Sr. Digital Media Planner & Buyer
IW Group Inc., Los Angeles, California, United States, 90079
About IW Group
IW Group is an integrated creative agency producing culture-shaping work for brands including McDonald’s, Heinz, Covered California, and Lexus. We create impactful campaigns and content that blend storytelling, culture, and innovation. About IW Group
IW Group is an integrated creative agency producing culture-shaping work for brands including McDonald’s, Heinz, Covered California, and Lexus. We create impactful campaigns and content that blend storytelling, culture, and innovation.
Position Overview
We are seeking a strategic, client-facing Senior Media Planner & Buyer to lead integrated paid media efforts for high-profile clients, including Covered California. This role requires a seasoned media professional with deep cross-channel expertise across digital and traditional platforms, a strong analytical foundation, and the ability to lead both client relationships and internal media team development.
The ideal candidate is a proactive strategic and innovative (AI) thinker, and hands-on executor who can translate business objectives into high-performing, culturally relevant media strategies. This individual will serve as the senior media lead on assigned accounts — driving planning excellence, overseeing execution, mentoring junior team members, and presenting strategic recommendations to senior-level clients.
Expertise in multicultural marketing, particularly AAPI audiences, is highly valued. Vertical experience in healthcare, pharma, automotive, casual dining, and CPG is a plus.
What You’ll Do
Media Buying & Planning
Lead the development of integrated media strategies across digital and traditional channels including display, video, paid social, OOH, audio, CTV, YouTube, and programmatic platforms. Translate campaign briefs into strategic media frameworks aligned with client business objectives and KPIs. Recommend data-driven media mixes based on audience insights, cultural intelligence, competitive analysis, and marketplace trends. Oversee and execute media buys, ensuring strategic allocation of budgets and maximum efficiency across channels. Manage vendor relationships, negotiations, added-value opportunities, and rate stewardship. Ensure proper tagging, tracking, and measurement strategies are in place prior to launch.
Campaign Management
Oversee end-to-end campaign execution and day-to-day performance management across channels. Monitor pacing, budget allocation, and delivery to ensure campaigns meet or exceed KPIs including ROAS, CPA, CPM, and CTR. Lead testing roadmaps including A/B testing for creative, targeting, bidding strategies, and messaging refinement. Proactively troubleshoot campaign issues and implement optimizations to improve performance. Deliver comprehensive post-campaign analyses with clear insights, strategic implications, and forward-looking recommendations. Translate complex data into actionable narratives for internal and client stakeholders.
Client Media Lead & Cross-Functional Collaboration
Serve as the senior media lead and primary point of contact for assigned accounts. Confidently present media strategies, performance results, and recommendations to senior-level clients. Orchestrate cross-functional collaboration between account, strategy, creative, and analytics teams to ensure alignment. Provide proactive thought leadership and identify growth opportunities for clients. Maintain strong internal communication to ensure seamless execution and quality control. Mentor, manage, and train junior media planners & buyers Foster a collaborative, accountable and high-performing team environment.
Technical Proficiency
Advanced hands-on experience with DSPs, paid social platforms, Google Ads, CTV platforms, and programmatic buying tools. Proficiency with ad servers such as Google Campaign Manager (DCM) or Sizmek for trafficking, tracking, and reporting. Experience leveraging DMPs/CDPs and first-party data strategies. Expertise in analytics and reporting tools including Google Analytics, Excel, Tableau, or similar visualization platforms.
Research & Innovation
Utilize industry research tools to inform audience targeting and market positioning. Stay current with emerging media technologies, platform updates, and industry best practices. Identify innovative opportunities and test-and-learn initiatives to drive incremental performance and engagement. Integrate cultural insights and multicultural audience understanding into media strategy development.
What You’ll Bring
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, or related field. 6+ years of experience in digital media planning and buying across multiple disciplines with a focus on integrated digital campaigns. Experience targeting multicultural audiences, especially Asian American audiences strongly preferred.
Skills And Abilities
Strong analytical skills, with a focus on optimizing campaigns to drive performance and expertise in Google Analytics, Nielsen, Excel, Tableau, or other visualization tools. Demonstrated success in managing budgets, pacing, actualization, and optimizing media performance. Proactive problem-solving skills and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. Excellent written and verbal communication skills for presenting to clients and internal teams.
