Head of Connections Planning

Step up to architect the future of media planning and lead a brilliant team in connecting some of Australia's most beloved brands with their audiences. Open Era by WPP Media Join a Team Shaping the Future of World‑Class Marketing Open Era is a world‑class partnership between WPP Media and Suncorp, one of Australia’s largest and most iconic insurance groups. This bespoke agency model brings together the best minds, tools, and technologies to shape the next chapter of growth – powered by openness, intelligence, and orchestration. We’re building a team that thrives on: Openness: To change, to collaboration, to accountability. World‑Class Standards: Delivering the best work from Australia, for Suncorp. True Partnership: Working with transparency and healthy tension – we challenge for better every time. Growth Mindset: Focused on outcomes, performance, and policy impact. Future Focus: Never complacent, always evolving to meet what’s next. Why Join Open Era? You’ll be part of a dedicated, unified team structured to flex with Suncorp’s diverse brand portfolio, including household names like AAMI, GIO, Suncorp, Shannons, Apia, and Vero. These brands are not only leaders in insurance – they’re leaders in creativity, ingenuity, and customer connection. Working on Suncorp means: High‑impact creativity: From sport and entertainment partnerships to bold brand storytelling, Suncorp pushes the boundaries of what insurance marketing can be. Performance and brand media excellence: A dual focus on driving ROI and building long‑term brand equity. Customer experience at the core: Every touchpoint matters – across owned, earned, paid, and shared media. Integrated media innovation: Collaborating across data, tech, and content to deliver seamless, effective campaigns. Embedded Expertise Across the Team Data & Analytics – Translating complexity into clarity. Technology & AI – Accelerating ambition through innovation. OESP Connections Planning – Architecture of brand ecosystems to deliver brand and performance goals. Performance Planning – Driving measurable results and strategic growth. Media Activation – Sweating every detail of a media execution to optimise for growth potential. Sports & Entertainment – Shaping how Suncorp brands connect with Australians through iconic moments in sport and entertainment. About WPP Media WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients, and communities. For more information, visit wpp.com. WPP Media is WPP’s global media collective. In a world where media is everywhere and in everything, we bring the best platform, people, and partners together to create limitless opportunities for growth. For more information, visit wppmedia.com. At WPP Media, we believe in the power of our culture and our people. It’s what elevates us to deliver exceptional experiences for both our clients and each other. In this role it will be critical to embrace WPP & WPP Media’s 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 Mobilise the Enterprise. The Role Location: Sydney The connections planning team at Open Era bridges the gap between our strategy and investment teams. Our role is to turn insightful strategies into actionable media plans that deliver growth for Suncorp. Connections planners think big picture, collaborating with multiple teams, stakeholders and agencies to ensure campaigns are fully integrated. Architect Brilliant Media Plans: Lead the Open Era Connections Planning team, transforming sharp strategies into powerful, actionable media plans for Suncorp’s portfolio of iconic brands. Master the Consumer Journey: Oversee the creation of holistic consumer journeys, expertly weaving together paid, owned, earned, and shared media to create seamless and effective brand experiences. Drive Channel Innovation: Be the agency’s go‑to leader for channel ideation and tactics, identifying new opportunities and championing innovative ways to connect brands with audiences. Lead and Inspire a Team: Develop and mentor a talented team of planners, fostering a cohesive, creative, and high‑achieving environment where your people can do their best work. Deliver Thought Leadership: Act as a key strategic partner to clients and the wider agency, delivering regular thought leadership and creating measurement frameworks that prove media’s impact on business goals. Ideal Skills and Experience You’ll thrive in this role if you have a great attitude and attention to detail. We’re also looking for: A Media Planning Virtuoso: You possess mastery‑level media planning skills, backed by over a decade of experience and a deep understanding of the entire marketing ecosystem. An Inspiring and Proven Leader: You have a natural talent for leading teams, with expertise in developing your people and guiding them towards delivering complex, integrated campaigns. A Creative & Disruptive Thinker: You have a track record of delivering innovative and disruptive solutions, using your deep knowledge of marketing science to creatively solve client challenges. A Master of Collaboration: You thrive in a multi‑stakeholder environment, confidently leading complex projects and uniting diverse teams, clients, and partners towards a collective goal. A Forward‑Facing Expert: You have your finger on the pulse of the media landscape, with strong partner relationships and a passion for the future of media consumption, data, and technology. 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 we’re 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. WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to 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 we’re together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That’s why we’ve 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 read our Privacy Notice for more information on how we process the information you provide. What We Offer We offer a competitive salary package, with 20 days holiday increasing with service to a maximum of 25 days, with the option to purchase extra leave of up to 4 weeks per year. We also offer a flexible working environment, paid parental leave, flexible public holidays, birthday leave and early finishes during the summer months. These are just some of the great perks you can utilise. Based on the south side of the bridge in Barangaroo, our office has beautiful views of Sydney Harbour and is a great space to hang out with colleagues and friends We have a culture of learning where we invest in your career growth and development through a range of learning and development opportunities. We offer a supportive and inclusive workplace culture that values diversity and collaboration and we provide mental wellness support via our Employee Assistance Program. Our Commitment We want you to have the best opportunity to show us your skills and talents, please let us know if there is anything we can do to make the application/interview process work for you. Should you require any adjustments throughout the process, please collaborate with our hiring team who will be happy to assist. Seniority level Director Employment type Full‑time Job function Management and Manufacturing Industries Advertising Services #J-18808-Ljbffr