Associate Director, Local Investment

Publicis Media; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 97,000 - 156,000; Full time

Job summary

Publicis Media Exchange (PMX) seeks an Associate Director, Local Investment to drive local media strategies for a prestigious client roster. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on analysis of market opportunities, buy summaries, and performance reports across TV, radio, OTT, and digital channels.

You will mentor team members, collaborate with Planning/Strategy and Client Leads, and leverage AI-driven insights to optimize investments and deliver measurable results.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Local Media Investment or Media Planning.
• Able to prepare polished presentations and market analyses.
• Experience with TV, Radio, OTT and digital channels.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with Media Ocean Spectra, OX, PRISMA, SQAD and TapScan.

Responsibilities

• Provide thought leadership to client and team engagements.
• Prepare and present Local Landscape and marketplace insights.
• Create Buy Summaries, Added Value, Posts, Audit reports and POVs.
• Mentor client leads and negotiators; manage training and performance.
• Collaborate with Planning/Strategy and Client Leads on innovation.
• Apply AI-driven insights to optimize investments and reporting.
• Drive automation to reduce team effort and costs.

Skills

Thought leadership

Leadership

Communication

Client relationship

Presentation skills

Mentoring

Strategic thinking

Negotiation

AI awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Advertising/Marketing/Business/Communications

Tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Media Ocean Spectra

OX

PRISMA

SQAD

TapScan

Job description

Company Description

Publicis Media Exchange (PMX) is the investment arm of Publicis Media, supercharging our agencies and clients to drive smart application of investment by leveraging scale, marketplace innovation, deeper partnerships, and intelligence. PMX is at the forefront of the converging marketplace, solving industry challenges and executing data-informed, tech-enabled media to help marketers connect with consumers in a measurable way.

Publicis Media Exchange (PMX) is the investment arm of Publicis Media, supercharging our agencies and clients to drive smart application of investment by leveraging scale, marketplace innovation, deeper partnerships, and intelligence. PMX is at the forefront of the converging marketplace, solving industry challenges and executing data-informed, tech-enabled media to help marketers connect with consumers in a measurable way.

Overview

Ignite your career as a Associate Director, Local Investment in the Publicis Media Exchange! As an experienced Media Investment Professional, you already know that Local Media is dynamic and more important than ever, providing clients with market specific strategies that maximize results while reducing waste. Publicis Media Exchange has re-imagined Local Media bringing together our Collective, Digitas, Razorfish, Spark, Starcom, Infinite Roar and Zenith agency leads. Discover the difference that PMX has to offer. Join our team and you could be doing your best work on behalf of our envied client roster. The Publicis Media Exchange activates across all local media channels too, including Television, Radio, Streaming Audio, and Digital Video (OTT/CTV/VOD). Our Client leads bring it all together, the direct link between our clients, our teams and the continuously evolving marketplace. In this role your ability to problem solve, communicate clearly, and engage across all stakeholders will be pivotal to our success.

As a Associate Director, Local Investment You Will

• Bring strong thought leadership to client and team engagements.
• Prepare and present Local Landscape and marketplace to internal teams and external clients.
• Prepare and Present Buy Summary, Added Value, Posts, Audit reports and POVs on market opportunities to strategy counterparts and clients.
• Oversee Supervisor Client Lead(s) and Negotiators for skill development, time and expense reporting, goal and performance reporting.
• Assist Director with projects, VBS integrations and reporting, deliverable progress/timeline management.
• Build relationships with senior Management in the vendor community.
• Manage team training program participation across multiple topics; lead sub committees for team challenges / innovation; mentor Managers/Supervisors to further growth.
• Collaborate with Planning/Strategy & Client Leads brainstorm for increased innovation in client communication and / or productivity.
• Drive process automation improvement to decrease team level of effort.
• Analyze market level costs and collaborate with PMX on pricing benchmarks.
• Participate in New Business - Prepare and Present all areas of Local Media.

This is a perfect opportunity for you if you have 7+ years experience in Local Media and are a confident communicator with great people skills, proven leader, approachable, collaborative, responsible and accountable. It would be preferred that you have advanced knowledge of Microsoft Suite (specific attention to Excel and PPT), as well as experience with OX, Prisma, SQAD, and Tapscan. If you enjoy delivering polished presentations and know how to package, merchandise and sell-in concepts and new opportunities, we want to talk to you!

Responsibilities

• Strong thought Leadership.
• Knowledge of market and industry trends - Prepare and present Local Landscape and marketplace to internal teams and external clients.
• Prepare and Present Buy Summary, Added Value, Posts, Audit reports and POVs on market opportunities to strategy counterparts and clients.
• Supervise Client Lead(s) and Negotiators for skill development, time and expense reporting, goal and performance reporting.
• Assist Director with projects, VBS integrations and reporting, deliverable progress/timeline management.
• Build relationships with senior Management in the vendor community.
• Manage team training program participation across multiple topics; lead sub committees for team challenges / innovation; Mentor Managers/Supervisors to further growth.
• Collaborate with Planning/Strategy & Client Leads brainstorm for increased innovation in client communication and / or productivity.
• Drive process automation improvement to decrease team level of effort.
• Analyze market level costs and collaborate PMX on pricing benchmarks.
• Effectively mentor and develop junior level talent throughout the team, assist Director with talent pipeline and development on an ongoing basis.
• Participate in New Business - Prepare and Present all areas of Local Media.
• Use AI-generated insights to support marketplace POVs, local investment strategies, and client recommendations.
• Leverage AI to identify efficiencies in reporting, audits, workflow management, and investment processes.
• Guide team members on effective and responsible use of AI tools within local investment workflows.

Qualifications

• Proven track record to successfully pick up new skills on the job
• Acute attention to detail
• Successful experience working in a fast paced, deadline driven environment
• Strategic and Analytic Thinker who can see the bigger picture
• Ability to see problems and propose solutions
• Collaborative Spirit who enjoys learning and sharing knowledge with others
• Experience with various media platforms (Media Ocean Spectra OX, PRISMA, SQAD, TapScan)
• Strong understanding of Local Investment measurement including Nielsen & Comscore
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Suite (specific attention to Excel and PPT) able to prepare polished presentations
• Strong ability to write clearly, concisely, and logically
• Strong interpersonal skills - great relationship-builder with clients, vendors, and internal teams
• Have a history strategizing/negotiating to get the job done right and track record of success in media
• You have experience across the macro-video landscape, including OLV, Addressable and VOD
• Preferred: bachelor's degree, ideally with a concentration in advertising, marketing, business administration, or communications
• Approx. 7 Years in Local Media Investment or Media Planning (specific knowledge in Television, Radio and OTT)

Additional Information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [e-mail].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Compensation Range: USD $97,375.00 - USD $155,961.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 11/21/2026.