Performance Lead - E Commerce (Endemic Ads)

dentsu; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 5,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Dentsu in Bengaluru seeks a Performance Lead for E-commerce (Endemic Ads) with 5+ years of hands-on experience in e-commerce and performance marketing. You will own end-to-end health of the programme, oversee seller pipelines, pod performance, and client governance, and lead a team including Pod Leads and Ad Consultants.

You will drive marketplace strategy, seller growth, and paid advertising alignment, with a focus on platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, and similar Indian/international

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in E-commerce and Performance Marketing.
• Experience managing seller portfolios and advertising budgets on marketplace platforms.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall health and performance of the Endemic Ads / E-commerce mandate across seller accounts and platform relationships.
• Track programme KPIs and course-correct when numbers drift.
• Run structured scrums and reviews with Pod Leads; escalate blockers.
• Lead client-facing reviews and represent programme performance with clarity.

Job description

Role - Performance Lead - E Commerce (Endemic Ads)

Experience Required: 5 to 8 years of hands‑on experience in E-commerce and Performance Marketing — ideally in a digital agency, a D2C brand, a marketplace‑first environment, or a retail media team.

About the Role

The Program Manager — E-commerce is the operational and strategic backbone of the Endemic Ads mandate. You will own the end‑to‑end health of the programme — across seller pipelines, pod performance, campaign outcomes, and client governance — while being the centre of gravity for a team of Pod Leads, Team Leaders, and Ad Consultants.

At the core, you are an E-commerce and Performance Marketing practitioner who can both set strategy and hold the team accountable to executing it. You will work at the intersection of marketplace commerce, seller growth, performance advertising, data‑driven decision‑making, and people leadership. You understand how online retail ecosystems work — how products are listed, how sellers are activated, how campaigns drive discoverability and sales, and how marketplace metrics translate into real business outcomes for brands.

If you have built and optimised e‑commerce programmes on platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, or equivalent Indian or global marketplaces — that is a strong advantage.

What You Will Do

• Own the overall health and performance of the Endemic Ads / E-commerce mandate — across all seller accounts, pods, and platform relationships.
• Track programme‑level KPIs (seller activation rates, GMV contribution, campaign ROI, revenue targets, SLA adherence) and course‑correct when numbers drift.
• Run structured scrums and reviews with Pod Leads; ensure nothing stays stuck at the pod level without escalation.
• Be the first line of accountability between the delivery team and the Account Lead.

E-commerce Strategy & Seller Growth

• Own the e‑commerce strategy for the mandate — covering catalogue health, pricing competitiveness, content quality, seller onboarding velocity, and marketplace ranking signals.
• Guide sellers on the levers that drive organic discoverability on marketplaces — search rank, ratings, returns, and fulfilment metrics — and align paid advertising to reinforce those signals.
• Identify and activate new seller segments and product categories; work with the pipeline team to prioritise high‑potential accounts.
• Advise clients on marketplace‑specific levers: A+ content, brand store builds, flash sale participation, deal of the day, and category exclusives.
• Track category‑level GMV performance and share of shelf across marketplace platforms; translate these into actionable seller strategies.

Performance Marketing & Campaign Execution

• Set the advertising strategy direction for the mandate — campaign structuring, targeting approach, creative guidance, and beta adoption on marketplace ad formats.
• Review and sign off on campaign plans before they go to clients; ensure alignment between client objectives and marketplace execution approach.
• Guide the team on campaign budgeting, pacing, and spend management — including large‑budget accounts requiring senior oversight.
• Identify scaling opportunities and efficiency levers across the seller portfolio; push the team to act on insights, not just report them.
• Drive adoption of automation and tech tools across the AdOps team to improve reporting speed and campaign precision.
• Oversee all client‑facing reporting — regular and ad hoc — ensuring depth of insight, not just data dumps.
• Lead Monthly, Quarterly, and Half‑Yearly Business Reviews; represent the programme's e-commerce and advertising performance with clarity and confidence.
• Manage a portfolio of 4–6 anchor client relationships directly, while holding programme‑level visibility on all accounts.
• Partner with the Account Lead on new business pitches — marketplace audits, e-commerce health assessments, and strategic recommendations.
• Oversee the seller outreach, onboarding, catalogue audit, and activation pipeline; ensure the team runs a steady, clean funnel.
• Identify gaps in the pipeline early — stalled activations, catalogue gaps, under‑performing sellers, credit blockers — and resolve or elevate decisively.
• Work with Pod Leads to prioritise the seller roster and focus team effort on highest‑potential accounts.

Data, Analysis & Insights

• Hold the standard for analysis quality across the team — push for insights that drive e-commerce decisions, not vanity metrics.
• Oversee ad‑hoc deep‑dives into campaign performance, category share, and seller health; present findings to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Stay current on marketplace trends, platform algorithm updates, e‑commerce policy changes, and competitive activity relevant to the seller portfolio.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Pod Leads, Team Leaders, and Ad Consultants.
• Own Personal Development Plans (PDPs) for direct reports; track progress and course‑correct as needed.
• Build a culture of ownership and accountability in the pods — no postman behaviour, no dependence on escalations for routine decisions.
• Identify hiring needs and support recruitment for the team as the mandate scales.

What We Are Looking For

You bring 5+ years of hands‑on experience in E-commerce and Performance Marketing — ideally in a digital agency, a D2C brand, a marketplace‑first environment, or a retail media team. You understand how online retail works from the inside: listing, ranking, advertising, and sales measurement. You have managed real seller portfolios and advertising budgets, and you know what good looks like.

• Deep understanding of how Indian e-commerce marketplaces work — Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Meesho, or similar — including how the seller ecosystem, catalogue requirements, ad formats, and ranking algorithms function.
• Experience managing performance advertising campaigns on marketplace platforms — Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Display, and DSP — with the ability to guide strategy and review execution.
• Understanding of e-commerce metrics that matter: GMV, ROAS, TACOS (Total Advertising Cost of Sale), conversion rate, return rate, share of shelf, and buy‑box win rate.
• Proficiency with marketplace tools and dashboards — Flipkart Seller Hub, Amazon Seller Central, Myntra Partner Portal — as well as ad platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager.
• Proven ability to manage a team of 5–10 people — Pod Leads, Executives, and Analysts — and hold them to outcomes.
• Strong analytical mindset: comfortable building performance narratives from data, not just pulling dashboards.
• Clear, confident communicator — with clients in Business Reviews and with leadership in programme updates.
• Strong project management instincts: you can track multiple workstreams, spot risk early, and drive resolution without waiting to be told.

What Sets You Apart

• You have run end-to-end e-commerce programmes — from onboarding a seller and setting up their catalogue through to driving their first sales and scaling their ad spend.
• You understand the full marketplace funnel: discoverability (SEO and ads), conversion (content and pricing), and retention (ratings, reviews, repeat purchase).
• You have managed large advertising spends (₹1 Cr+ per month) across marketplace and non-marketplace channels, and know how to keep pacing, quality, and ROI in balance simultaneously.
• You have built programmes or processes from scratch — scrums, reviews, seller SOPs, reporting cadences — not just inherited them.
• You think in seller outcomes and business growth, not just campaign metrics. You know that a healthy seller catalogue and customer experience drives sustainable ad spend.
• You’re comfortable being the "accountability anchor" — the person the team comes to when things are stuck, and the person leadership comes to when they need a clear picture.