Media Strategy Senior Manager

ROLE TITLE: Media Strategy Senior Manager

THE ROLE

The Media Strategy Senior Manager is a pivotal leadership role responsible for shaping and advancing Unilever’s paid, owned, and earned media strategies. Positioned at the heart of our marketing transformation, this leader not only enhances media capabilities and drives commerce outcomes, but also architects global best practices for how we build and deploy media excellence across the entire organisation. Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams and markets, the role bringing media excellence and strategic thought leadership to define and implement scalable best practices, innovative frameworks, and foster knowledge sharing to elevate Unilever’s media performance globally, ensuring we remain future-ready, culturally resonant, and commercially effective everywhere.

As media becomes more fragmented, personalised, and culturally charged, this role will be instrumental in ensuring Unilever’s brands remain visible, relevant, and connected in culture. You’ll be at the forefront of shaping our media capabilities and practices that inform how we invest, engage, and innovate, turning disruption into opportunity. This role demands a forward-thinking, culturally attuned leader who can bridge strategy with execution.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Media Planning: Develops innovative media mix models and investment strategies that transform how and where Unilever invests, ensuring alignment with evolving consumer behaviors and media landscapes.

• Media Communication Frameworks: Establish media communication frameworks to guide the media planning process and ensure ongoing evolution and adaptability across the organisation.

• Cultural Relevance: Crafts media approaches that embed Unilever into the fabric of culture and communities leveraging deep insights into community dynamics, and media trends.

• Culture Marketing: Leads initiatives that tap into communities and cultural movements, driving highly relevant brand experiences.

• Future-Focused Innovation: Identifies emerging media frontiers drives media innovation, uncovering opportunities that enable Unilever to build stronger consumer connections, ensuring the media strategy stays agile, consumer-focused, and responsive to changes in culture, technology, and commerce.

• Search and Visibility: Champions innovation in search capabilities to enhance product visibility, driving thought leadership and transformation in how brands remain discoverable in a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.

All About You:

• Deep Media Strategy Expertise: Possesses in-depth expertise in media, particularly strategy, with a strong track record of designing and executing media strategy that turn visionary ideas into thought leadership leading to measurable results. Adept at applying advanced media planning concepts to push boundaries, elevate performance, and deliver impactful, forward-thinking solutions.

• Senior Leadership Experience: Proven track record of leading large-scale transformation programs within complex, multinational organisations. Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across all levels of management.

• Change Agent & Strategic Thinker: Critical thinker who challenges the status quo and drives innovation with a user centric mindset. Strategic yet detail oriented, capable of zooming out to see the big picture while managing granular implementation details.

• Proactive & Inspirational Leader: Self-starter who inspires action and mobilises cross-functional teams toward shared goals. Comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving clarity in complex environments.

• Curious: Proactively seeks out emerging trends and cultural insights, continuously learning and sharing knowledge to inform innovative approaches and drive superior outcomes.

Key Skills Required:

• Strategic Media Planning: Designs and optimises media strategies across channels for impactful results.

• Digital Marketing: Integrates emerging platforms and technologies into comprehensive plans.

• Leadership & Stakeholder Management: Leads cross-functional teams and influences at all levels.

• Change & Innovation: Challenges the status quo and fosters a culture of innovation.

• Analytical Skills: Uses data analysis to inform decisions and demonstrate ROI.

• Search Strategy: Expert in search marketing and developing search-focused media models.

• Communication: Clearly presents ideas and builds strong stakeholder relationships.

• Resource Prioritisation: Identifies priorities and allocates resources efficiently.

• Continuous Learning: Stays abreast of industry trends to inform new approaches.

• Excellence in Execution: Delivers high-quality work with attention to process and detail.

• Creative Problem-Solving: Tackles challenges with innovative thinking.

• Adaptability: Navigates ambiguity and quickly pivots strategies as needed.

Unilever Behaviours We Demonstrate:

• Care deeply: Listens to team members and stakeholders, ensuring their perspectives inform decisions. Shows genuine commitment to both individuals and the overall strategy.

• Focus on what counts: Pinpoints key priorities, communicates focus clearly, and allocates resources efficiently to projects that drive the most impact.

• Stay three steps ahead: Monitors industry trends and emerging technologies, integrating insights into strategic planning to keep the business ahead.

• Deliver with excellence: Upholds high standards, regularly refines processes, and ensures consistent, exceptional outcomes.

What we offer

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all. 

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (unilever.com).

Location

In June 2020 we announced our plan to consolidate a number of Unilever’s offices across the South East of England into a new Unilever campus in Kingston-upon-Thames in or around early 2025. However, on the 08 August 2024 we announced to our existing staff our proposal to retain our central Head Office in London, 100 Victoria Embankment (“100VE”) until our lease expires in 2027. As a result of this new proposal, we will be consulting with our existing staff, and new joiners who join during this period of consultation at 100VE, on the proposal made in August 2024. During consultation we will clarify the future location of each team and function. This means your role will either be based in 100VE until 2027 or in Kingston-Upon-Thames from early 2025. As we are yet to commence consultation on the proposal you agree, until such a time when consultation has concluded, your normal place of work as set out in the enclosed Statement of Terms & Conditions will be 100VE. You agree that on the conclusion of the consultation your place of work will be 100VE or 100VE until early 2025 and then Kingston-upon-Thames ("the locations") and you will be notified of which of the locations will be your place of work after that consultation ends.