Senior Digital Activation Executive (Social & Programmatic)

The Senior Digital Activation Executive is responsible for planning, implementing, and optimising Programmatic and Social campaigns to deliver strong business outcomes for clients. They will manage day-to-day workflow across Tier 1, 2 and 3 clients, take ownership of campaign performance, and support the development of Digital Activation Executives and Coordinators. This role requires strong technical capability, client relationship skills, and the ability to provide data-driven insights and strategic recommendations.

Must Have

• Plan, implement, and optimize Programmatic and Social campaigns.
• Manage day-to-day workflow for clients, owning campaign performance.
• Conduct campaign set-up, trafficking, QA, optimization across DSPs and paid social platforms.
• Ensure accurate pacing, delivery, and KPI alignment.
• Develop insightful reporting demonstrating campaign impact.
• Act as day-to-day client lead, building strong relationships.
• Operate Programmatic campaigns within DSPs (DV360, TTD, Amobee, Amazon DSP, Verizon).
• Possess strong working knowledge of paid social platforms (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn).
• Understand supply optimization, deal IDs, and ad tech ecosystem concepts.
• Analyze large datasets for insights and performance improvements.
• Manage budgets, including forecasting, pacing, billing, and reconciliation.
• Have 2-3 years’ experience in media agency or digital activation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).

Good to Have

• Relevant certifications (e.g., DV360/CM360, Meta, Amazon DSP etc.)

Perks & Benefits

• Comprehensive Wholeself program supporting physical, mindful, and financial wellbeing.
• Creative, lively, and rewarding office environment.
• Publicis Liberté flexibility approach — "working your way with us."
• Access to Global AI Platform Marcel, connecting employees with career mobility and collaboration.
• Extensive Learning & Development opportunities including over 15,000 learning programs via Marcel Classes.
• Culture of open feedback and support through Career Conversations program.
• Committed Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion strategy driven through various committees.
• Leave benefits including Birthday Leave, Flexible Public Holidays, and an additional 5 days of leave after 2 years of service.
• Work Your World program enabling employees to work from anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks per year.
• Parental leave policy with up to 18 weeks based on tenure, paid primary carer leave, secondary carer swap, and Cub Care leave.
• Access to counsellors, psychologists, and professionals through Sonder.
• Workplace that stands together to provide a more open, supportive, and recovery-forward culture for all employees with life-threatening illnesses.
• Proud partners of Diversity Council Australia, Pride in Diversity, Family Friendly Workplaces, Supply Nation, and the Australian Disability Network.

Company description

At Spark Foundry we bring HEAT to brands, Higher Engagement, Affinity and Transaction. Engagement with consumers, customers and stakeholders, affinity with brands, and transactions, that materially impact our client’s businesses. Spark is uniquely positioned to deliver HEAT because we have an aligned set of beliefs that guide how we navigate a changing media landscape, a structure that is designed for total accountability and a repeatable methodology to bake continuous improvement into everything we do.

In order to bring this vision to life, we seek alignment around key values from our talent. Diverse thinkers with diverse thinking—what we call Allsorts—are essential to tackle challenges through the lens of different disciplines and perspectives. To succeed at Spark, you must thrive on the belief that great ideas are only great if they work. It’s not enough to be new, cool, or interesting; our solutions must drive business results. You need to embrace both the art and the evidence—right and left brain, imagination and activation, insight and technology in the pursuit of big ideas that are forensically measured. If you are motivated by these values, we welcome you to apply to become a Sparkie.

Overview

Role Overview

The Senior Digital Activation Executive is responsible for planning, implementing, and optimising Programmatic and Social campaigns to deliver strong business outcomes for clients. They will manage day-to-day workflow across Tier 1, 2 and 3 clients, take ownership of campaign performance, and support the development of Digital Activation Executives and Coordinators.

This role requires strong technical capability, client relationship skills, and the ability to provide data-driven insights and strategic recommendations.

Key Responsibilities

Campaign Implementation & Delivery

• End-to-end ownership of Programmatic and Social campaigns for Tier 2 & 3 clients, contributing significantly to Tier 1 accounts.
• Review and respond to client briefs, translating objectives into effective channel plans.
• Manage campaign set-up, trafficking, QA, optimisation and performance delivery across DSPs and paid social platforms.
• Ensure accurate pacing, delivery, and alignment to KPIs across Programmatic and Social channels.
• Develop clear, insightful reporting that demonstrates campaign impact and actionable improvements.

