Operations Executive

BRAND: Starcom
Job Function: Client Management
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

What will you be doing?

The Publicis Media Operations team is responsible for identifying and driving efficiencies by evolving and streamlining processes through automation, simplification, deduplication and standardisation. The team aligns best practices and ensures that processes are applied consistently and correctly.

This role focuses on financial administration relating to approval, booking, reconciliation and invoicing of campaigns. The Exec will also provide guidance and support specialist teams. It's an opportunity for an enthusiastic and committed person who enjoys working with data and figures to join a vibrant media agency at entry level. We are looking for someone who is curious, self-motivated and eager to learn who will come in and hit the ground running.

Responsibilities

• Building and maintaining strong internal relationships across multiple teams / departments
• Maintaining central folder containing client approval of media plans
• Putting all campaign budgets on to invoicing system and matching them to correct client Purchase Order number to ensure that media activity is invoiced accurately and paid on time
• Setting up campaigns on Prisma each month and dealing with any ad hoc changes
• Completing administrative tasks to ensure campaigns go live on time and that delivery is monitored
• Investigating and resolving (or escalating) any vendor invoice queries in a timely manner, and supporting buyers in resolving queries
• Developing basic knowledge and understanding of all media in order to spot any errors on plans received from other teams
• Proactively contribute to team meetings, team initiatives and knowledge sharing
• Developing sound knowledge of all necessary tools and systems

Qualifications

What are we looking for?

• Self-driven, results-oriented, solutions-focused with a positive outlook
• Strong communicator, promptly responding to e-mails and requests.
• Excellent project management skills to prioritise tasks on these busy accounts
• Have excellent maths and numeracy skills
• Be confident working with numbers and large amounts of data
• Be adept at interpreting data and identifying themes and inconsistencies
• Be proficient in the use of Excel spreadsheets with the ability to write and understand basic formulae
• Be able to quickly learn and adapt to new systems and databases
• Ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment and complete tasks accurately
• Be able to assimilate information quickly and adhere to processes and best practices
• Ability to develop & learn new processes
• Highly organized and capable of working independently as well as operating as part of a team
• Demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving abilities

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 £28,860.

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 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.

There are no right or wrong answers - your results simply help us understand where you'll thrive. Approach it with confidence and focus on performing consistently throughout each task. Please read this guide which provides further information and guidance on how to get started: PowerPoint Presentation

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.