Associate Director, Digital Activation + Programmatic Growth

PHD; New York (NY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Omnicom seeks an Associate Director of Digital Activation (Programmatic & Direct) to own activation strategies for a high‑profile financial services account. You will lead a team, drive performance, and shape in‑market strategies across programmatic and direct channels in a regulated environment.

You will collaborate with the Senior Director to prioritize work, measure outcomes, and ensure best‑in‑class execution while advancing innovation and accountability at scale.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or relevant post-secondary education, training, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in programmatic and/or digital activation.
• Hands-on keyboard experience with DSPs (Yahoo!, The Trade Desk, DV360, Google Ads) and programmatic ecosystems.
• Experience executing across display, video, native, and direct publisher buys.
• Strong understanding of financial advertising regulations, data usage, and compliance considerations.
• Proficiency in ad serving and measurement tools.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into insights and business impact.
• Proven team leadership or mentoring experience.
• Strong client communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.
• Strong negotiation and partner management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor Programmatic/Direct Investment team members, setting clear expectations and performance standards.
• Manage team resourcing and ensure efficient use of talent across workstreams.
• Support onboarding, training, and development of team members.
• Establish and reinforce best practices, processes, and frameworks.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and solutions‑oriented team culture.
• Own investment performance and identify opportunities to drive incremental growth.
• Develop strategies aligned to client business goals across awareness, consideration, and conversion, with a focus on bottom‑funnel tactics.
• Identify and test new partners, products, and approaches.
• Contribute to broader practice development and innovation initiatives.
• Own end‑to‑end execution of programmatic and direct publisher campaigns.
• Translate client strategy into actionable activation plans, ensuring alignment with business goals across awareness, consideration, and conversion.
• Drive in‑platform optimization including bidding strategies, audience refinement, inventory selection, and creative testing.
• Ensure effective and compliant use of data signals (1P, 3P, contextual), particularly within Financial Services guidelines.
• Maintain rigorous pacing, delivery management, and troubleshooting across all campaigns.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with programmatic platforms, SSPs, data providers, and premium publishers.
• Manage large‑scale partner relationships alongside the Senior Director to anticipate future needs and unlock value.
• Identify and test new partners, products, and deal structures to drive incremental performance.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and evolving programmatic capabilities, particularly as they relate to privacy and financial advertising.

Skills

Programmatic activation

Direct activation

Team leadership

Data-driven insights

Client communication

Strategic thinking

DSP platforms

Optimization

Partner management

Education

Bachelor’s degree or relevant post-secondary education

Tools

Yahoo!

The Trade Desk

DV360

Google Ads

Job description

Omnicom seeks an Associate Director of Digital Activation (Programmatic & Direct) to own activation strategies for a high‑profile financial services account. You will lead a team, drive performance, and shape in‑market strategies across programmatic and direct channels in a regulated environment.

You will collaborate with the Senior Director to prioritize work, measure outcomes, and ensure best‑in‑class execution while advancing innovation and accountability at scale.