Hybrid Work Model
IW Group has adopted a hybrid work model. Teams are required to work in-office at least three days per week. While performing the responsibilities of this role, the employee will spend most of the time working indoors, in the IW Group office, client office or other identified location. This role may require extended work hours (including weekends) to complete certain projects, with or without advance notice. This role may require work outside of the office (i.e., client events) or travel outside of the local work area (i.e., national or international client locations).
Benefits & Perks
Hybrid work model (three in-office days per week) Lunch provided on office days 20 PTO days annually 20 paid holidays (including Thanksgiving & Christmas week) Birthday off Year-round Flex Fridays (half-day Fridays) Competitive health, dental, and vision coverage 401(k) with company match Cell phone reimbursement Employee referral program Collaborative, growth-oriented team environment
Company Culture
Connectors: IW Group is a company founded with community at our core. We believe in building meaningful communities and encourage teams to connect with causes and missions that fuel their passions. Foodies: You will often find our teams sharing a meal. We love to explore new cultures and experiences through food and lived experiences. When we are in-office together, Tuesday through Thursday, IW Group sponsors lunch that is catered by local restaurants. Explorers: Curiosity fuels our work. Whether it’s testing new technologies, visiting art galleries, or discovering local coffee shops, we encourage teams to follow their creative interests.
The Hybrid Work Model
Work Model: IW Group operates on a hybrid schedule, with teams working in the office Tuesday through Thursday. Work Environment: This role is based primarily in the IW Group office and may also involve working at client sites or other designated locations. Work Hours: Project timelines may occasionally require extended hours, including evenings or weekends. Travel and Events: This role may involve working outside the office for client events and may include occasional travel beyond the local area, including national or international locations.
Physical Requirements
Engage in a variety of activities, from sitting and using your hands to talking, hearing, standing, walking, and occasionally stooping or kneeling. Vision abilities required include close vision.
Equal Employment Opportunity
IW Group is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful work environment. IW Group provides equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identification and expression, national origin, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, military status, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic established by local, state, or federal law.
NOTE:
This job description isn’t exhaustive; roles and responsibilities may evolve. We provide reasonable accommodations to support employees with disabilities.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodation can be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the described essential functions of this role.
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IW Group is an integrated creative agency producing culture-shaping work for brands including McDonald’s, Heinz, Covered California, and Lexus. We create impactful campaigns and content that blend storytelling, culture, and innovation. About IW Group
IW Group is an integrated creative agency producing culture-shaping work for brands including McDonald’s, Heinz, Covered California, and Lexus. We create impactful campaigns and content that blend storytelling, culture, and innovation.
Position Overview
We are seeking a strategic, client-facing Senior Media Planner & Buyer to lead integrated paid media efforts for high-profile clients, including Covered California. This role requires a seasoned media professional with deep cross-channel expertise across digital and traditional platforms, a strong analytical foundation, and the ability to lead both client relationships and internal media team development.
The ideal candidate is a proactive strategic and innovative (AI) thinker, and hands-on executor who can translate business objectives into high-performing, culturally relevant media strategies. This individual will serve as the senior media lead on assigned accounts — driving planning excellence, overseeing execution, mentoring junior team members, and presenting strategic recommendations to senior-level clients.
Expertise in multicultural marketing, particularly AAPI audiences, is highly valued. Vertical experience in healthcare, pharma, automotive, casual dining, and CPG is a plus.
What You’ll Do
Media Buying & Planning
Lead the development of integrated media strategies across digital and traditional channels including display, video, paid social, OOH, audio, CTV, YouTube, and programmatic platforms. Translate campaign briefs into strategic media frameworks aligned with client business objectives and KPIs. Recommend data-driven media mixes based on audience insights, cultural intelligence, competitive analysis, and marketplace trends. Oversee and execute media buys, ensuring strategic allocation of budgets and maximum efficiency across channels. Manage vendor relationships, negotiations, added-value opportunities, and rate stewardship. Ensure proper tagging, tracking, and measurement strategies are in place prior to launch.
Campaign Management
Oversee end-to-end campaign execution and day-to-day performance management across channels. Monitor pacing, budget allocation, and delivery to ensure campaigns meet or exceed KPIs including ROAS, CPA, CPM, and CTR. Lead testing roadmaps including A/B testing for creative, targeting, bidding strategies, and messaging refinement. Proactively troubleshoot campaign issues and implement optimizations to improve performance. Deliver comprehensive post-campaign analyses with clear insights, strategic implications, and forward-looking recommendations. Translate complex data into actionable narratives for internal and client stakeholders.
