Head of Planning

Role: Head Of Planning

Reports To:

Experience:

Role Overview

Head of Planning

What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership

• Be the keeper of the brief:

  Craft compelling, focused briefs that inspire creative brilliance and provide clear direction.
• Lead the planning function across a diverse range of initiatives, including brand campaigns, social content, influencer activations, product launches, and intellectual properties.
• Bring clarity to complex challenges, expertly shaping business problems into fertile creative opportunities.

Client Thinking Partner

• Function as a trusted advisor to brand owners, developing long-term brand strategies, content calendars, and establishing category leadership.
• Proactively identify white spaces and fresh angles for brand growth, leveraging cultural, platform, and business insights.
• Empower clients to ask better questions and then collaborate with our teams to deliver impactful answers.

Consumer & Cultural Insights

• Lead the discovery of deep behavioral insights, moving beyond generic research to uncover true human truths.
• Develop robust planning frameworks to decode consumer journeys, from initial attention to action and ultimately, affinity.
• Stay ahead of the curve by tracking emerging culture, content trends, technological shifts, memes, and pivotal moments relevant to the Indian youth audience.

Creative Collaboration

• Work hand-in-hand with creative teams from the initial idea genesis through to final delivery.
• Act as the creative's ally, framing insights in ways that inspire and provoke innovative thinking, rather than restrict it.
• Co-own the development and delivery of campaign pitches, scripts, strategic decks, and compelling narratives.

Team Leadership & Systems

• Build, train, and mentor a high-performing planning team capable of exceeding expectations.
• Establish and champion strategic rituals, including effective briefings, reviews, research shares, debriefs, and robust case writing.
• Elevate our strategic product with tools, templates, and repeatable systems.

Measurement & Learning

• Partner closely with media, digital, and business leads to ensure comprehensive campaign evaluation and close the loop on performance.
• Develop compelling case studies and insightful learning decks after every key campaign, capturing what worked, what didn’t, and outlining next steps.
• Build frameworks for testing creative hypotheses and establishing real-time feedback loops to optimize campaigns.

You Are / You Have...

• 5+ years of experience

  in planning, with a proven track record across digital, brand, and social-first agencies.
• A demonstrated ability to

  build memorable brands

  that resonate deeply with consumers.
• A strong, nuanced understanding of

  Indian Tier 2-3 youth culture

  , extending beyond just metro-centric perspectives.
• A deep passion for

  human truths, memes, reels, Reddit, and YouTube rabbit holes

  – recognizing where authentic insights truly reside today.
• Comfort navigating

  messy problems, fast deadlines, and ambiguous briefs

  , thriving in dynamic environments.
• The ability to effectively

  lead a team and influence creatives without ego

  , fostering a collaborative and inspiring work environment.