Director, Activation

Kepler; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare/Dental/Vision

Unlimited PTO

401k Contributions

Wellness stipend

Mobile phone stipend

Internet stipend

Learning stipend

Tuition stipend

New Hire home office stipend

Parental Leave

Job summary

Kepler, a leading marketing partner, seeks a Director of Activation to lead media strategy within Client Solutions. You will bridge advanced media execution with business development, acting as a primary growth engine across a global IAT.

You will guide cross-channel campaigns, translate activation capabilities into strategic client recommendations, and mentor teams through onboarding and ongoing optimization.

Qualifications

• 8-10+ years of digital media experience, with leadership in multi-sector accounts.
• Channel-agnostic media expertise across Social, Programmatic, Search, Video, Audio and Direct IO.
• Strong communication and analytical skills to present to C-suite, and familiarity with MMM/MTA.

Responsibilities

• Serve as cross-channel activation SME, designing media plans that scale client growth.
• Identify organic growth opportunities through cross-channel expansion and tech integrations.
• Lead and mentor activation teams during the first 90 days of new client engagements.

Skills

Digital media leadership

Cross-channel activation

Strategic client growth

C-suite communication

MMM/MTA analytics

Job description

About Kepler

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.

Company Culture

• 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.

Role Summary

As Director of Activation, you will be a lead media strategist and primary growth engine within our Client Solutions group. Designed for a "builder", this high-impact role bridges the gap between advanced technical media execution and ongoing business development.

You are an enterprise leader across a global IAT including individual LOBs across the account who sets the standard for client excellence, co-authors long-term growth plans with Strategy counterparts, and activates integrated cross-channel campaigns across your portfolio. In this role, you will translate Kepler’s activation capabilities into strategic client recommendations—treating world-class execution as our strongest driver of business growth.

Key Responsibilities

Growth & Business Development

• Activation Subject Matter Expert: Serve as the cross-channel activation SME, designing media plans that scale client growth.
• Revenue Expansion: Identify organic growth opportunities through cross-channel expansion, media audits, advanced testing frameworks, and tech integrations.
• Proposal Innovation: Partner with Strategy and Data Science & Analytics (DS&A) teams to productize agentic-powered activation capabilities into market-leading client offerings.

Strategic Activation & Media Leadership

• Strategy Partnership: Translate audience insights and investment strategies from Strategy and COE partners into tactical, high-performing campaign architectures.
• Full-Funnel Ownership: Lead media execution and onboarding for new client engagements, presenting recommendations confidently to senior stakeholders.
• Platform Mastery: Maintain deep expertise across the evolving ad-tech landscape to ensure activation strategies remain cutting-edge.

Team Leadership & Operations

• Mentorship & Onboarding: Lead and mentor activation teams during the critical first 90 days of new client engagements, fostering a culture of curiosity, speed, and precision.
• Operational Excellence: Establish and enforce campaign setup and optimization best practices across portfolio teams and new business pitches.
• Tech Innovation: Serve as a key feedback partner for KIP (Kepler Intelligence Platform), shaping platform evolution to meet client needs.

What We’re Looking For

• 8-10+ years of digital media experience, with 3+ years in a leadership role managing a multi-sector account with large-scale spend ($50M+).
• Growth Mindset: Motivated by client partnerships, new business, and adept at showing clients how technical execution solves business challenges.
• Channel Agnostic: Holistic media understanding across Social, Programmatic, Search, Video, Audio and Direct IO.
• Strong Communicator: Ability to distill complex technical media strategy into clear growth narratives for C-suite executives.
• Analytical Fluency: Familiarity with measurement models (MMM, MTA) to anchor activation strategies in verifiable data.

Total Compensation

• Base Salary: $140,000 - $160,000
• Target Annualized Discretionary Bonus: 10% ($14,000 - $16,000)
• Target Total Cash: $154,000 - $176,000

Benefits

• Healthcare/Dental/Vision
• Unlimited PTO
• 401k 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. 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.