Associate Director, National Video Investment (Media Buying)

Starcom is the world's first standalone media agency, a storied innovator that continues to lead the way for many of the world's best brands.

Starcom has long been the professional birthplace and proving ground for marketing leaders – CEOs, CMOs, sales leaders, and technology pioneers – and we continue to drive the industry with peerless talent and relentless innovation.

From the start, we've known that achieving growth for our clients requires understanding and connecting with real people where they live and work, in ways they value.

In an AI era, we remain ""Guided By Humanity,"" a phrase that describes our foundational belief that human expertise must remain in the driver's seat, supported by the best processes and technology.

With our proprietary capabilities and Publicis Media's industry-leading resources and clout, we create ideas that move people and drive transformative business outcomes for brands.

Overview

The Associate Media Director, National Video Investment oversees the team's media buying/investment initiatives and will focus on servicing our client in the creation, execution, and monitoring of integrated media plans to secure the best investment options in a variety of channels to maximize reach to targeted consumers. The ideal candidate for this position will be a thoughtful decision maker who loves data and has the proven ability to lead strategic buying initiatives.

While providing thought leadership on audience strategies and campaign optimization, the Associate Director builds strong relationships and establishes clear lines of communication with agency partners and the client services team alike. This role oversees all campaign activity and deliverables for the team. The Associate Director facilitates the training and development of the team and determines each individual’s assignments and bandwidth, distributing work as needed.

This is an energetic, supportive and collaborative team that manages a partnership-driven client and fosters an environment of respect, learning, and development.

Responsibilities

• Direct and manage the daily work flow of campaigns across the video eco-system (linear TV, FEP, VOD, OTT, Mobile, Connected TV, Addressable), including proposal development, campaign activation and maintenance, and post-buy recaps
• Assume accountability and ownership of campaign execution for assigned client accounts
• Review client deliverables for quality, ensuring that recommendations and work product are sound and viable
• Own the development of strategic proposals, coordinating across teams to account for all relevant inputs
• Manage, train, mentor, and develop a team
• Understand and effectively communicate value proposition, technology, and processes as related to the growth of current and prospective agency accounts
• Participate in forecasting exercises for senior management
• Develop processes to ensure data integrity and implement across the agency
• Maintain a strong understanding of the systems used such as Mediaocean/Prisma or other digital buying tools, Ad Servers/Verification, DSPs, Social Platforms, DMPs, and internal proprietary tools
• Provide ideas and solutions for pain points/problems in processes; then work alongside internal and external teams to develop best practices, enhancements, and tools to improve these
• Determine and activate how to deliver necessary data to teams for various reporting purposes
• Build and maintain strong relationships across multiple internal teams and external teams
• Maintain relationships with vendors to ensure trust and confidence with our buying partners
• Cultivate a team-focused mentality across the larger Investment team
• Participate in regular knowledge share sessions to share and learn new strategies for optimizing and enhancing campaign performance
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, preferably with a concentration in marketing, advertising, communications, business, sociology, or consumer insights
• Strong understanding of the TV landscape (Linear TV, FEP, VOD, OTT, Mobile, Connected TV, Addressable)
• 5+ years of media buying experience with progressive levels of responsibility
• 2+ years of team management experience
• Strong communication and negotiation skills
• Strong quantitative skills, including analytical abilities and math proficiency
• Problem-solver, with ability to move quickly between tasks, and think clearly under pressure
• Self-starter with ability to work independently
• Technical proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite with heavy focus on Excel

Experience utilizing various media tools

Starcom is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our employment decisions are made without regard to actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, medical condition as defined by applicable state law, genetic information, marital status, military service and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.

The Power of One starts with our people! To do powerful things, we offer powerful resources. Our best-in-class wellness and benefits offerings include:

Paid Family Care for parents and caregivers for 12 weeks or more

Monetary assistance and support for Adoption, Surrogacy and Fertility

Monetary assistance and support for pet adoption

Employee Assistance Programs and Health/Wellness/Comfort reimbursements to help you invest in your future and work/life balance

Tuition Assistance

Paid time off that includes Flexible Time off Vacation, Annual Sick Days, Volunteer Days, Holiday and Identity days, and more

Matching Gifts programs

Flexible working arrangements

'Work Your World’ Program encouraging employees to work from anywhere Publicis Groupe has an office for up to 6 weeks a year (based upon eligibility)

Business Resource Groups that support multiple affinities and alliances

The benefits offerings listed are available to U.S. based employees, are reviewed on an annual basis, and are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [email protected].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Compensation Range: USD $97,375.00 - USD $139,965.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met.

For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 1/11/2027.