Media Buying Cluster Lead

Genius Sports; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Genius Sports is seeking a Media Buying Cluster Lead in the United States. You will design, configure and optimize campaigns, own trading strategies, monitor performance, and deliver client-focused reporting.

You’ll lead a team of traders handling real-money gaming and betting accounts while collaborating with global leaders to drive KPI outcomes. You will report to the VP of Programmatic Trading and work with teams in London, Tallinn, and Medellín as part of a single global practice, in a

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in programmatic media buying, digital advertising, or ad tech.
• Led trading teams with measurable KPI improvements.
• Deep expertise in DSPs, SSPs, ad exchanges, DMPs, and data-driven trading.
• Proven track record in lower funnel acquisition campaigns.
• Strong analytical skills and data-driven decision making.
• Experience with Meta, Snap, X, and Google Ads.
• Ability to manage accounts with multiple activity types.
• Experience querying data and delivering insights.
• Knowledge of inventory partners and SSPs.
• Understanding tagging, ad servers, and 3rd party attribution.
• Experience with MMPs (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Branch, Kochava) and pixels.
• Familiarity with JIRA, Confluence, PowerBI.
• Knowledge of sports media, gaming or betting is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the media buying cluster performance and leadership.
• Coach traders and onboarding new staff for skill growth.
• Manage client communications with high-quality service.
• Escalate and support campaigns at risk within the cluster.
• Execute campaign architecture, bidding and supply strategies.
• Collaborate with global planners to tailor campaign plans.
• Analyze data and optimize CPA/ROAS across accounts.
• Create insightful client reports and weekly deep-dives.
• Codify trading principles into playbooks and processes.
• Ensure consistent campaign setup and taxonomy across clusters.

Skills

Programmatic experience

Trading leadership

DSPs/SSPs/DMPs

Acquisition campaigns

Analytics

Social ads

Account management

Data querying

Inventory partners

Tagging & attribution

Attribution & MMPs

JIRA/Confluence/PowerBI

Sports betting

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

PowerBI

Job description

By bringing together next-gen technology and the finest live data available, Genius Sports is enabling a new era of sports for fans worldwide, delivering experiences that are more immersive, interactive and personalised than ever before. Learn more at geniussports.com.

The Role

The Media Buying Cluster Lead is essential for the design, configuration, and optimization of all media buying campaigns. This role involves collaboration with Business Development and Account Management teams to define campaign objectives, and subsequently own trading strategies to support a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The Lead will be responsible for implementing the campaign setup, continuously monitoring performance, and making necessary adjustments to achieve optimal results. A core function is also to produce detailed, insightful reports for clients detailing campaign performance. Whilst also managing a cluster of media buyers responsible for a book of clients predominantly in real-money gaming, sports betting and performance-led brands. You will be accountable for the KPI outcomes on those accounts as well as your teams’ executional consistency.

You will report to the VP of Programmatic Trading and work alongside cluster leads in London, Tallinn and Medellín as part of a single global trading practice.

Team & Client Management

• Own the performance, manage the bandwidth, lead and develop your media buying cluster
• Coach traders through live optimization decisions to drive self sufficiency and skill growth.
• Run onboarding and ongoing training for new traders, and act as the escalation point for complex or at-risk campaigns in the cluster.
• Seamlessly manage team members and their direct communications with clients and other stakeholders, ensuring high-quality standards and timely problem resolution with excellent service.
• Conduct training for new staff and adjacent stakeholders in client services and sales teams

Campaign Strategy & Execution

• Serve as the senior trading on our largest accounts and own campaign architecture, bidding strategy, supply strategy, budget pacing and KPI performance.
• Create and execute client campaigns based on available data, audience segments, creative assets, and required targeting.
• Liaise with our global media planner to execute comprehensive campaign plans tailored to the nature of each campaign.
• Drive lower-funnel outcomes across acquisition and retention goals, diagnose CPA and ROAS shortfalls to enhance campaign performance.
• Analyze recorded data and implement changes, settings, or modifications to improve the efficiency of the clients' inventory serving pattern.
• Analyze, present, and execute strategic offerings to clients to enhance performance across all media channels.

Reporting & Optimization

• Review and fully understand client reporting tools and attribution models to ensure accurate optimizations and generate value for clients within the cluster.
• Create insightful reports for managed campaigns, including in-depth deep dives and recaps for weekly meetings.

Leadership

• Codify modern trading principles into documented playbooks and build processes to support a growing business across clusters.
• Drive consistency in campaign setup, naming, taxonomy, whitelisting and optimization cadence.

What You’ll Bring

• 4+ years of experience in programmatic media buying, digital advertising, or ad tech, with a strong track record in trading leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in DSPs, SSPs, ad exchanges, DMPs, and data-driven trading strategies. (TTD, Amazon DSP, Moloco and Beeswax in particular).
• A demonstrable track record on lower funnel acquisition campaigns - you can walk through an account you turned around and explain exactly what you changed and why.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data sets and make data-driven decisions.
• Basic knowledge understanding and experience is social and walled gardens (Meta, Snap, X and Google Ads)
• Ability to manage accounts with multiple activity types and complex setups (Acquisition, Branding, Retention, etc).
• Ability to run standard queries to extract data relevant to the managed campaign, provide insights based on the extracted data.
• Clear and strategic understanding and knowledge of inventory partners and SSPs.
• Advanced understanding of tagging solutions, ad servers and digital 3 party attribution partners and ability to navigate through the respective environment.
• Strong understanding of measurement and attribution, specifically ad servers, MMPs (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Branch, Kochava), and pixels.
• Knowledge of internal tools in use with campaign processing such as JIRA, Confluence, PowerBI, and other reporting platforms, etc.
• Understanding of sports media, gaming, betting, or related industries is a plus.

The salary for this role is based on an annualized range of $110,000 - $130,000 USD. In addition to base salary, this role will be eligible for our US benefits and 401k plans.

We enjoy an 'office-first' culture and maximize opportunities to collaborate, connect and learn together. Our hybrid working models differ depending on your role and location.

As well as a competitive salary and range of benefits, we’re committed to supporting employee wellbeing and helping you grow your skills, experience and career. Learn more about how rewarding life at Genius can be at Reward | Genius Sports.

One team, being brave, driving change

We strive to create an inclusive working environment, where everyone feels a sense of belonging and the ability to make a difference. Learn more about our values and culture at Culture | Genius Sports.