Associate Media Planner

Position Title: Associate Media Planner

Work Location: Irvine, CA 92612-Remote

Assignment Duration: 2 years

Work Arrangement: Hybrid preference (Irvine preferred); fully remote acceptable for strong fits

Position Summary:

As an Associate Media Planner, you play a critical role in translating media plans and emerging business initiatives into compliant, execution-ready campaigns.

Working closely with Media Planners, Media Managers, Operations, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Data Privacy, vendors, and account teams, you coordinate contracting, campaign activation, documentation, financial tracking, and issue resolution.

You help clarify requirements and dependencies, maintain accurate records, flag risks related to timing, budget, compliance, and resourcing, and support continuous optimization across media initiatives.

Background & Context:

• The role supports an integrated media planning team within an internal agency, supporting media planning across approximately 17 brand teams.
• The position combines media contracting, campaign operations, vendor coordination, and operational support for media planners. It also provides exposure to multiple therapeutic areas, brands, vendors, and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Support the development and implementation of media strategies, plans, and activation recommendations alongside Media Planners and Media Managers.
• Own and maintain campaign documentation, including media calendars, contracting status trackers, finance and invoice trackers, creative trackers, buy authorizations, work orders, insertion orders, and purchase-order records.
• Coordinate end-to-end media contracting and change requests, including intake, vendor onboarding, work-order and POCN development, data-privacy requirements, QA, signature routing, SNAPP submission, approvals, and final filing.
• Coordinate campaign activation and advertising-material trafficking; confirm specifications and handoffs, monitor launch readiness, verify placements are live, collect proof-of-performance screenshots, and maintain accurate campaign records.
• Serve as a day-to-day contact for media vendors and internal partners across Procurement, Legal, Data Privacy, Finance, Operations, and account teams; clarify next steps, required information, owners, and dependencies, and resolve issues promptly.
• Track and report campaign spend, budget status, purchase orders, invoices, monthly amounts, savings, and variances; reconcile records and escalate financial risks or discrepancies.
• Ensure work complies with pharmaceutical, privacy, procurement, contracting, and media-delivery requirements; proactively flag risks related to timing, budget, resourcing, approvals, and dependencies.
• Support reporting, optimization, and planning discussions by gathering launch updates, placement documentation, vendor inputs, and campaign-status information.
• Provide day-to-day executional support to Media Planners and Media Managers, help establish efficient intake-driven workflows, and contribute to onboarding or guidance for junior team members and interns as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, advertising, communications, or related field
• 2-4 years of experience in marketing, healthcare, media planning, media buying, campaign operations, or a related field
• Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to manage multiple deadlines and dependencies
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, especially Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and shared tracking tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication, vendor-management, and cross-functional relationship-building abilities
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, regulated environment, proactively escalating risks and resolving issues