Senior Manager, Business Operations

At Disney, we‘re storytellers, making the impossible, possible. We deliver unparalleled creative content to audiences around the world. We do this through cutting-edge technology and by pushing the envelope to bring stories to life through our movies, products, interactive games, parks and resorts, and media networks.

Disney Advertising Sales (DAS) drives the advertising revenue across platforms for the entire media portfolio – including Disney+, Hulu, ABC, ESPN, Freeform, FX, National Geographic, Disney Channels Worldwide, and more.

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Job Summary:

The Senior Manager, Business Operations will lead a team focused on delivering performance metrics, actionable insights, and reporting that directly influence key business decisions. Reporting to the Director, Business Operations, this role ensures data quality, aligns sales reporting methodologies, and champions process improvement initiatives to drive operational efficiency.

This role plays a critical part in identifying revenue trends, enhancing sales performance, and delivering data-driven recommendations to support strategic organizational goals. This person is expected to be a strong problem-solver, leveraging both quantitative and qualitative methods to enable decisions to effectively drive the company’s growth objectives forward.  They will partner with the Sales leadership team, Finance, Operations, Sales Enablement, and Revenue and Yield Management teams to tie strategic business initiatives to metrics, reporting and analytical insights.  They will champion and develop clear rationale to justify process improvements and resource allocation/investment decisions that materially increase speed to market and reduce costs. Finally, they will work with sales leaders and key partners to enable good decision-making by understanding their business, highlighting risk/opportunities via analytics and marketplace context.

Responsibilities and Duties of the Role:

Drive Strategic Alignment & Operational Excellence

• Deliver critical support to sales management and cross-functional partners, ensuring that sales operations are optimized for efficiency and effectiveness.
• Partner with leadership to align business operations with growth strategies, providing insights that inform strategic decision-making.
• Develop and advocate for streamlined processes, optimized procedures, and improved sales support systems to enhance sales force performance.

Lead Process Improvement & Automation

• Identify and implement process automation opportunities to enhance operational efficiency and reduce manual efforts.
• Regularly monitor key performance metrics and drive continuous improvement initiatives that optimize workflows and resource allocation.
• Act as an operational expert, leading complex projects and ensuring successful execution of department-wide initiatives.

Provide Data-Driven Insights & Reporting Governance

• Ensure accuracy, consistency, and reliability of data across reporting systems, working with cross-functional teams to uphold governance and standards.
• Oversee the development of ad sales strategies, providing leadership with long-term insights to drive revenue and operational improvements.
• Guide strategy for operational reporting enhancements, ensuring data is leveraged effectively to support decision-making.

Manage & Analyze Data to Drive Business Impact

• Lead the development of sales performance reports, dashboards, and analytics, providing actionable insights to leadership.
• Identify key trends and deliver data-driven recommendations that align with revenue goals and market dynamics.
• Support senior leadership with executive summaries and high-impact business reports to inform strategic direction.

Develop & Communicate Strategic Plans

• Collaborate with business leaders to develop and communicate ad sales strategies, ensuring alignment with company growth objectives.
• Foster seamless collaboration between Sales, Product, Finance, and other operational teams, driving cross-functional initiatives that enhance business performance.
• Guide the team in developing operational best practices, ensuring consistency and accountability across reporting structures.

Required Education, Experience/Skills/Training:

Experience

• 7+ years in media or related field, with experience in ad sales, strategic planning, business development, consulting or analytics preferred
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage people across functions and projects to contribute to the success of a large & matrixed organization
• Experience building relationships with and influencing colleagues across departments to meet target delivery dates.

Skills

• Strong understanding of media math, addressable advertising, and the distribution platform landscape.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and storytelling skills with the ability to influence and persuade senior leadership and stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data and provide actionable insights and recommendations.
• Skilled at translating data into powerful stories via advanced PowerPoint or Keynote skills.
• Adept technical/functional experience in Excel.
• Ability to leverage AI for automating tasks, improving workflow efficiency, and enhancing decision-making processes.
• Ability to navigate a highly complex, matrixed, organization.
• Relentless curiosity, flexibility and willingness to challenge the status quo.
• Able to work comfortably & confidently under pressure and aggressive deadlines.
• High level of integrity, accountability and dedication.

Education

• Master’s degree or MBA preferred

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