[Hiring] Director of Brand Media @Finn Partners

Role Description

As Director of Brand Media, you will own brand media strategy across the agency's client roster, leading upper-funnel channel selection, narrative development, and innovation partnerships. You will build every media plan in lockstep with the Performance Media team, ensuring brand and performance are planned as one connected, interdependent system.

You will manage and develop the Brand Media team, own new business planning for brand media, and represent FINN's media perspective and point of view externally. You will surface media landscape insights and media channel context in the strategy brief, shaping how campaigns come to life from the outset.

What You'll Do

• Lead brand media strategy and channel selection across multiple client accounts, ensuring narrative and channel choices connect directly to business objectives.
• Partner with the Performance Media team to build every plan as one integrated system, aligned to a single business outcome.
• Champion integration between Brand Media, Account, Strategy, and Creative teams throughout client planning and development.
• Interrogate the client brief, evaluating whether it's asking the right questions and grounded in the right audiences and objectives.
• Lead relationships and negotiations for custom media vehicles, sponsorships, franchise opportunities, and emerging partnership formats.
• Develop thought leadership and market perspective applicable across clients, establishing a distinct FINN point of view.
• Represent FINN's media expertise externally, including client presentations, new business pitches, panels, and industry platforms.
• Lead new business planning for brand media, partnering with senior media colleagues on client retention.
• Champion the use of AI and automation across planning, strategy development, and reporting.
• Manage and develop the Brand Media team: interview, hire, delegate, mentor, conduct performance reviews, and recommend compensation decisions.
• Evaluate staff development needs in terms of rotation and promotion, ensuring role definition keeps pace with the team's growth.
• Coordinate with Account leads on day-to-day client direction, while retaining ownership of your team's development, performance management, and discipline standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of media, brand strategy, advertising agency, client-side, or publisher-side experience.
• Proven experience leading brand media strategy and channel planning across multiple accounts.
• Experience across brand channel formats: premium video (linear/CTV/streaming), programmatic video and display (DSP), audio, OOH, brand partnerships, integrations, sponsorships, brand social, emerging media, and custom activations.
• Experience managing significant client budgets and investment decisions.
• Strong leadership experience, including hiring, mentoring, performance management, and career pathing for a growing team.
• A track record of gaining trust through sound judgment, including under pressure or ambiguity.
• Experience partnering with performance media counterparts to build genuinely integrated plans across brand and performance.
• Experience collaborating across multiple disciplines, such as creative, strategy, SEO/GEO, web development, and PR, within a full-service agency or an integrated client-side marketing organization.
• Strong new business pitch experience, from strategic ideation through proposal development and delivery.
• Strong client-facing storytelling and presentation skills, able to translate complex strategy for varied audiences.
• Proficiency with FINN's reporting and dashboard platforms, including Ninjacat and Funnel, or similar tools.
• Familiarity with AI tools used across the agency, including Gemini, OpenAI, Copilot, and Claude, to support planning, research, and reporting workflows.
• Familiarity with audience research and competitive intelligence platforms such as GWI and MediaRadar, or similar tools.
• Experience with social listening and publishing platforms such as Sprout Social, or similar tools, given Brand Media's ownership of brand social.

Knowledge & Skill Requirements

• Strong understanding of the brand marketing funnel and upper-funnel channel strategy.
• Strong proficiency in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office, particularly Sheets/Excel and Slides/PowerPoint.
• Ability to translate media strategy into clear, compelling narrative for senior client stakeholders.
• Comfort partnering with Account leads and cross-functional teams outside your direct reporting line.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the initiative to challenge clients and internal teams to raise the bar.
• Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple accounts, priorities, and deadlines.

Where You’ll Work

Anywhere in the U.S. We're a remote-first workplace with optional in-office days in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Portland, Washington DC, and more. Eastern Time Zone working hours are preferred to best align with team and client collaboration hours.

Anticipated Salary

$130,000 - $150,000. Compensation is based on experience and depending upon workplace location.

Benefits

• Competitive salary, health, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k).
• Generous PTO policy, plus paid holidays.
• Wellness stipend for physical and mental health programs.

How To Apply

Please upload your resume and cover letter, as well as indicate your desired salary. While we appreciate the interest of all candidates, we will only respond to those with whom we have a greater interest.