Associate Director, Planning

About this role

Brainlabs is the independent, founder-led agency building the future of media. We have over 1000 Brainlabbers based across the global, all united through the 12 principles laid out in our Culture Code. We're full-service, with people and AI agents working side by side, all aligned to one thing: maximizing our clients' revenue through a genuinely scientific approach to media. If you want to help play your part in achieving this for the world's biggest brands in an environment that will support and challenge you in equal measure, this is where you do it.

So you’re interested in becoming an Associate Director of Planning? Let's dive into what that means:

Role type: Full-time
Team: Strategy & Planning
Reporting to: Director, Strategy
Location: New York City, New York
Compensation: We hire candidates across our US office locations and at varying levels of experience. Our posted salary ranges reflect differences in both location and experience, with final compensation determined once a candidate’s background and location are confirmed.
Work Authorization: Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. We are unable to provide visa sponsorship or continuation for this position.

As an Associate Director, Planning you will be a data-driven, performance-led media planner responsible for designing and activating cross-channel media plans that drive measurable business outcomes. This role sits at the intersection of data, media, and strategy, balancing short-term goals with long-term brand and demand growth.

In this role you will:

• Translate client business objectives into outcome-driven, full-funnel media strategies that connect awareness, consideration, and conversion

• Lead the development of comprehensive cross-channel media plans, including audience strategy, campaign-level budgeting, flighting, and investment allocation

• Use performance data to inform planning decisions, diagnose issues, and drive optimization, incorporating historical performance, testing results, and learning agendas into future strategies

• Design robust audience strategies leveraging first-party data, platform-native audiences, and second-/third-party data sources

• Operate with a test-and-learn mindset, setting clear hypotheses and building structured testing roadmaps in partnership with data and client teams

• Bring a performance lens to innovation, incorporating emerging media opportunities, new formats, and AI-enabled tools to improve efficiency and effectiveness in planning

• Partner cross-functionally to ensure tight integration between data, creative, media, and strategy throughout the planning and activation process

• Work closely with the data team on measurement and reporting, ensuring a holistic view of performance with clear, actionable insights

• Serve as the day-to-day client lead and trusted…