Associate Director, Client Activation

Socket.dev; New York (NY); On-site; USD 130,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) employer match

Premium health, vision, and dental

Mental health benefits

Parental leave

Job summary

Morning Brew Inc. seeks an Associate Director, Client Activation to lead a team of managers and contributors responsible for post-sale execution of integrated marketing partnerships.

You will partner with Sales, Creative Strategy, Editorial Operations, AdOps, and others to ensure campaigns meet scope, timelines, and budget. The role blends people management with client-facing responsibilities, requiring strong leadership, strategic thinking, and a client-centered mindset.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of leadership in marketing partnerships or ad operations.
• Experience managing a team of managers and ICs.
• Proven track record in client service and revenue retention.

Responsibilities

• Oversee post-sale execution across multimedia, on-site, and experiential offerings.
• Develop and manage a team of Sr. Leads, Leads, and Associates.
• Collaborate with Sales, Creative, Editorial, and AdOps to meet KPIs and budgets.
• Maintain strong client relationships and ensure timely delivery of campaigns.
• Drive process improvements to optimize cross-department workflows.

Skills

Media planning

Client management

Team leadership

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Tools

Google Drive

Keynote

Sheets

OMS

IMS

Monday.com

Job description

At Morning Brew Inc., we mix what you need to know with our unique brand of wit to attract, and build real relationships with, the next generation of business leaders. We speak to them like people, ensuring they get the context and insight needed to make decisions every day. Loyalty and trust are our most valuable currencies.

Whether scrolling, reading, watching, or listening, our audience trusts us for credible, entertaining business content that makes an impact on their personal and professional lives.

The Morning Brew team is clever, creative, and growing fast. Want in? Read on.

OVERVIEW

The Associate Director, Client Activation will be responsible for managing and developing a team that oversees key integrated marketing partnerships with Morning Brew’s clients. This will be a management role focusing on developing a team of managers + individual contributors. The team’s core objective is post-sale execution and white-glove service across our custom offerings (multimedia, on-site & experiential) through campaign recap.

Our positions are remote hybrid; however, this employee will need to be able to work from our Morning Brew HQ in NYC minimum 3x days a week.

The Associate Director, Client Activation will be responsible for revenue retention & cross-functional collaboration with key stakeholders. This role will interface with internal teams, not limited to, Sales, Creative Strategy, Branded Content, Editorial Operations, AdOperations, Production, Social, Experiential, Account Management as well as external vendors. Additionally, this role is client facing and will involve you acting as a point of contact for our clients, as needed, throughout the execution process to ensure program elements are executed per requirements, scope of project, timelines, and budget

WHAT YOU'LL DO

You'll be focused on 3 primary buckets: People Management & Development, Client Service & Retention, and Internal Operations

• Media Planning & Strategy: Supporting the Account Management team with pre-sale strategy based on client’s KPIs, budget, timing, capabilities, etc.
• Client Onboarding: Owning the advertising partner’s transition from pre-sale to post-sale, establishing KPIs and other benchmarks for success and facilitating external kick-off calls.
• White Glove Service: Facilitate smooth creative process, maintain campaign timelines, manage client feedback, and ensure approval prior to launch.
• Client retention, renewal and growth: Collaborate with the Account Executive and Account Management team to develop client renewal strategy based on performance and client objectives.
• Management: Oversee and collaborate with two to three Sr. Leads, Leads and / or Associate team members to balance workload and responsibilities for campaigns, while maintaining direct responsibility for one or more major programs
• Development: Hiring, onboarding, and developing a team of direct reports. You will be responsible for managing team bandwidth, developing your managers on how to become coaches, hosting team meetings, and developing learnings & development trainings based on team needs.
• Creative Execution: Work closely with internal teams to execute a variety of custom content deliverables including custom articles, social media posts, audio, creator activations, video, and experiential.
• On-Set Experience: Manage on-set experiences with clients + internal production teams, acting on the liaison for both parties. Travel expected.
• Identifying Process Optimizations: Identifying, evaluating & suggesting key workflow optimizations to support cross-departmental teams.
• Upward + Cross-Functional Collaboration: responsible for frequent interactions with Senior Leadership + key stakeholders across the company.
• Delivery: Collaborate with the Ad Ops team to monitor creative implementation, tag delivery, QA-ing of media, execution and delivery, and ensuring KPIs are achieved and optimized from a media standpoint.

