
• Experience developing global toolkits or planning playbooks.
• Exposure to WPP Open data environments or advanced planning tools.

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media includes investing in our employees to help them do their best work and were just as committed to employee growth as we are to responsible media investment. WPP Media employees can tap into the global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions grow their networks and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising. We have a variety of employee resource groups and host frequent in-office events showcasing team wins sharing thought leadership and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our benefits include competitive medical group retirement plans vision and dental insurance significant paid time off preferential partner discounts and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

We believe the best work happens when were together fostering creativity collaboration and connection. Thats why weve adopted a hybrid approach with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

Please note this is a UK based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location

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