Media Lead - Global Travel

Job Title: Media Lead - Global Travel

Role Type: Permanent, Full time

Location: London, UK

Reports to: Head of Media, APAC

About us:

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, Diageo is home to some of the world’s most iconic drinks. From Johnnie Walker and Guinness to Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Don Julio, we craft brands chosen for life’s moments — from everyday connections to landmark celebrations.

Bring your talent, curiosity and ambition, and strive for your personal best alongside people who challenge, support and learn from each other. Together, as one outstanding team, we keep learning, improving and setting a higher standard for our brands, our business and each other.

Join us and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

Lead the end-to-end media planning, activation and optimisation for the Global Travel business unit, driving profitable growth through best-in-class execution of Diageo’s Connected, Scaled Reach strategy.

This role is accountable for maximising return on media investment by embedding data-driven audience strategies, scaling AI-enabled activation, and delivering integrated, full-funnel media amplification across Paid, Retail, Social and Creator ecosystems.

• Own the development and deployment of integrated media plans across Paid Media, Retail Media, Social and Creator channels, aligned to global category strategy and media blueprint and Global Travel growth ambitions.
• Lead cross-market alignment on Connected, Scaled Reach execution, ensuring consistency in approach while enabling flexibility to reflect local market dynamics.
• Translate global media frameworks and category priorities into actionable, data-driven plans that deliver measurable business outcomes.

• Oversee execution of integrated full-funnel media plans, ensuring optimisation of investment to maximise reach, effectiveness and ROI.
• Drive media efficiency and productivity through strategic investment allocation, optimisation frameworks, and adoption of DMAF global standards and tools.
• Monitor and actively optimise regional media performance against defined KPIs, ensuring delivery of both short-term results and long-term brand growth.

• Accelerate adoption of data-driven audience strategies to improve targeting precision and business impact.
• Drive the implementation and scaling of AI-enabled planning, buying and optimisation solutions to unlock productivity gains and real-time performance improvements.
• Lead a test-and-learn agenda for Global Travel, embedding structured experimentation to continuously improve media effectiveness and inform future investment decisions.

• Ensure retail media campaigns are driven in line with the Retail Media Activation Framework (RMAF) and fully integrated within broader media plans.

• Ensure full compliance with the Diageo Marketing Code (DMC), Trusted Marketplace (TMP), data privacy and brand safety standards through upholding Diageo’s Media standards.
• Proactively identify and manage risks related to media investment, data usage and platform integrity.

• Lead and influence cross-functional stakeholders, including in-market teams, global teams, and agency partners, to deliver high-performance media outcomes.
• Ensure Connected Reach plans are fully integrated within broader go-to-market (GTM) strategies, balancing global consistency with local relevance.
• Challenge and elevate agency and partner performance to deliver innovation, efficiency and effectiveness.
• Collaborate with the Scaled Reach team and wider regional hub to deliver a competitive advantage for the category.

• Accountable for delivering media’s contribution to category growth, including revenue uplift, return on interest improvement, media efficiency and share of market gains.

SUCCESS MEASURES

• Delivery of media efficiency and productivity targets
• Measurable improvement in media driven revenue, ROI and effectiveness metrics
• Scaled adoption of AI-enabled activation and automation capabilities across markets
• Growth in Retail Media contribution to overall media performance
• High-quality, consistent deployment of Connected Reach
• Strong agency and partner performance against defined critical metrics
• 100% compliance with DMC, TMP, data privacy and brand safety standards

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• 8+ years’ experience in media planning, activation, digital marketing, or media agency leadership, with a proven track record across multiple markets; experience with Travel Retail is a plus.
• Strong experience managing significant media investments and delivering measurable improvements in media effectiveness, return on interest and business performance.
• Proven success driving media transformation through digital innovation, automation, AI-enabled solutions and cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience operating within complex, matrixed, multi-market environments with varying levels of media maturity.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and challenge agencies and partners to deliver high-performance outcomes.

• Deep expertise across Paid Media, Programmatic, Social, Search, Video, with a strong working knowledge of Retail Media ecosystems.
• Strong understanding of media effectiveness, audience strategy, measurement frameworks, and data-driven decision making.
• Knowledge of AI-enabled media capabilities, media technology platforms, and evolving digital ecosystems.
• Strong grounding in brand safety, data privacy, and responsible marketing practices.

• Strategic problem solver with the ability to translate global and regional priorities into actionable, growth-driving plans.
• Strong collaborator management and influencing skills, with the ability to align senior leaders around media investment and transformation agendas.
• Ability to lead through complexity, balancing standardisation with flexibility across markets.
• Collaborative, accountable and hard-working leader with a focus on delivering business impact.

• Growth mindset with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement.
• Data-driven and commercially focused, using insight to optimise performance and drive business outcomes.
• Proactive and forward-looking, staying ahead of emerging media and technology trends.
• Committed to operational excellence and responsible marketing practices.

Working with Us

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

Our purpose is crafting iconic drinks chosen for life’s moments. And it’s our people, with their different experiences, perspectives and talents, who make that possible.

We value diversity in its broadest sense and want everyone to feel they can belong, contribute and strive for their personal best. You’ll work alongside people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives — challenging, supporting and learning from one another as one outstanding team.

Together, we’re constantly learning and improving, combining the strength of our people, capabilities and iconic brands to set a higher standard, grow and win. Wherever you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute, make an impact and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

Ready to bring your best? This could be your opportunity!
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Protecting candidates is very important to us. All communications regarding your application will come from an email address ending in @diageo.com. In our recruitment process, we'll never ask for money.