Operations Associate Director

BRAND: Starcom
Job Function: Client Management
Location: London, United Kingdom
Experience Level: Specialist
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, P&O Ferries, 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 three years in a row (2021, 2022 and 2023) and most excitingly, Media Week's Agency of the Year 2023!

Overview

What will you be doing?

The Constellation Client Operations Associate Director is a senior operational leadership role responsible for ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery across the Samsung Constellation account.

Reporting into the Client Operations Director, this role acts as the operational backbone of the function, translating strategic direction into clear execution across people, process, governance, and cross-discipline delivery. The Associate Director provides direct leadership to Client Operations Managers, owns operational standards and risk management, and serves as a senior escalation point for complex operational and financial issues.

This role is critical in enabling scale, stability, and performance across multiple markets, while allowing the Director to focus on strategic leadership, senior client relationships, and global alignment.

Responsibilities

People Leadership & Team Management

• Manage, mentor, and develop Client Operations Managers.
• Set clear expectations, priorities, and performance.
• Identify capability gaps, succession risks, and development opportunities.

Operational Governance & Compliance

• Implement and enforce operational standards, policies, and workflows.
• Ensure adherence to Samsung Master Service Agreement (MSA) requirements across markets.
• Oversee operational risk management and drive corrective actions.
• Ensure processes are documented, communicated, and embedded in BAU operations.

Delivery Oversight & Performance Management

• Provide oversight of end-to-end operational delivery (PO lifecycle, billing readiness, reporting, SLAs).
• Review operational and financial outputs to identify trends, risks, and gaps.
• Support Managers in resolving complex operational and financial escalations.
• Ensure consistent delivery across markets, client codes, and funding models.

Cross-Discipline & Stakeholder Leadership

• Partner with Finance, Billing, Activation, Planning, Investment, and Accounts Payable teams.
• Align deadlines, best practices, and delivery expectations across disciplines.
• Represent Client Operations in senior forums and cross-market initiatives.
• Act as an escalation point for issues beyond Manager level.

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Identify inefficiencies and lead process improvements.
• Champion system optimisation, automation, and tool enhancements.
• Translate audit findings, issues, and escalations into sustainable improvements.
• Align global operational direction with local market execution.

Director Support & Strategic Enablement

• Provide insights and analysis to support strategic decisions.
• Support senior client conversations requiring operational expertise.
• Enable the Director to focus on growth, stakeholder relationships, and global alignment.

Qualifications

What are we looking for?

Skills & Experience

• Significant experience in Client Operations, media operations, or complex service delivery environments.
• Proven experience leading and developing managers.
• Strong understanding of financial operations, including PO lifecycle management, billing governance, and reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multi-market complexity and cross-discipline delivery.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and escalation handling skills.
• Strong working knowledge of operational systems and third-party platforms (e.g. MediaOcean and related tools).

Additional information

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 other initiatives like:

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.

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