Manager, Retail Media Strategy & Activation

Kepler; Toronto; On-site; CAD 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare/Dental/Vision

Unlimited PTO

RRSP Contributions

$75/mo Wellness Stipend

$100/mo Mobile Phone Stipend

$50/mo Internet Stipend

$500/yr Annual Learning Stipend

$2,000/yr Annual Tuition Stipend

Parental Leave – 16 week primary caregiver / 6 week secondary caregiver

Annual Work From Anywhere 4 weeks per year

Job summary

Kepler is seeking a Manager, Retail Media Strategy & Activation in Toronto. This role involves leading client relationships, understanding commerce challenges, and overseeing campaign strategy across retail media networks such as Walmart and Target.

The ideal candidate has 3-5+ years of experience in digital media, strong analytical skills, and proven team management capabilities. Enjoy competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and a supportive work culture.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of experience in digital media planning and activation.
• Experience managing and developing direct reports.
• Proven experience activating retail media through Criteo.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy across Retail Media Networks.
• Manage communication and build client partnerships.
• Guide the team of Analysts and Senior Analysts.

Skills

Digital media planning

Retail Media Networks experience

Analytical acumen

Communication skills

Team management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in relevant major

Tools

Criteo

Walmart Connect

Target Roundel

Excel

Pacvue

Job description

Kepler executes engineered marketing, where every message and ad delivered helps create a more personalized and productive relationship between brands and their consumers. We do this by acting as clients’ agency of record, as their in‑house team, or some hybrid of the two – and by harnessing data and technology across all paid digital media and data‑driven CRM channels.

Kepler prides itself on being a great place to work. In fact, we’re proud to share that AdAge recognized Kepler among the Best Place to Work in 2022, validating our investment in our team and our clients.

• We’re transparent with our employees. You'll hear updates on company financials, how we're performing against bonus goals, and how we're responding to challenges we face.
• We're growing. For you, that means unparalleled growth opportunities and a role in shaping the direction of the company.
• We’re fun. You'll work with and learn from the smartest people in the industry and have a blast doing it.

Manager, Retail Media Strategy & Activation

The Manager, Retail Media Strategy & Activation position will be a leader on key client relationships within our Media Strategy & Activation team. In this role, you’ll be responsible for deeply understanding clients’ commerce challenges, becoming the trusted “go‑to” strategic partner for retail media networks. You’ll succeed in this role if you are a proven people leader, a creative problem solver, and possess a deep technical understanding of the evolving retail media landscape, audience targeting, and multi‑retailer network activation.

What You Will Do

• Serve as the strategic lead across Retail Media Networks (RMNs), focusing heavily on ecosystems like Walmart Connect, Target Roundel, and emerging commerce platforms.
• Act as the primary point of contact and subject matter expert for assigned clients; proactively manage communication, translate complex retail data into strategic narratives, and build strong partnerships.
• Lead campaign strategy, planning, and optimization across performance‑driven retail media channels to drive measurable business outcomes and return on ad spend (ROAS).
• Oversee hands‑on activation and execution within retail aggregation platforms, specifically requiring deep operational excellence in Criteo.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a team of 2–4 Analysts and Senior Analysts, guiding their professional growth and campaign execution quality.
• Partner with Media Analytics to support deep‑dive reporting and actionable insights, and collaborate with Client Solutions to align platform strategies with overarching client business goals.
• Codify and share retail media best practices, industry POVs, and optimization frameworks to streamline internal workflows and drive operational excellence.

Desired Skills And Experience

• 3–5+ years of experience in digital media planning, activation, and performance marketing, with a distinct focus on Retail Media Networks.
• Proven, hands‑on experience activating retail media through Criteo is required. Strong experience with Walmart Connect and/or Target Roundel is highly preferred.
• Experience managing and developing a team of 2+ direct reports (Analysts/Senior Analysts).
• Familiarity with managing large product catalogs, item‑level/ASIN management, and inventory‑driven optimization.
• Familiarity with retail media management tools such as Pacvue, Skai, or similar commercial technologies is a strong plus.
• Strong analytical acumen; comfortable working with large datasets, Excel (pivots, VLOOKUPs), and translating lower‑funnel performance metrics into clear client insights.
• Exceptional presentation, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to confidently lead client status meetings and strategic planning sessions.
• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, entrepreneurial, and highly collaborative team environment.
• Bachelor’s degree with relevant major preferred.

Transparency is fundamental to Kepler’s culture. Our compensation strategy is designed to attract, reward, and retain the talented employees that drive Kepler’s growth and success. We aim to offer competitive direct compensation and a rich indirect compensation program that demonstrates the value we place on our employees and their wellbeing.

Total Compensation

• Base Salary: $85,000 - $100,000
• Target Annualized Discretionary Bonus: 5% ($4,250 - $5,000)
• Target Total Cash: $89,250 - $105,000

Benefits

• Healthcare/Dental/Vision
• Unlimited PTO
• RRSP Contributions
• $75/mo Wellness Stipend
• $100/mo Mobile Phone Stipend
• $50/mo Internet Stipend
• $500/yr Annual Learning Stipend
• $2,000/yr Annual Tuition Stipend
• One‑time $200 New Hire Home Office Equipment Stipend
• Parental Leave – 16 week primary caregiver / 6 week secondary caregiver leave
• Annual Work From Anywhere 4 weeks per year

Kepler is a people‑first organization. If this role piques your interest but you may not check every box, we still encourage you to apply! Studies show that imposter syndrome can prevent women and people of color from applying unless they meet every single qualification. We welcome all who are interested to apply; you just might be a great candidate for this role or others.

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