Senior Vice President Performance Media, Planning

New York City, NY (Hybrid)

$225K/yr – $250K/yrSenior Level15+ years expFull time

Posted 14 hrs ago

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Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Lead upstream planning: Own the end-to-end strategic planning process, determining the optimal mix of performance capital across Search, Social, Programmatic, Commerce, and Emerging Channels
  • Build algorithmic media models: Utilize predictive AI tools and machine learning engines within the holding company network to simulate spend scenarios, forecasting business outcomes (e.g., CAC, LTV, revenue) based on shifting investment levels
  • Manage budget governance: Oversee client portfolio planning allocations, ensuring rigorous financial controls, pacing compliance, and real-time automated reallocations based on performance signals
  • Leverage HoldCo technology stacks: Serve as the expert champion for the holding company’s proprietary data and identity infrastructure (e.g., WPP’s Choreograph, Publicis’ Epsilon, Omnicom’s Omni), integrating these ecosystems into daily planning work products
  • Define addressable audience planning: Lead the creation of precision target segments by onboarding client first-party data into secure clean rooms (e.g., Snowflake, InfoSum) and mapping them against global identity graphs
  • Deploy future-proof measurement: Design planning frameworks rooted in unified measurement, combining next-generation Media Mix Modeling (MMM), privacy-safe clean room analytics, and rigorous, continuous incrementality testing
  • Navigate identity deprecation: Architect cookie-less targeting and alternative tracking strategies to ensure media plans remain resilient against signal loss and evolving global privacy regulations
  • Advise senior client leaders: Serve as the strategic architect and trusted advisor to Fortune 100 CMOs and financial planning teams, clearly justifying media plans using rigorous commercial data and tech capabilities
  • Drive tech-forward growth: Lead the performance planning and data-identity narrative for high-value new business pitches, demonstrating how the agency's technology stack drives superior client profitability
  • Protect agency margins: Manage internal planning team resources, ensuring scope alignment, software/data tool utilization, billable efficiency, and operational profitability across all client accounts

Requirements

  • Experience: 15+ years of progressive leadership within a major media holding company network (e.g., GroupM, Publicis Groupe, Omnicom Media Group, IPG, Dentsu) or a data-centric management consultancy, with a heavy emphasis on enterprise-level media planning
  • Technology & Data Mastery: Deep operational familiarity with proprietary holding company data networks, enterprise data clean rooms, and identity resolutions graphs
  • Planning Expertise: Advanced mastery of quantitative planning tools, audience syndication platforms, and predictive modeling software to build data-backed channel allocation recommendations
  • Financial Acumen: Proven experience building media investment forecasting models, managing complex client P&Ls, and presenting technical business cases to corporate procurement and finance leaders
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Critical Mass

3.1 Glassdoor

Critical Mass is a team of 1,900 inspired folks based in 13 offices around the world, providing full-service digital capabilities for the greatest brands on Earth. Our secret sauce is our uncompromising design standards, our relentless focus on customers, and an ability to put powerful new technologies to work for our clients. We work with the best—Apple, Nike, Mars Wrigley, Nissan, Diageo, Airbnb, BMW, BNY Mellon, Johnson & Johnson, and many more—brands who strive for connected digital ecosystems and unparalleled experiences. We help them get there by gaining deep insight into their consumers and orchestrating data, AI, design, media, and tech stacks around human stories.We’re a global agency founded in Canada, but digital is our home. If you know us, then you know we’re a special, quirky place that attracts big talent and tiny egos. (We actually give out a “so f-n nice” award—lots of them). But just because we’re friendly doesn’t mean we’re not a force to be reckoned with. We’re driven. Relentless. And we live our values. We’re Critical Mass, but our friends call us CM. Please call us CM!

Founded in 1996
Calgary, Alberta, CAN
1.8K employees (728 in marketing)
43% recommend to a friend
44% CEO approval

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
30.3K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
46.7%
Direct
41.5%
Referral
6.8%
Social
3.9%
Paid
1%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~1.8K

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
347 (19% of company)
Median Career Experience
10 years
Median Tenure
4.9 years
Marketing Roles Posted (Last 30 Days)
11

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