Client Media Lead & Cross-Functional Collaboration
Serve as the senior media lead and primary point of contact for assigned accounts. Confidently present media strategies, performance results, and recommendations to senior-level clients. Orchestrate cross-functional collaboration between account, strategy, creative, and analytics teams to ensure alignment. Provide proactive thought leadership and identify growth opportunities for clients. Maintain strong internal communication to ensure seamless execution and quality control. Mentor, manage, and train junior media planners & buyers Foster a collaborative, accountable and high-performing team environment.
Technical Proficiency
Advanced hands-on experience with DSPs, paid social platforms, Google Ads, CTV platforms, and programmatic buying tools. Proficiency with ad servers such as Google Campaign Manager (DCM) or Sizmek for trafficking, tracking, and reporting. Experience leveraging DMPs/CDPs and first-party data strategies. Expertise in analytics and reporting tools including Google Analytics, Excel, Tableau, or similar visualization platforms.
Research & Innovation
Utilize industry research tools to inform audience targeting and market positioning. Stay current with emerging media technologies, platform updates, and industry best practices. Identify innovative opportunities and test-and-learn initiatives to drive incremental performance and engagement. Integrate cultural insights and multicultural audience understanding into media strategy development.
What You’ll Bring
Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, or related field. 6+ years of experience in digital media planning and buying across multiple disciplines with a focus on integrated digital campaigns. Experience targeting multicultural audiences, especially Asian American audiences strongly preferred.
Skills And Abilities
Strong analytical skills, with a focus on optimizing campaigns to drive performance and expertise in Google Analytics, Nielsen, Excel, Tableau, or other visualization tools. Demonstrated success in managing budgets, pacing, actualization, and optimizing media performance. Proactive problem-solving skills and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. Excellent written and verbal communication skills for presenting to clients and internal teams.
Hybrid Work Model
IW Group has adopted a hybrid work model. Teams are required to work in-office at least three days per week. While performing the responsibilities of this role, the employee will spend most of the time working indoors, in the IW Group office, client office or other identified location. This role may require extended work hours (including weekends) to complete certain projects, with or without advance notice. This role may require work outside of the office (i.e., client events) or travel outside of the local work area (i.e., national or international client locations).
Benefits & Perks
Hybrid work model (three in-office days per week) Lunch provided on office days 20 PTO days annually 20 paid holidays (including Thanksgiving & Christmas week) Birthday off Year-round Flex Fridays (half-day Fridays) Competitive health, dental, and vision coverage 401(k) with company match Cell phone reimbursement Employee referral program Collaborative, growth-oriented team environment
Company Culture
Connectors: IW Group is a company founded with community at our core. We believe in building meaningful communities and encourage teams to connect with causes and missions that fuel their passions. Foodies: You will often find our teams sharing a meal. We love to explore new cultures and experiences through food and lived experiences. When we are in-office together, Tuesday through Thursday, IW Group sponsors lunch that is catered by local restaurants. Explorers: Curiosity fuels our work. Whether it’s testing new technologies, visiting art galleries, or discovering local coffee shops, we encourage teams to follow their creative interests.
The Hybrid Work Model
Work Model: IW Group operates on a hybrid schedule, with teams working in the office Tuesday through Thursday. Work Environment: This role is based primarily in the IW Group office and may also involve working at client sites or other designated locations. Work Hours: Project timelines may occasionally require extended hours, including evenings or weekends. Travel and Events: This role may involve working outside the office for client events and may include occasional travel beyond the local area, including national or international locations.
Physical Requirements
Engage in a variety of activities, from sitting and using your hands to talking, hearing, standing, walking, and occasionally stooping or kneeling. Vision abilities required include close vision.
Equal Employment Opportunity
IW Group is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful work environment. IW Group provides equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identification and expression, national origin, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, military status, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic established by local, state, or federal law.
NOTE:
This job description isn’t exhaustive; roles and responsibilities may evolve. We provide reasonable accommodations to support employees with disabilities.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Reasonable accommodation can be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the described essential functions of this role.
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