Media Planner, AFRS | Bristol

Job Description

This is a career-defining opportunity to shape the media strategy behind a nationally significant, history-changing contract.

For the first time ever, all 3 UK Armed Forces have joined together in their recruitment. Join TMP and help deliver groundbreaking, award-winning, multi-channel brand and recruitment marketing solutions for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Airforce. 

As part of a Serco-led consortium, TMP has been awarded the contract to deliver all marketing for UK Armed Forces recruitment. This joint initiative is known as the Armed Forces Recruitment Service (AFRS). Running until 2037, this contract offers an unrivalled opportunity to make a long-term, positive impact on the UK Armed Forces – and help transform the defence of the nation. 

It means having exceptional media thinking at the heart of every campaign – to guide, inform and elevate our channel strategies across all Services. And that's where we need you.

The Role

It starts with providing clear, confident media planning and channel strategy guidance across the Armed Forces Recruitment Service. From day one, you'll support the Strategy Director AFRS and collaborate with the wider TMP team to shape multi-channel plans to meet the unique recruitment needs of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. It's about immersing yourself in the client's world to understand each Service's priorities, candidate personas and objectives, and how these feed into the wider media approach. You'll also be helping guide audience-led decisions and inspire confidence in our media recommendations.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting the delivery of a rolling 2-year marketing strategy with clear, insight-led media plans rooted in audience behaviour and channel performance
• Planning and activating tactical and bespoke campaigns, always aligned to client objectives, contractual SLAs, and cost guidelines
• Optimising media activity on an ongoing basis to ensure a strong, balanced pipeline of high-quality candidates, including a focus on gender and diversity representation
• Collaborating with the data and MI team to ensure all media is properly tagged and tracked, enabling accurate and effective performance reporting
• Liaising with media partners to gather campaign insights and negotiate the best possible rates and added-value opportunities
• Driving continuous improvement and innovation across all media planning for AFRS – bringing new ideas, new platforms and best practice thinking to the table
• Staying up to date with industry developments, emerging media products, and platform innovations to keep AFRS media plans ahead of the curve
• Ensuring accurate and timely campaign administration to support smooth delivery and reporting
• Maintaining strong, collaborative working relationships with internal teams and external partners, ensuring regular communication and shared accountability
• Playing an active role in client meetings, contributing media insight and strategic thinking
• Negotiating campaign-by-campaign rates while keeping AFRS and TMP268's broader objectives in mind
• Working closely with the Head of Media for TMP to understand rebate structures and ensure all TMP268 media spend is properly accounted for
• Bringing a high level of attention to detail and accuracy to protect revenue and avoid any risk to gross profit

Who we're looking for

A confident and proactive media planner, you're someone who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and knows how to get things done. With hands-on experience across digital, social, and multi-channel campaigns, you bring both strategic thinking and practical know-how to every project. You're a strong communicator, a natural negotiator, and a team player who takes pride in delivering high-quality work, right first time.

You'll bring:

• At least 3 years' experience in media planning within an agency environment
• Proven ability to create and implement media strategies across the full mix of consumer touchpoints
• Experience delivering media plans and presenting rationale to clients with confidence
• A track record of working on multiple projects to tight deadlines
• Strong existing relationships with media partners
• A solid understanding of core office tools such as Word, Excel and Outlook
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills
• A team-first attitude with a proactive, ‘get stuck in' approach
• The ability to prioritise your workload and manage competing deadlines
• A focus on detail, accuracy, and doing things right the first time
• A natural ability to build relationships, both internally and externally

Nice to have:

• Prior experience in recruitment media and working directly with clients
• Experience in international media planning and buying

Next steps / Call to action

If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you. Click the apply button and start your application today!