Manager of Audience Strategy & Operations

Educated Solutions Corp; Bolingbrook (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Educated Solutions Corp is seeking a Manager of Audience Strategy & Operations to lead audience targeting, activation, and workflow across campaigns in a growing retail media organization. This contract-to-hire role suits an experienced professional with first-party data expertise and strong AdTech/MarTech knowledge.

You will collaborate with Sales, Product, Data, and Measurement teams to translate objectives into actionable audience recommendations, while managing external partners and driving

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in retail media, digital advertising, audience strategy, media activation, AdTech, data strategy, or related field.
• Experience developing and executing audience strategies using first-party data.
• Strong understanding of audience segmentation, identity, activation, syndication, and digital media ecosystems.
• Experience with audience management platforms, identity providers, or AdTech/MarTech solutions.
• Experience managing external agency, technology, publisher, or other partners.
• Strong analytical, project management, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Lead audience strategy, targeting, segmentation, and activation across campaigns.
• Translate advertiser objectives into actionable audience recommendations.
• Partner with Sales, Account Management, Product, Data, and Measurement teams on audience strategy and campaign planning.
• Own the end-to-end audience workflow from development and distribution through activation, maintenance, and retirement.
• Manage day-to-day operations and relationships with agency, technology, and publisher partners.
• Establish audience workflows, documentation, governance, naming standards, and activation best practices.
• Monitor audience readiness, platform hygiene, and activation issues, escalating and resolving challenges as needed.
• Identify opportunities to improve audience capabilities, operational efficiency, and campaign performance.
• Evaluate emerging audience technologies, data sources, and industry trends and recommend new capabilities or tests.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives related to audience operations, process improvement, and capability development.

Skills

Audience strategy

First-party data

Audience activation

Analytical thinking

Communication

Problem-solving

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline

Tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

ESC has an exciting opportunity for a Manager of Audience Strategy & Operations to support a growing retail media organization. This contract-to-hire role is ideal for an experienced audience strategy or digital media professional with expertise in first-party data, audience activation, and AdTech/MarTech platforms.

The Manager will serve as a subject matter expert for audience targeting and activation, partnering with internal teams and external agencies, technology providers, and publisher partners.

Responsibilities:

• Lead audience strategy, targeting, segmentation, and activation across campaigns
• Translate advertiser objectives into actionable audience recommendations
• Partner with Sales, Account Management, Product, Data, and Measurement teams on audience strategy and campaign planning
• Own the end-to-end audience workflow from development and distribution through activation, maintenance, and retirement
• Manage day-to-day operations and relationships with agency, technology, and publisher partners
• Establish audience workflows, documentation, governance, naming standards, and activation best practices
• Monitor audience readiness, platform hygiene, and activation issues, escalating and resolving challenges as needed
• Identify opportunities to improve audience capabilities, operational efficiency, and campaign performance
• Evaluate emerging audience technologies, data sources, and industry trends and recommend new capabilities or tests
• Lead cross-functional initiatives related to audience operations, process improvement, and capability development

Must Have Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline preferred
• 5+ years of experience in retail media, digital advertising, audience strategy, media activation, AdTech, data strategy, or related field
• Experience developing and executing audience strategies using first-party data
• Strong understanding of audience segmentation, identity, activation, syndication, and digital media ecosystems
• Experience with audience management platforms, identity providers, or AdTech/MarTech solutions
• Experience managing external agency, technology, publisher, or other partners
• Strong analytical, project management, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint

Nice to Have Qualifications:

• Experience with LiveRamp, Adobe CDPs, SAS, clean rooms, audience marketplaces, or similar technologies
• Experience developing audience taxonomies or segmentation frameworks
• Experience with omnichannel activation, measurement, attribution, or retail media analytics
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives or process improvements
• Experience developing client-facing audience recommendations and presentations
• Familiarity with privacy, identity, and first-party data practices