Manager Media Planning

Team: Corporate Marketing

Activity: Full-time

Role grade: Manager (6)

Direct reports: 0

Indirect reports: 0

Reporting to: Director Corporate Marketing

Role location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Job Purpose: The Media Planning Manager is responsible for shaping and executing the paid media strategy for both the Esports World Cup (EWC) and the Esports Nations Cup (ENC). The role leads media planning, channel selection, and budget allocation while also overseeing the day-to-day execution and optimization of all media activity. Working closely with the external partners and internal marketing teams, the Manager ensures that media plans are data-driven, accurately delivered, continuously optimized, and aligned with the creative, digital, and campaign priorities of EWC and ENC. The role requires an equal balance of strategic thinking and operational oversight to drive measurable results across all markets and campaign phases.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop the paid media strategy for EWC and ENC across global, regional, and priority markets.

• Translate marketing objectives into clear media plans with defined audiences, channel roles, KPIs, budgets, and timelines.

• Collaborate with creative, social, content, and product teams to ensure media plans align with campaign narratives and marketing beats.

• Collaborate in developing integrated media plans that cover digital, social, programmatic, search, video, outdoor, and regional channels.

• Use market insights, audience data, and competitive analysis to shape the channel mix and optimize budget allocation across all campaign phases, including Announce, Hype, Live, and Celebrate.

• Ensure media planning supports both performance and awareness goals while strengthening the EWC and ENC brand.

• Oversee media execution on a day-to-day basis and ensure accuracy, quality, and timely delivery across all channels.

• Manage external partners by providing clear briefs, tracking progress, and ensuring high-quality execution of media buys and placements.

• Coordinate with social, PR, influencer, creative, and digital teams to ensure cohesive execution across paid and owned channels.

• Review and validate all outputs including media plans, flowcharts, budgets, placements, and tracking documents.

• Present performance updates to internal stakeholders and recommend improvements for future campaigns.

• Lead post campaign evaluations that highlight effectiveness, ROI, key learnings, and opportunities to strengthen future media planning.

• Maintain structured documentation that supports consistency, knowledge sharing, and long term performance improvement.

• Support media-related production needs, including asset specifications, approvals, and adaptation requirements for global and regional markets.

• Maintain media calendars and ensure alignment across campaign phases, tentpoles, and key priority moments.

• Monitor media performance in real time and make recommendations to improve results based on KPIs.

• Work with the data and analytics teams to interpret performance results, identify insights, and guide mid-flight adjustments.

• Ensure all partners provide accurate, timely, and clear reporting, including daily, weekly, and post-campaign updates.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Media Management, Communications, Business, or a related field.

• 6+ years of experience in media planning and buying with a proven background managing external media agencies and overseeing both strategy and execution.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Experience working on large-scale, multi-channel campaigns across digital, social, video, search, programmatic, and outdoor media.

• Strong understanding of media planning across digital, social, video, search, programmatic, and outdoor channels.

• Skilled in developing integrated media plans that support awareness, engagement, and performance goals.

• Familiar with media buying processes, budget allocation, and channel optimization.

• Ability to manage external media agencies and evaluate the quality of media plans and execution.

• Ability to analyze media performance metrics and interpret data to guide optimizations.

• Comfortable working with media dashboards, reporting tools, and analytics platforms.

• Strong ability to translate performance insights into actionable recommendations

• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple campaigns and timelines simultaneously.

• High attention to detail and strong accuracy in reviewing media plans, budgets, and tracking documents.

• Ability to work effectively across fast-paced environments with multiple stakeholders.

• Effective communicator with the ability to work closely with internal teams, including creative, social, content, and analytics.

• Skilled in building strong working relationships with external agencies and media partners.

• Confidently presenting media performance, optimizations, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

• Experience in entertainment, sports, gaming, or large event environments is considered an advantage.

Benefits

• Relocation support

• Transportation allowance

• Competitive compensation

• Housing allowance

• VIP medical insurance

• Opportunity to work on a new exciting project with a group of passionate professionals. You will get the freedom to excel and make a real impact

Diversity disclaimer

Our mission is to build a diverse organization where our members, regardless of background or identity, have a sense of belonging. We genuinely believe that thanks to creating a collaborative environment where different perspectives are valued, we can achieve more. Together, we want to reshape the boundaries of what is achievable in the esports domain.