Senior Media Operations Manager

Carnegie; Westford (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie is seeking a Senior Media Operations Manager to be the senior operations partner on its largest, most complex digital marketing accounts. You will work with Digital Strategists to plan, execute, optimize, and consult, turning strategy into measurable results for clients.

As the team grows, you will help sharpen processes, raise performance standards, and mentor teammates to scale operations while maintaining exceptional client service.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 6-8+ years in digital media operations, media planning, or agency operations.
• Deep knowledge of digital media operations and the full campaign lifecycle.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills; you can run multiple complex accounts at once without dropping the ball.
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills; comfortable influencing clients, leadership, and cross‑functional partners.
• Sharp strategic thinking — you can turn campaign strategy into a plan that actually runs.
• Experience mentoring and developing team members, and raising the bar for the people around you.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills — you catch risks early and find fixes that scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead the client partnership on Carnegie’s largest and most complex accounts, working through planning, execution, optimization, and ongoing consultation.
• Partner with Digital Strategists during media planning, advise on allocations, timing, and strategy feasibility.
• Own campaign operations across your client portfolio—assets, trafficking, QA, launch readiness, vendor coordination, and documentation.
• Mentor Media Operations Associates and Managers, evolve standards, workflows, and QA processes, and support onboarding and training across the team.

Skills

Media operations

Media planning

Campaign management

Executive communication

Strategic thinking

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

Search

Solutions

• Enrollment
• Student Success
• Branding
• Institutional Strategy
• Digital Advertising

Case Studies

• Rice University
• Ohio Wesleyan University
• The University of Mississippi
• Kettering University
• Florida Southern College
• University of Texas at Tyler
• See All

The Senior Media Operations Manager is the senior operations partner on Carnegie’s biggest, most complex digital marketing accounts. Working closely with Digital Strategists, this person keeps campaigns running smoothly from planning through launch and ongoing optimization — combining deep operational know-how with strong media planning skills to turn strategy into results clients can see. As the Media Operations team grows, this role also helps build out the function itself: sharpening processes, raising the bar for the team, and mentoring the people around them.

What You’ll Own

• Client Partnership
  • Serve as the lead Media Operations partner on Carnegie’s largest and most complex accounts, working alongside Digital Strategists through planning, execution, optimization, and ongoing consultation
  • Build trust with clients by leading operational conversations, offering smart recommendations on campaign execution, and acting as a go-to resource on digital media best practices
  • Co-lead onboarding with the Digital Strategist — join planning discussions, run asset collection, get accounts launch-ready, and lead handoffs as needed
  • Present operational recommendations at Quarterly Business Reviews, Annual Performance Presentations, and other key client meetings
  • Handle complex client questions on execution, timelines, media plan changes, and best practices — without needing to be told how
• Media Planning & Strategy
  • Partner with Digital Strategists during media planning — help shape campaign recommendations, weigh channel strategy, and check that plans are actually doable
  • Advise on media allocations, campaign structure, timing, audience targeting, and how to execute well
  • Lead complex revisions to media plans as client priorities shift, while staying aligned with the strategy set by the Digital Strategist
  • Spot operational risks and opportunities to improve performance before they become problems
• Campaign Operations & Execution
  • Own campaign operations across your client portfolio — assets, trafficking, QA, launch readiness, vendor coordination, creative production, landing pages, and documentation
  • Manage forecasting, budget adjustments, opportunity funds, launch sequencing, refresh schedules, and campaign transitions
  • Work closely with media, analytics, creative, project management, and outside vendors to keep execution seamless
  • Serve as the final quality check before complex campaigns launch, making sure everything lines up with strategy and Carnegie’s standards
• Team & Process Improvement
  • Mentor Media Operations Associates and Managers — share what you know, guide them through tough client situations, and support their growth
  • Help evolve Media Operations standards, documentation, workflows, and QA processes
  • Partner with pod and Digital leadership to find ways to improve processes, roll out AI tools, and automate work — while staying hands-on with client work
  • Support onboarding, training, and knowledge-sharing across the team

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• 6-8+ years in digital media operations, media planning, campaign management, or agency operations; extensive agency experience strongly preferred
• Deep knowledge of digital media operations and the full campaign lifecycle
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills — you can run multiple complex accounts at once without dropping the ball
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills; comfortable influencing clients, leadership, and cross‑functional partners
• Sharp strategic thinking — you can turn campaign strategy into a plan that actually runs
• Solid grasp of media planning, forecasting, budgeting, and managing operational risk
• A track record of improving processes and managing complex digital marketing accounts
• Experience mentoring and developing team members, and raising the bar for the people around you
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills — you catch risks early and find fixes that scale

Why This Role

This role exists because Carnegie’s biggest, most complex client engagements need an operational leader who can hold it all together — the planning, the execution, the quality, and the client relationship. You’ll own some of the agency’s most important accounts, help shape how the Media Operations team works, and grow into a bigger leadership role as the function scales.

About Carnegie

For more than 30 years, Carnegie has been a leader and innovator in higher education marketing and enrollment strategy, offering groundbreaking services in the areas of Research, Strategy, Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Slate Optimization, Student Search, Website Development, and Creative that generate authentic connections.

Learn more about who we are, what we do, and what we care about.

No phone calls or unscheduled visits to the office, please. Carnegie is an equal-opportunity employer.