Associate Director, Communications Planning

Associate Director, Communications Planning, New York, NY (hybrid)

Salary: $110,000 - $145,000

A rapidly growing NYC digital media agency is seeking a talented Associate Director, Communications Planning to lead high-impact media strategy for complex brands. This role is for a sharp, strategic thinker who can move quickly, translate insight into action, and deliver work that drives measurable business results.  This role will require deep Comms Planning experience inclusive of qual and quant research to guide audience insights and channel strategy.  The agency is located in Manhattan, and the position will spend three days a week in the office; days of week are flexible and agency side experience is required. This unique position will work on large national and global accounts and represents the opportunity to advance your career as an agency-wide subject matter expert; the agency offers many unique benefits and has a very employee-centric culture with many examples of rapid promotion from within.

Requirements:

Comms Strategy

• Develop audience-led, channel-smart, and competitively differentiated communication strategies.
• Translate complex client challenges into clear, actionable media recommendations.
• Lead the creation of integrated media plans that balance strong fundamentals with custom, high-impact ideas.
• Set strategic standards and ensure all deliverables align to a clear, cohesive strategy.

Insights & Analytics

• Own reporting and analytics, separating meaningful insights from noise.
• Analyze competitive spend, tactics, and market dynamics to inform strategy, budget allocation, and optimization.
• Track industry trends, evolving media best practices, and emerging opportunities.
• Lead development of trend and thought-leadership materials to inform planning and spark innovation.

Client Leadership

• Build concise, persuasive presentations that clearly articulate strategy and value.
• Serve as the senior strategic voice in client conversations.
• Elevate recommendations through clear narrative structure and strong rationale.

Who You Are

• 6–8+ years of experience in communications planning
• Deep expertise in channel strategy, audience insights, competitive analysis, and performance storytelling.
• Highly analytical with the ability to think creatively and solve problems.
• A people-first leader who develops talent while raising the quality of work.
• Confident, decisive, and effective in fast-paced, high-stakes environments

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