MANAGERIAL REQUIREMENTS

• 5+ years of management experience.
• Manage minimum 3x direct reports.
• Responsible for onboarding + training of that individual and managing continuous check-ins.
• Responsible for developing talent (managers + individual contributors)
• Ability to prioritize workload + time management effectively.
• Ability to provide direct feedback.
• Ability to decipher when to be an individual contributor and when to be a manager.
• Ability to support direct reports on their day to day work.
• Ability to manage up appropriately to leadership.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• 8+ years experience in media working with cross-functional teams in a digital or creative environment
• 5+ years of management experience working with minimum of 3 direct reports- training, managing + growing talent
• Strong track record in client service & management with an eye towards revenue retention strategy.
• Self-starter who thrives in both independent and collaborative work with the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment
• Strong problem solving skills and a solutions-oriented approach.
• Detail-oriented with outstanding organizational and communication skills to manage multiple projects and internal work relationships
• Ability to read the room & collaborate effectively.
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills
• Strong management & leadership qualities
• A pragmatic, enthusiastic, and empathetic attitude
• The ability to get the best out of the people and the projects you oversee and deliver feedback with tact
• Passionate about Morning Brew and the work we do
• Strong EQ
• No ego.

BONUS POINTS

• Experience working with multiple client categories
• Familiarity with Google Drive, Keynote, Sheets, OMS, IMS and project management software like Monday.com
• Experience in video, audio, custom content production
• Experience in branded content production
• Experience in Experiential Management

COMPENSATION

$130,000 - $140,000 base *Final offers for this job will be made within the parameters of the salary range provided, commensurate with experience. Total offer package to include benefits highlighted under our perks section below

HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER

Respectful Cando

r -- We believe that engaging in timely, constructive, and open discourse is an act of respect that makes for a more transparent and productive work environment.

Empathy

-- We establish a strong partnership of trust with our co-workers and partners. We build human connections in order to understand each other.

Inclusivity

-- Morning Brew Inc is deeply committed to fostering a transparently inclusive workplace environment, and people of color, women, people with disabilities, veterans, and LGBTQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

HOW WE TREAT OUR WORK

Curiosity

-- We learn every day through deliberate inquiry and exploration. We re-examine assumptions to be a better company, offer better products, and become better colleagues.

Accountability

-- We celebrate our successes and own our failures. Taking responsibility for our actions allows us to learn from our experiences.

Bias Toward Action

-- We know speed matters in business so we embrace quick and calculated risk-taking. We understand that many actions are reversible and therefore we are solutions-oriented, even when facing obstacles and challenges.

Challenger Mentality

-- We don’t allow ourselves to be comfortable with our success. We are hungry to become the best and create more value for our audience.

Clarity of Purpose

-- We understand the “why” in our work, which helps us to operate at our highest level of performance and efficiency.

PERKS

While being surrounded by a bunch of cool people who look great in crewnecks is its own reward, we have plenty more to offer.

Brew’s HQ:

Pick an adjustable standing desk or cozy corner and load up on free coffee (duh) and snacks at our new two-story office space in NYC’s Flatiron District.

401(k) employer match:

We want to help you prepare for the future, now.

Premium health, vision, and dental plans:

Your health matters!

Mental health benefits:

Personalized plans and programs to promote your mental well-being.

Extra help when you need it:

Including a care concierge, plus free access to One Medical and the Calm app.

Family planning:

Want to join #brewparents? Generous paid parental leave and fertility coverage for eligible employees.

Employee Resource Groups:

Black Coffee, LGBTQ Brew, AAPI Brew, Cafe Con Leche, and Grounded

Gym and workout class reimbursements:

It pays to be healthy.

Annual learning credit:

Want to learn something new? We’ll reimburse you.

BRIEF BREW HISTORY

Morning Brew Inc. was founded in 2015 by two entrepreneurial college students who noticed their peers were not consuming legacy media resources about business and finance news, but had a high desire to learn about those topics. What started as a small on-campus email has since evolved into a multi-channel media company that operates 20+ unique content franchises. All while maintaining our witty, honest and engaging tone that millions of loyal MBI audience members rely upon daily to better navigate the world.

In 2020 a majority stake in MBI was acquired by Axel Springer SE and in February 2025 that position was increased to full ownership of the business. Axel Springer SE is a family-owned, transatlantic media company headquartered in Berlin and New York that is committed to the values of a free and informed society. To learn more about Axel Springer SE and what defines us, visit http://axelspringer.com/en/what-defines-us.