Client Management

• Act as day-to-day lead for Tier 2 & 3 clients, including WIPs, reporting calls, and business reviews.
• Build strong and effective relationships, ensuring clear communication and excellent service.
• Work autonomously to meet client business objectives, proactively offering channel innovations, tests and optimisation opportunities.
• Support managers on Tier 1 presentations, quarterly reviews, and strategic recommendations.

Team & Leadership

• Support, coach and upskill Coordinators and Digital Activation Executives, ensuring accurate output and strong development.
• Provide guidance on campaign implementation, analysis, trafficking and optimisation best practices.
• Manage workflow effectively across multiple campaigns, escalating challenges early and proactively.

Technical & Channel Expertise

• Hands-on experience operating Programmatic campaigns within relevant DSPs (e.g., DV360, TTD, Amobee, Amazon DSP, Verizon).
• Strong working knowledge of paid social platforms including Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, or others as relevant.
• Understanding of supply optimisation, deal IDs, auction mechanics and key ad tech ecosystem concepts.
• Ability to analyse large datasets and translate into insights and optimisations that improve performance.
• Stay up to date on industry trends, new product features, platform betas and apply where relevant.

Administration & Commercials

• End-to-end responsibility for budget management, including forecasting, pacing, billing and monthly reconciliation.
• Ensure all data, financials, and reporting are delivered accurately and on time.

Skills & Experience

• 2–3 years’ experience in a media agency or in-house digital activation role.
• Strong hands-on experience in Programmatic AND Social campaign management.
• Experience with DSPs (e.g., DV360, Amobee, TTD, Amazon DSP, Verizon) and campaign trafficking tools (e.g., CM360).
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to present concise, actionable insights.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management and organisation skills.
• Ability to independently manage multiple accounts and competing priorities.
• Solid understanding of the Australian digital media landscape.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
• Relevant certifications (e.g., DV360/CM360, Meta, Amazon DSP etc.) favourable.

Additional information

Publicis Groupe benefits: Be a part of the Publicis Groupe family, recent winner of the Employer of Choice Awards and one of the world's most progressive and dynamic modern communications businesses. You can learn more about us at www.publicisgroupeanz.com.

Enjoy all the perks that come with our network offering:

• A comprehensive Wholeself program supporting physical, mindful, and financial wellbeing.
• A creative, lively, and rewarding office environment where people love working with each other, supported by our Publicis Liberté flexibility approach — "working your way with us."
• Access to our Global AI Platform Marcel, connecting Publicis Groupe employees with opportunities for career mobility and collaboration across our global network.
• Extensive Learning & Development opportunities including more than 15,000 learning programs via our online learning platform, Marcel Classes.
• A culture of open feedback and support to reach your goals through our Career Conversations program.
• A committed Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion strategy driven through our Viva Women, Égalité, enABLE, EmbRACE, and Écologique committees.
• Leave benefits including Birthday Leave, Flexible Public Holidays, and an additional 5 days of leave after 2 years of service.
• Work Your World program enabling employees the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks per year.
• Parental leave policy with up to 18 weeks based on tenure, paid primary carer leave, secondary carer swap, and Cub Care leave.
• Access to counsellors, psychologists, and professionals through Sonder, an all-in-one digital wellbeing technology platform designed to support psychological, medical & safety needs.
• A workplace that stands together to provide a more open, supportive, and recovery-forward culture for all employees with life-threatening illnesses. Read more about our Working With Cancer Pledge: https://workingwithcancerpledge.com/
• Proud partners of Diversity Council Australia, Pride in Diversity, Family Friendly Workplaces, Supply Nation, and the Australian Disability Network.

If you don't tick every box in this ad, please don't rule yourself out. Research suggests that women and other people in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they meet every requirement. We focus on hiring people who share our values of inclusion, collaboration, adaptability, fearlessness, and integrity rather than ticking boxes — so if this role resonates with you, please apply.

Diversity. Inclusion. Equity. More than just words; these are part of our DNA. At Publicis Groupe, we are committed to the inclusion and recognition of all people regardless of race, age, culture, ability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, and religious affiliation. We believe that to deliver the best solutions to our clients, our people need to reflect the diverse communities in which our clients operate. We value diversity and the skills, knowledge, and experience that difference brings to our culture and solutions.

Uniqueness is powerful; without it, we wouldn't be where we are today. So be you — we like it that way.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for people with disability or those that require additional support throughout the application process. If you need any assistance or adjustments, please contact us via recruitment@publicisgroupe.com; your personal information will be kept confidential.