Job Description
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 Retail Media Account Director We are hiring a Retail Media Account Director to lead the strategic development and delivery of retail media activity for Mars across key retailer ecosystems. You’ll sit at the centre of account growth—shaping the strategy, guiding a talented team, and turning performance insight into measurable commercial impact. This is a hands-on leadership role where you’ll partner closely with senior stakeholders, build strong relationships, and keep delivery sharp across platforms and partners. If you enjoy combining account stewardship with innovation and operational excellence, you’ll feel right at home here. Responsibilities What will you be doing? Lead the account strategy and growth plan, setting a clear roadmap to outperform eCommerce and retail media revenue targets. Provide strategic direction across retail media activations, ensuring campaigns are optimised across relevant platforms and retailer media networks. Build trusted senior relationships with Mars stakeholders through proactive communication, regular check-ins and clear KPI alignment. Act as the escalation point—resolving issues calmly, quickly and constructively to protect delivery and partnership health. Coach, mentor and develop a team of account managers/specialists, creating a supportive environment with high standards and shared learning. Own campaign quality and performance—putting in place QA, monitoring KPIs, and translating data into practical improvement actions. Manage the commercial engine of the account, including budget oversight, finance reconciliations and smooth billing processes. Qualifications What are we looking for? Strong experience in retail media and/or agency environments, with proven ownership of large or complex accounts. Hands-on knowledge of key retail media platforms (e.g., Amazon Advertising, Epsilon Retail Media, Criteo) and how to drive performance within them. Solid understanding of retail media strategy, including search, attribution, conversion improvement, retail readiness and shopper behaviour. Confident stakeholder management—able to communicate clearly, present persuasively, and align diverse teams around shared outcomes. People leadership skills: experience guiding direct reports, building capability, and giving timely, useful feedback. Commercial and operational rigour—comfortable managing budgets, performance reporting, and account governance. Advanced Excel and PowerPoint capability for analysis, storytelling and performance reporting. Additional information Starcom offers a wide range of benefits to support our employees. Full details are shared when you join, but highlights include core benefits such as Pension, Life Assurance, and Private Medical cover, alongside enhanced policies like Reflection Days and Shared Parental Leave. You’ll also have access to a range of additional initiatives, including: 📖 Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups). Publicis Groupe works primarily from the office or our clients' office four days per week. 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. #LI-OH1
What are we looking for? Strong experience in retail media and/or agency environments, with proven ownership of large or complex accounts. Hands-on knowledge of key retail media platforms (e.g., Amazon Advertising, Epsilon Retail Media, Criteo) and how to drive performance within them. Solid understanding of retail media strategy, including search, attribution, conversion improvement, retail readiness and shopper behaviour. Confident stakeholder management—able to communicate clearly, present persuasively, and align diverse teams around shared outcomes. People leadership skills: experience guiding direct reports, building capability, and giving timely, useful feedback. Commercial and operational rigour—comfortable managing budgets, performance reporting, and account governance. Advanced Excel and PowerPoint capability for analysis, storytelling and performance reporting.
What will you be doing? Lead the account strategy and growth plan, setting a clear roadmap to outperform eCommerce and retail media revenue targets. Provide strategic direction across retail media activations, ensuring campaigns are optimised across relevant platforms and retailer media networks. Build trusted senior relationships with Mars stakeholders through proactive communication, regular check-ins and clear KPI alignment. Act as the escalation point—resolving issues calmly, quickly and constructively to protect delivery and partnership health. Coach, mentor and develop a team of account managers/specialists, creating a supportive environment with high standards and shared learning. Own campaign quality and performance—putting in place QA, monitoring KPIs, and translating data into practical improvement actions. Manage the commercial engine of the account, including budget oversight, finance reconciliations and smooth billing processes.