Rainmaker: Digital Ad Operations Manager

Role Purpose

The Senior Manager Digital Ad Ops plays a major part in the strategic development and enablement of our precision marketing proposition within the business.

The role manages the advertising operations team, overseeing scheduling, implementation and optimisation of all advertising campaigns in order to ensure accurate and timely execution across all digital channels.

The role traffics and manages these campaigns by working with sales departments, advertisers, technology teams and clients to ensure smooth delivery of the campaign, while regularly generating ad server reports that communicate a campaign's status and directly inform the team's next steps. This role manages a team of specialists in ad platforms and traffic operations and maintains a seamless and efficient way of working between the ad operation team and the wider business.

Role Description

• Leads and ensures the smooth execution of the day-to-day activities within the ad ops department.
• Serves as the main point of contact between the advertising operations department and the account management team.
• Leads innovation for the team, enabling constant improvement in performance and thereby continuous achievement of sales and overall business targets.
• Deploys sophisticated tools and processes that are best suited for the business to achieve its digital channel objectives.
• Provides guidance and knowledge transfer on latest trends in digital marketing techniques, ad-serving methodologies, new technologies, and existing systems.
• Uses data sets from existing campaigns to influence strategies for upcoming campaigns, in addition to considering performance metrics, behavioral and transactional targeting, to ensure improved ROAS for our clients.
• Works with the sales, content and strategy team in defining the planning, inventory management, prioritisation, testing, scheduling, and delivery of advertising programs and campaigns.
• Monitors campaign delivery to ensure campaigns are running as expected and provides troubleshooting support for traffic issues.
• Analyses data, generates insights, prepares recommendations, and performs periodic optimizations that leads to increased sales, improved campaign performance and the achievement of the business' overall objectives.
• Reviews dashboards and ad campaign performances in order to generate informed, fact-based solutions that efficiently increase the performance of the clients' campaigns.
• Establishes processes and protocols for pre-launch prep work, including performing quality assurance on ad tags and creatives.
• Identifies, establishes, and implements the business' best practices on advertising campaign set-up, optimisation, measurement, and reporting.
• Troubleshoots tracking problems, develops solutions, and documents internal procedures for the campaign management team to adhere to in the execution of departmental duties.

Qualifications and experience

• Degree or Diploma in Marketing, Advertising, Media, Sales or related.
• +7 years' experience in a similar capacity or role in a retailer, brand or agency firm with a depth of understanding of ad-serving capabilities, measurement, app implementation, creative processes, dynamic ads, campaign management and digital media planning and buying processes – essential.
• Strong knowledge of the latest digital media platforms and solutions to know the scope at which advertisement campaigns should run – essential.
• Substantial experience managing a team through an advertising campaign from conceptualisation to the achievement of its set goals – essential.
• Strong knowledge of analytical methodologies and tactics for optimising data driven marketing campaigns (i.e., segmentation, predictive response models, etc.) - desired.
• Experience troubleshooting ad serving technical issues, for example, delivery investigation and third-party media issues, inclusive of the identification of several tag types, e.g., HTML and JavaScript, and potential issues associated with each - desired.
• Strong commercial acumen with demonstrated understanding of the media landscape and different online advertising pricing structures (CPC, CPM, CPA, etc.) - essential.
• Solid knowledge of Marketing principles, audience targeting, data collection and programmatic methods – essential.
• Knowledge of Ad Tech products, data vendors, industry, third party technology, and market trends - essential.
• Strong proficiency in MS Office – essential.

Key competencies and work ethic

• Strategic and conceptual thinking – Understands multiple aspects of retail while taking a macro view to develop and design paid media concepts and strategies. Uses strategic thinking to create joint business plans, influence stakeholders and solve customer challenges in an evolving shopper landscape.
• Analytical and data-driven with strong problem-solving skills - Organises and evaluates data to identify/explain trends/problems and their causes. Generates feasible solutions to achieve long-range goals and develops decision criteria considering relevant factors (cost, benefits, risks, timing, buy-in, business goals, customers, employees).
• Commercial awareness – Good knowledge of commercial mechanics and approaches to drive value and leverage business insights, and analytics to identify and exploit incremental business opportunities.
• Project management - Handles multiple projects and competing deliverables simultaneously in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Flexible and agile – Adapts and responds positively to changing circumstances; spots opportunities and risks and acts to get to the best outcome. Is curious and naturally inclined to learn, ask questions, and understand why.
• Resilient - Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, manage ambiguity and adapt with the business as it evolves over time. Able to organise, prioritise and reorder workload in a rapidly changing and fast-moving environment.
• Planning and organising – Strong organisational planning, deadline management and attention to detail. Has a focus on execution, quality and improving processes.
• Excellent communication skills
  - Adopts a range of influencing and negotiation styles to deal with and facilitate challenges internally and externally. Converts complex concepts into simple, well-articulated communications and delivers compelling presentations. Strong agency management and vendor relationship skills.
• Self-motivated and driven
  with strong integrity - Takes accountability for actions and mistakes.
• Collaborative partnering – Builds relationships both internally and externally. Is open, honest and direct, and comfortable in giving and receiving constructive feedback. Thinks and acts independently as well as collaboratively.
• Innovative and solution-orientated – Thinks outside of the box. Sound judgment, quick decision-making and has the ability to generate both short and long term solutions that serve the flow of work and meeting deadlines. Takes an innovative approach to identify and unlock commercial opportunities with a "test and learn" attitude.
• · Complex Decision making - Be comfortable making decisions and executing tasks in a fast-paced environment, be results-driven, and have an ability to absorb complex concepts and communicate them clearly.
• · Team player & self-motivated – Be comfortable working in a group-setting, has the ability to work alone with minimal supervision.
• · Exceptional leadership capabilities – be able to motivate and drive a team in a unified direction with a common vision.