Head of Media Buying

Job Title: Head of Media Buying

Company: Hurst Media Company Limited

Location: Hurst Media Company HQ, Shoreditch, London (On-site)

About the Company

Hurst Media Company – the UK’s trusted media partner

We are a full-service, direct response advertising agency, managing budgets from large to small, for clients across a wide range of industries, whether they want to place a single advertisement or create annual campaigns spanning multiple channels such as outdoor, print, broadcast and online.

Our specialist planners and buyers have longstanding buying agreements in place with every major media owner including News UK, Global, Mail Metro Media, Guardian Media Group and many more, establishing us as one of the UK’s leading media buyers.

We support our clients with our media professionals by leveraging favourable trading rates with leading media owners and by utilising ad tech to analyse competitors, trends and market conditions.

With a proven track record of performance and maximising budgets, Hurst Media Company delivers effective and measurable campaigns for clients.

About the Role

Reporting to the Commercial Director, the Head of Media Buying will take ownership of media planning, buying and campaign delivery across the business.

This role is responsible for ensuring all media activity is commercially sound, accurately delivered and structured in a consistent and scalable way.

The role combines leadership and hands-on oversight, managing the media buying function while improving processes, standards and performance.

This is a multi-channel role with outdoor and press at its core, so we're looking for a well-rounded media buyer rather than a single-channel specialist.

Key Responsibilities

• Ownership – Take ownership of all media buying activity across press, digital and outdoor channels.

• Team Management – Manage and develop Media Buyer(s), ensuring high standards of delivery and commercial output.

• Planning – Work closely with sales teams to shape media plans and respond to live opportunities.

• Quality Control – Take ownership of the quality and commercial robustness of all media plans and proposals.

• Commercial Oversight – Ensure all bookings are commercially sound and aligned to client objectives.

• Media Owner Relationships – Oversee relationships and support negotiation strategy.

• Standards – Set standards for negotiation and trading across media owners.

• Process Improvement – Introduce structure, consistency and best practice across delivery.

• Visibility – Improve control of bookings, timelines and campaign status.

• Efficiency – Identify opportunities to improve pricing, placement and performance.

Essential Skills:

• Strong media buying and planning experience.
• Commercial awareness and negotiation capability.
• Leadership and team management skills.
• Strong organisational and operational capability.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment.

Character

• Accountable and reliable.
• Commercially driven.
• Confident and decisive.
• Structured and organised.
• Collaborative and team-oriented.

Essential Experience

• Media buying experience with a lead specialism in Outdoor (OOH) advertising.
• Experience buying or planning national press campaigns alongside outdoor.
• Experience managing people or leading a function.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Working knowledge of digital media buying or planning, gained alongside offline channels rather than as a standalone specialism.
• Exposure to TV or broadcast planning and buying.
• Experience improving processes and operational structure.

Benefits

• Ongoing Training and Development
• 28-days Annual Holiday
• Birthday Off
• Health insurance
• Dental & Optical Cover
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Gym Membership
• Seasonal Bonuses
• Monthly Work Events
• Company Laptop
• Fresh Fruit & Refreshments