Associate Director, Digital Activation

Position Overview

The Associate Director Digital Activation is the day-to-dayshopperactivation lead for assigned clients and brands. This role translates business and media strategy into high-quality digital activation plans oversees campaign execution and stewardship across channels and ensures investment is pacedoptimized measured billed and reconciled accurately.

The Associate Director sets the strategic and operational direction for the activation team serves as a trusted client partner and point of escalation and ensures the Digital Activation Process and departmental standards are understood appropriately tailored and consistently applied. The role requires broad digital activation leadership strong programmatic and ad technologyexpertise direct people management and the ability to move fluidly between strategic counsel operational detail and advanced troubleshooting.

A proactive collaborative andsolution-oriented approach is essential. The successful candidate is comfortable rolling up their sleeves leading through ambiguity and developing new relationships and solutions that create value for clients and the agency.

Key Responsibilities

Client Leadership and Strategic Direction

• Lead client relationships.Build trusted relationships with mid- to senior-level client stakeholders and serve as the day-to-day activation lead and customer relationship manager.

• Connect activation to business outcomes.Develop clear strategic frameworks that ladder to client business and marketing goals using consumer insight to inspire strong tactical recommendations.

• Provide proactive counsel.Bring forward opportunities risks platform developments emerging media capabilities and actionable recommendations rather than waiting for client direction.

• Lead client communications.Own daily weekly monthly and quarterly conversations related to digital activation investment performance pacing optimization measurement and next steps.

• Make complexity accessible.Distill technical platform data and measurement concepts into clear implications and decisions for digitally centric and non-digitally centric audiences.

• Develop new business relationships and solutions.Identify cultivate and advance new client relationships partnerships and activation solutions that address business needs and strengthen the account.

Digital Activation and Investment Management with a Focus on Amazon and TTD

• Oversee campaign design and implementation.Direct the development setup launch stewardship optimization and closeout of digital campaigns across relevant channels with a focus on Amazon and TTD Shopper campaigns

• Guide buying-path decisions.Provide direction on campaign design tactic implementation manual insertion order versus programmatic buying paths platformselection success requirements and theoptimaluse of demand-side platforms.

• Own campaign performance and pacing.Maintain accountability for the quality pacing delivery and performance of campaigns within assigned brands ensuring issues areidentifiedearly and resolved decisively.

• Serve as an escalation point.Provideadvanced guidance for complex setup troubleshooting optimization platform nuances and delivery challenges; engage directly in platforms when needed to diagnose issues and guide resolution.

• Manage campaign investment.Effectively manage campaign budgets allocations pacing and changes whilemaintainingappropriate controlsand documentation.

• Coordinate across activation teams.Work side by side with broader activation planning analytics operations and investment teams to ensure campaign setup adjustments and performance management are efficient and effective.

• Oversee financial operations.Ensure billing reconciliation budget tracking and supporting documentation areaccuratetimely and compliant with agency and client requirements.

Technology Data Measurement and Reporting

• Lead platform strategy and governance.Apply strong working knowledge of programmatic and ad technology platforms such as The Trade Desk DV360 Amazon DSP CM360 and comparable tools.

• Ensure quality and compliance.Customize departmental standards and processes toappropriate clientneeds while ensuring consistent implementation quality assurance platform governance and verification across campaigns.

• Own reporting accuracy.Lead the design of dashboards and performance presentations ensure data integrity and communicate results drivers implications and optimization actions clearly.

• Advance measurement capabilities.Guidethe use of third-party verification measurement and ad technology solutions including tools such as IAS and help evaluate emerging approaches.

• Develop data-driven solutions.Use large data sets and sound evaluation methodologies toidentifyinsights diagnose performance and develop scalable client solutions including custom data management and reporting approaches.

• Evaluate partners and capabilities.Approve vendor selections and scopes guide vendor engagement and assess capabilities through RFIs demonstrations testing and performance review.

• Implement new capabilities.Lead or support implementation of business intelligence tools new supply and data sources workflow improvements and emerging media measurement techniques.

People Leadership and Operational Excellence

• Directly manage and develop talent.Lead a team of managers and/or activation professionals with clear accountability for performance management coaching development planning feedback and career growth.

• Set the team standard.Establish a culture of accountability curiosity collaboration inclusive leadership continuous learning and application of learnings across accounts.

• Direct day-to-day operations.Assign work clarify priorities review outputs remove barriers andmaintainappropriate coverageacross campaigns and client deliverables.

• Adapt plans and resources.Adjust account priorities workflows and team deployment to address changing client needs and operational challenges.

• Build team capability.Providetechnical guidance create repeatable best practices strengthen platform fluency and coach team members in tools and working methods including Excel efficiencies.

• Collaborate across functions.Influence and partner effectively with colleagues across planning investment analytics creative operations finance and centers of excellence.

Required Qualifications

• 5 years of experience in digital media planning buying activation or investment with expert knowledge of digital buying and strong programmaticexpertise.

• Demonstrated experience directly managing coaching and developing media professionals including managers and/or individual contributors.

• Proven success leading client relationships and communicating with mid- to senior-level stakeholders.

• Strong knowledge of campaign design buying paths optimization pacing performance management measurement billing and reconciliation.

• Working knowledge of demand-side platforms and ad technology solutions such as The Trade Desk DV360 Amazon DSP CM360 or similar platforms.

• Experience using campaign workflow and media management tools such as Prisma or comparable systems.

• Working knowledge of third-party verification and brand-safety tools including IAS or similar solutions.

• Intermediate to advanced data analysis skills including experience working with large data sets and evaluating data usingappropriate methodologies.

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills with the ability to improve team efficiency and coach others in effective workflows and shortcuts.

• Excellent written verbal and presentation skills including the ability to translate complex digital concepts into clear business implications.

• Demonstrated ability to develop new business relationships partnerships or client solutions using new or existing capabilities and processes.

• Proven ability to self-manage prioritize competing demandsmaintainstrong attention to detail and influence cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience activating across multiple digital media channels anda demonstratedcuriosity about emerging platforms formats data sources and measurement approaches.

• Hands-on experienceinone or more DSPs with the ability to support advanced setup troubleshooting and optimization when needed

• Experience designing reporting dashboards developing executive-ready performance narratives and creating long-term data or measurement solutions.

• Experience evaluating media technology data or measurement partners through RFIs demonstrations scopes of work and capability assessments.

• A record ofanticipatingand clearly defining problems weighing alternatives and recommending practical scalable solutions.

• Demonstrated effectiveness managing up down and laterally across varied working styles and stakeholder groups.

Success in This Role

• Clients view the Associate Director as a proactive accountable and trusted activation partner.

• Campaigns launch accurately pace appropriately and are continuouslyoptimizedagainst defined business and mediaobjectives.

• Activation standards quality controls reporting billing and reconciliation are consistently applied across assigned work.

• The team receives clear direction meaningful coachingtimelyfeedback and opportunities to grow its strategic and technical capabilities.

• New relationships and solutions create measurable value for clients and strengthen Hearts & Science capabilities.

• Cross-functional partners experience strong coordination clear decision-making and effectiveissueresolution.