Contacts Operations Executive

BRAND: Starcom
Job Function: Media Trading
Location: London, United Kingdom
Experience Level: Entry
Workplace Type: Hybrid

Company description

With a history that dates back over 80 years, Starcom is a global communications planning and media leader. We are an agency still grounded in our founding principle that people are at the centre of all we do. Each day, we apply this belief to harness the transformative power of data and technology to inspire and move people and business forward. With more than 7,000 employees in over 100 offices around the world, we are the flagship Publicis Media agency that uses our 'Power of One' business model, with teams that span multiple disciplines across clients such as Aldi, P&G, Primark, Samsung, Stellantis, and Visa.

We place a huge focus on our People, and have driven flagship D&I and L&D programmes within Publicis Media; our goal is to help every individual reach their fullest potential, and we encourage everyone to make "Brave Plays" in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign's Best Places to Work for five years in a row, Media Week's Agency of the Year 2025 and one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025.

Overview

Contacts Operations Executive

Looking to kick-start your career in media operations? Love working with data, spotting patterns, and keeping things running like clockwork? This could be your moment.

We're Publicis Media, one of the world's leading media agencies, and we're looking for a Contacts Operations Executive to join our team working on L'Oréal - home to iconic brands like Garnier, Maybelline, Lancôme, Urban Decay and Kiehl's.

This is a brilliant entry-level role for someone who's detail-oriented, curious, and ready to learn fast in a high-energy agency environment

Why join us?

• Work with a global, household-name client from day one
• Learn from experienced operations and technical teams
• Build highly transferable skills in media, data, and operations
• Be part of a supportive, collaborative agency culture
• Real opportunities to grow and develop your career

Responsibilities

What you'll be doing

You'll be part of our Contacts Media Operations team, making sure media plans are uploaded, tracked, and reported accurately across L'Oréal's systems. In short: you'll help keep campaigns running smoothly behind the scenes.

Your day-to-day will include:

• Creating and maintaining media plans across two L'Oréal Contacts systems
• Managing campaign changes, updates, and cancellations with precision
• Tracking pre and post-campaign data and supporting reporting
• Spotting errors, inconsistencies, and opportunities to improve processes
• Working closely with planning and investment teams to resolve issues quickly
• Making sure correct taxonomy and best practices are followed on every campaign

Accuracy matters here - but so does curiosity and a willingness to improve how things are done.

Qualifications

What we're looking for

You don't need years of experience - attitude and potential matter most.

You'll thrive in this role if you:

• Enjoy working with numbers, data, and spreadsheets
• Have strong attention to detail and take pride in getting things right
• Are confident using Excel (including basic formulas)
• Pick up new systems quickly and aren't afraid to ask questions
• Can juggle tasks and hit deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Communicate clearly and work well as part of a team

If you're organised, proactive, and like solving problems - you'll fit right in.

Additional information

Employees joining The Pack, an early careers programme that connects, supports and develops you to kick-start your career with us, initially start with an annual salary of £28,850.

The recruitment process

• Step 1: Apply and get started!
• Step 2: Show us your skills and strengths - complete some fun, interactive tasks through our assessment tool delivered in partnership with Arctic Shores. Look out for this in your emails following your application!
• Step 3: A quick chat with a recruiter to get to know you better and for you to ask any questions and let us know if you require any adjustments.
• Step 4: Join us for a virtual assessment centre/ 121 interviews where you can showcase your skills and strengths.
• Step 5: We'll give you feedback, post assessment day, whether or not we move forward with your application.

What to Expect from the Arctic Shores Assessment

As part of our selection process, we use an Arctic Shores game-based assessment to help us understand your natural strengths in a fair, engaging way. This isn't a quiz about what you know, it's about showing how you think, behave and solve problems in real time.

What it is

• A series of interactive tasks (games) designed to measure problem-solving, decision-making, adaptability, focus and other work-relevant behaviours.
• You won't see typical questions, instead, you'll play activities that look and feel like simple games.

How it works

• You'll receive an email with a link and simple instructions.
• Before the official assessment you can try a practice task so you're confident with the format.
• The assessment usually has around 7-9 tasks and should take about the same time as a standard online test.

Tips to succeed

• Choose a quiet, distraction-free space with a reliable device.
• Read the instructions carefully before starting each activity.
• Be yourself - Arctic Shores is designed to capture how you naturally approach challenges, not what you think is the "right" answer.

After you finish

• Candidates receive a personalised feedback report that explains what your responses suggest about your strengths - valuable insight whether you join us or not.

Starcom has fantastic benefits on offer to all of our employees, full details of which are shared when you join. This includes the classics like Pension, Life Assurance, Private Medical, as well as Reflection Days, Shared Parental Leave, and spans initiatives:

Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG's (Employee Action Groups).

At Starcom, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.

We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition - please let us know. We'll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application.

Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.