Associate Director Ad Operations

As an Associate Director of Ad Operations on the ESPN Media team, your job duties include overseeing the execution of advertising campaigns across various digital media channels, managing a team responsible for ad trafficking and optimization, collaborating with sales and marketing teams to ensure campaign objectives are met, analyzing campaign performance metrics, identifying areas for improvement, and staying updated on industry trends and best practices. Your job summary would emphasize your role in leading the ad operations team, ensuring the successful delivery and performance of advertising campaigns, and contributing to the overall revenue goals of ESPN through effective ad operations management. This position reports to the Sr Dir Media Operations. This position is located in New York, New York.

Responsibilities:

• Leads a team of ad operations professional(s) to ensure the successful execution and delivery of advertising campaigns across multiple digital media platforms.
• Oversees end-to-end campaign tracking, tagging, and trafficking to ensure accurate measurement of key media performance indicators across ESPN O&O and paid digital media channels.
• Drive resolution efforts by collaborating with internal and external teams including marketing, Disney ad sales, Disney bundle, product, tech, agency of record and creative teams.
• Work with internal and external stakeholders, to develop and instill processes related to trafficking, workflows and tools that support the effective project delivery.
• Effectively communicate project status by creating and maintaining comprehensive project plans and providing regular updates on schedules, progress, risks, change impacts, results, etc.
• In-house expert on Third-Party Ad Servers (DoubleClick DCM), Rich Media, DCO, Viewability/Fraud, Mobile App Tracking, TMS, etc.
• Work closely with management to serve as a point of contact between ad server and internal business units.
• Monitor industry trends and emerging technologies to stay ahead of the curve and implement innovative ad operations solutions.
• Manage relationships with ad tech vendors and partners to leverage new tools and technologies for improved campaign performance.
• Embed additional survey, audience measurement, verification, and other tracking components for external vendors as needed.
• Provide leadership and guidance to the ad operations team, fostering a collaborative, culture of learning, and results-driven work environment.

Qualifications:

• Minimum 7 years experience in Digital Operations, Media or a related field
• Minimum 4 years experience managing a team and fostering a collaborative culture
• Must have experience with direct response campaigns
• Ability to organize tasks effectively and develop workflows
• Technologically savvy and able to sift through digital tools smoothly

Preferred Qualifications:

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced and dynamic working environment, supporting new products/businesses supported by a proven large-scale media property.
• Excellent communication skills and proven collaborator, and is comfortable navigating a matrixed organization and stewarding stakeholder relationships

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in business, computer science, marketing or a related field

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