Senior Activations Manager

IPG Mediabrands; Sydney; On-site; AUD 97,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

IPG Mediabrands is seeking a Senior Activations Manager to oversee activation performance across a client portfolio while leading and developing Activations Managers, Executives and Assistants. You will collaborate with Directors, Client Leaders, Publishers and Platform Partners to ensure campaigns are delivered to the highest standard and continually optimised for success.

The role demands advanced stakeholder management, commercial acumen, campaign expertise and leadership capability to drive

Responsibilities

• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders
• Lead campaign performance discussions and reviews
• Translate business objectives into activation priorities
• Provide proactive optimisation and growth recommendations
• Manage client expectations confidently and effectively
• Support long-term client retention and growth
• Develop senior relationships with publishers and platform partners
• Identify marketplace opportunities that create client value
• Hold partners accountable for performance and delivery standards
• Drive stronger collaboration between publishers and client teams
• Stay ahead of platform developments and industry change
• Leverage partnerships to improve campaign outcomes
• Lead and develop Activations Managers and Executives
• Provide coaching, mentoring and regular performance feedback
• Build capability frameworks and development plans
• Support succession planning and future leadership development
• Foster accountability, collaboration and ownership
• Create a high-performance activation culture
• Oversee campaign implementation across multiple portfolios
• Ensure campaigns are delivered accurately and efficiently
• Monitor campaign health, pacing and performance
• Escalate and resolve delivery risks proactively
• Drive consistency in activation standards and processes
• Ensure campaigns remain aligned to strategic objectives
• Oversee campaign billing, reconciliations and governance processes
• Ensure strong financial discipline across client portfolios
• Monitor commercial performance and revenue delivery
• Improve workflow efficiencies and operational effectiveness
• Support forecasting and resource planning
• Ensure financial accountability across the team
• Review campaign reporting and optimisation recommendations
• Ensure reporting drives action and decision-making
• Identify portfolio-wide trends and improvement opportunities
• Strengthen insight quality across client teams
• Translate campaign performance into business outcomes
• Promote data-led decision making
• Partner with Planning and Client teams on campaign strategy
• Bring activation expertise into planning discussions early
• Ensure activation informs future recommendations
• Support stronger integration across media disciplines
• Connect performance outcomes back to strategic objectives
• Influence campaign effectiveness from planning through execution
• Drive testing, learning and innovation initiatives
• Encourage adoption of new platform capabilities and technologies
• Identify automation and workflow efficiencies
• Share best practice across activation teams
• Improve operational ways of working
• Help evolve UM's activation product
• Support major client reviews and business opportunities
• Contribute to agency-wide capability initiatives
• Champion activation best practice across the business
• Support new business and growth opportunities
• Influence activation standards beyond your portfolio
• Help shape the future direction of activation at UM
• Planning & buying proficiency in biddable platforms across at least 2-key channels, Search, Social or Programmatic.
• Demonstrated expertise in multiple platform examples including DV360, TTD, Amazon, Google Ads, SA360, Meta,
• TikTok, Snapchat.
• Proven ability to manage Activations staff including workflow, SLAs and QA processes.
• Continuous building of technical leadership capability with clients and internally.

Job description

Job Type: Permanent position | Full time position

Job Description

About the Role As a Senior Activations Manager, you'll oversee activation performance across a portfolio of clients while leading and developing Activations Managers, Executives and Assistants. You'll work closely with Activations Directors, Client Leaders, Publishers and Platform Partners to ensure campaigns are delivered to the highest standard and continuously optimised for success.

This role requires advanced stakeholder management, commercial acumen, campaign expertise and leadership capability. You'll be expected to lead strategic activation conversations, improve operational performance and elevate the capability of the wider activation team. What

You’ll Actually Be Doing Client Leadership & Strategic Partnership

• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders
• Lead campaign performance discussions and reviews
• Translate business objectives into activation priorities
• Provide proactive optimisation and growth recommendations
• Manage client expectations confidently and effectively
• Support long-term client retention and growth

The Publisher Partnership & Marketplace Leadership

• Develop senior relationships with publishers and platform partners
• Identify marketplace opportunities that create client value
• Hold partners accountable for performance and delivery standards
• Drive stronger collaboration between publishers and client teams
• Stay ahead of platform developments and industry change
• Leverage partnerships to improve campaign outcomes

The Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead and develop Activations Managers and Executives
• Provide coaching, mentoring and regular performance feedback
• Build capability frameworks and development plans
• Support succession planning and future leadership development
• Foster accountability, collaboration and ownership
• Create a high-performance activation culture

The Campaign Excellence & Delivery Leadership

• Oversee campaign implementation across multiple portfolios
• Ensure campaigns are delivered accurately and efficiently
• Monitor campaign health, pacing and performance
• Escalate and resolve delivery risks proactively
• Drive consistency in activation standards and processes
• Ensure campaigns remain aligned to strategic objectives

The Financial Operations & Commercial Management

• Oversee campaign billing, reconciliations and governance processes
• Ensure strong financial discipline across client portfolios
• Monitor commercial performance and revenue delivery
• Improve workflow efficiencies and operational effectiveness
• Support forecasting and resource planning
• Ensure financial accountability across the team

The Reporting, Analytics & Performance Insights

• Review campaign reporting and optimisation recommendations
• Ensure reporting drives action and decision-making
• Identify portfolio-wide trends and improvement opportunities
• Strengthen insight quality across client teams
• Translate campaign performance into business outcomes
• Promote data-led decision making

The Strategic Planning & Activation Integration

• Partner with Planning and Client teams on campaign strategy
• Bring activation expertise into planning discussions early
• Ensure activation informs future recommendations
• Support stronger integration across media disciplines
• Connect performance outcomes back to strategic objectives
• Influence campaign effectiveness from planning through execution

The Innovation & Continuous Improvement Agenda

• Drive testing, learning and innovation initiatives
• Encourage adoption of new platform capabilities and technologies
• Identify automation and workflow efficiencies
• Share best practice across activation teams
• Improve operational ways of working
• Help evolve UM's activation product

The Leadership Influence & Agency Contribution

• Support major client reviews and business opportunities
• Contribute to agency-wide capability initiatives
• Champion activation best practice across the business
• Support new business and growth opportunities
• Influence activation standards beyond your immediate portfolio
• Help shape the future direction of activation at UM

The Technical Capability

• Planning & buying proficiency in biddable platforms across at least 2-key channels, Search, Social or Programmatic.
• Demonstrated expertise in multiple platform examples including DV360, TTD, Amazon, Google Ads, SA360, Meta,

TikTok, Snapchat.

• Proven ability to manage Activations staff including workflow, SLAs and QA processes.
• Continuous building of technical leadership capability with clients and internally.

Salary range $97,000.00-$100,000.00 inclusive of superannuation