General Manager – Media Agency
Melbourne | Independent Agency | Senior Leadership Opportunity
What if your next move wasn't just another senior media role?
What if you could take everything you've learned about media - planning, investment, trading, clients, people, negotiation and current business - and have a genuine say in how an entire agency grows?
We are working exclusively with a long-established, highly regarded Australian independent agency to appoint a
General Manager - Media
.
This is a business with serious scale, serious clients and a very different proposition to the traditional holding-company environment.
With offices in Melbourne and Sydney, significant annual media billings and an impressive portfolio spanning automotive, retail, marine, sport, wagering and other major consumer categories, the agency has built its reputation on something deceptively easy:
Senior people who know their stuff, stay close to the work and genuinely care about the outcome.
And now they are looking for someone to help take that proposition to the next level.
This isn't a 'sit back and delegate' GM role.
You will lead the media function
You will lead people
You will work with major clients
You will develop business
You will negotiate with media owners
You will be involved in pitches
You will help shape the agency's commercial direction
And when something needs doing, you'll be expected to roll up your sleeves and do it.
That's important. This is an agency where the leadership team is close to the work. The right person will enjoy that.
What we're looking for
You are likely to be an experienced senior media leader - perhaps currently a Group Investment Director, Head of Investment, Media Director, Business Director,



Managing Partner or even running an independent agency.
You may come from an independent. Or you may have spent your career in one of Australia's major media agency groups. Where you've come from matters less than what you can do.
We need someone who:
Has genuine media planning, investment and trading credentials
Understands the Australian media landscape inside out
Is equally comfortable discussing TV, BVOD, OOH, audio, print, digital, social, search and the broader media ecosystem
Has strong, senior relationships across the media-owner market
Can lead, inspire and develop a talented team
Is commercially sharp and understands how an agency actually makes money
Can sit comfortably in front of a CMO one minute and get into the detail of a media deal the next
Has a genuine appetite for new business and growth
Has a network that can open doors - and ideally, but not necessarily, some business that could follow them
Is energetic, curious, pragmatic and
hands-on
Most importantly, you want more. More influence. More ownership. More opportunity to make decisions, and less bureaucracy.
Why this opportunity?
It's about joining a successful business with real scale, longstanding client relationships, significant media buying power and an entrepreneurial mindset - and helping shape what comes next.
You won't be inheriting a broken business. You'll be joining a good one and helping make it better.
This is a senior leadership appointment reporting directly to the Managing Director. The remuneration package will be commensurate with the calibre and experience of the successful candidate.
If you're a senior media operator who thinks commercially, leads from the front and is ready to have a bigger impact, I'd genuinely like to hear from you.
#J-*****-Ljbffr

📌 General Manager - Media (Melbourne)
🏢 MAARS
📍 Melbourne