Media Planning Manager Jobs
Media Planning Manager jobs are open across advertising agencies, media companies, consumer brands, and digital marketing firms, from coordinator-level to director, with specializations in programmatic buying, cross-channel strategy, and audience targeting. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Core Responsibilities:
- Own end-to-end planning, from data-informed strategy development and budget allocation to activation and optimization and tie every decision to measurable client outcomes.
- Own the client relationship and independently lead client meetings, present recommendations, manage feedback, and proactively resolve challenges.
- Able to work with multiple clients across enterprise-sized organizations.
- Lead cross-channel strategies and recommendations for media campaigns, grounding each recommendation in data, audience insight, and a clear rationale tied to campaign goals.
- Lead Activation, Analytics, and Ad Ops cross-functionally, holding teams to agreed timelines and deliverables.
- Work with all teams, internal and external, to ensure that the highest-quality thinking, measurement, and reporting are applied to campaign KPIs.
- Initiate and review reports, trends, and results, interpreting data to deliver proactive strategic recommendations and next steps that advance business initiatives.
- Maintain financial accountability, including oversight of media budgets, pacing, forecasting, reconciliations, and strategic reallocations.
- Manage campaign execution and oversight, including preparing for launch readiness, addressing trafficking dependencies, and ensuring that campaigns execute accurately and on schedule.
- Directly manage, mentor, and guide the Media Planner and Associate Media Planner roles, contributing to their professional growth and development.
- Participate in Professional Growth Development Initiatives (POV, white papers, committees, etc.) and share expertise and knowledge with the agency.
- Serve as a role model with a positive attitude, and facilitate a healthy team environment.
Academic/Educational Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree
Requirements:
- 5+ years of media agency experience with client service, media planning, buying and reporting roles.
- Strong background in digital and traditional media.
- Understanding of digital ad trafficking processes and platforms (CM360, IAS).
- Prior exposure to the media-planning process or media resources (such as comScore, Prisma/Media Ocean, MRI Catalyst, Commspoint, Tableau) a plus.
- Analytical ability to distill data into actionable insights.
- Ability to collaborate and communicate with clients to strengthen relationships.
- Proven ability of accountability in managing multiple team members.
- Capable of creating solutions and proactively resolving issues.
- Ability to deliver on deadlines and prioritize tasks in order of importance.
How You’ll Excel in Your Role:
- Polished presentation skills, as well as excellent written communication skills with the ability to convey complex strategies concisely.
- Exceptional interpersonal, leadership, supervisory, and organizational skills.
- Ability to work well independently, as well as within a team with a positive attitude.
- Curiosity/desire to learn, keeping up with a constantly changing media landscape (programmatic, augmented reality, etc.).
- Adaptable to working with different workstyles, contributing to the core values and culture of Quigley-Simpson.
- Prior exposure to the media-planning process or media resources (such as CM360, comScore, Prisma/Media Ocean, MRI Catalyst, Commspoint, Media Radar, Google Ads).
- Have fun! Don’t be afraid to take risks. Quigley-Simpson’s goal is for you to grow in what brings you joy in your responsibilities and to foster that momentum.
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Media Planning Manager Jobs by Experience Level
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Find Media Planning Manager JobsMedia Planning Manager Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Music
- Retail
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in media planning manager jobs.
- Three to five years of experience in media planning or media buying roles
- Proficiency in media planning software and ad serving platforms such as DCM or Prisma
- Demonstrated experience managing and optimizing multi-channel media budgets
- Strong analytical skills with experience using syndicated research tools like MRI-Simmons or Nielsen
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, communications, or a related field
- Experience with programmatic platforms, DSPs, and data-driven audience targeting strategies
Tips for Your Media Planning Manager Job Search
Tailor your resume to channel mix
Hiring managers want to see the specific channels you've planned across, such as linear TV, programmatic display, paid social, or audio. List each channel with context, not just a tool name, so your experience reads as strategy rather than execution.
Show measurement outcomes, not just deliverables
Media planning manager roles reward candidates who connect plan decisions to business results. Replace output statements like 'managed $2M budget' with outcome statements that name the KPI you moved, even if you frame it directionally rather than with an exact figure.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists media planning manager openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target job titles that signal the right scope
Titles vary widely: media planning manager, integrated media manager, and paid media manager can describe nearly identical roles. Read the responsibilities section, not just the title, to confirm the job owns strategy and not only trafficking or reporting.
Prepare a channel-agnostic planning case study
Many interviews include a whiteboard or take-home exercise where you build a media plan from a brief. Practice starting from audience and objective before channel, so you can defend budget allocation decisions under time pressure without defaulting to your most familiar platform.
Negotiate scope before you negotiate compensation
Before accepting an offer, clarify whether the role owns the full planning process including vendor negotiations and post-buy analysis, or only executes plans built upstream. Scope differences that look minor on paper affect your title trajectory and portfolio depth significantly.
Media Planning Manager Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most media planning managers?
Quigley-Simpson & Heppelwhite, SES, and Live Nation are hiring the most media planning managers right now, with openings concentrated in California, Illinois, and New York, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is especially high at holding company agencies and large consumer brands with in-house media operations.
How many media planning manager jobs are remote?
About 85% of media planning manager openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how much of the planning workflow runs through shared platforms and video calls. Roles focused on digital and programmatic channels tend to be the most remote-friendly, while positions tied to broadcast or out-of-home planning more often require in-office presence.
How do you become a media planning manager?
Most media planning managers start in entry-level media coordinator or assistant planner roles at an agency or brand, then advance by taking ownership of full campaign plans rather than just execution tasks. Building fluency in both quantitative skills like budget modeling and qualitative skills like audience strategy accelerates promotion. Earning platform certifications in programmatic or paid social strengthens your candidacy for manager-level openings.
Can you get a media planning manager job with little experience?
Getting hired as a media planning manager with limited experience is possible if you can demonstrate planning judgment, not just execution. Focus on roles at smaller agencies or brands where the planning and buying functions overlap, so you gain strategic exposure faster. A portfolio case study showing how you would approach a media brief, even from a hypothetical scenario, can substitute for years of direct title experience.
What does the media planning manager interview process look like?
The interview process typically includes a recruiter screen, a hiring manager conversation focused on your channel experience and planning philosophy, and a skills exercise where you respond to a creative brief with a proposed media plan. Final rounds often involve presenting that plan to a cross-functional panel including account, strategy, or brand stakeholders. Expect questions on how you prioritize channels, justify budget splits, and measure success.
Where can I find and apply to media planning manager jobs?
You can find and apply to media planning manager jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Find roles that match your experience and channel background, then apply directly to each listing from the job page.
See All 34 Media Planning Manager Jobs
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