Lead Operations - TV Audience Measurement

NielsenIQ; City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality; On-site; ZAR 1 142 000 - 1 523 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consumer intelligence company is seeking a Lead Operations professional for TV Audience Measurement in Johannesburg. This role demands extensive experience in audience measurement and broadcast operations, overseeing data quality and compliance. You will manage panel operations, vendor relationships, and client communications while leading a high-performing team. The position offers an opportunity to shape the future of audience measurement in South Africa within a dynamic environment, adhering to international compliance standards.

Benefits

Flexible working environment

Volunteer time off

Qualifications

• 10+ years in audience measurement or broadcast operations.
• 5+ years in senior leadership.
• Experience with South African TV ecosystem.
• Familiarity with panel methodologies and cross-platform measurement.
• Compliance expertise in POPIA and international security standards.

Responsibilities

• Deliver daily audience data to market on time (T+1).
• Oversee panel recruitment and maintenance.
• Manage data ingestion from various sources.
• Run production processes for data quality assurance.
• Drive readiness for BRC audits and compliance.
• Lead client support and incident communication.
• Build and lead high-performing operations team.

Skills

Audience measurement expertise

Broadcast operations knowledge

Data platform operations experience

Stakeholder management

Risk and incident management

Strong communication skills

Tools

Cloud data platforms

ETL pipelines

Job description

Lead Operations - TV Audience Measurement

• Full-time
• Career Site Team: Operations

The Lead Operations is responsible for the end-to-end operational delivery of South Africa’s official TV audience measurement currency, ensuring robust, timely, and accredited reporting across linear broadcast, time‑shift, and streaming/OTT platforms. This role oversees panel health, data ingestion and processing, quality assurance, vendor performance, and client service operations, ensuring compliance with local governance (BRC) and international best practices.

Key Responsibilities

1. Currency Operations: Deliver daily audience data to market on time (T+1) as per GfK standards and agreed with client; define and enforce SOPs, SLAs, and runbooks; chair Change Control Board.
2. Panel & Field Operations: Oversee panel recruitment, installation, maintenance, and retention; manage meter technology; ensure POPIA compliance.
3. Data Ingestion & Integration: Operationalize ingestion from broadcast logs, RPD, ACR signals, and streaming census feeds; maintain metadata structures.
4. Processing & QA: Run production processes for weighting, imputation, deduplication, co‑viewing; implement multi‑layer QA.
5. Accreditation & Compliance: Drive readiness for BRC audits and accreditation; ensure POPIA compliance.
6. Vendor & Partner Management: Manage SLAs with fieldwork agencies, data suppliers, and technology vendors.
7. Client Operations & Governance: Lead client support and incident communication; represent Operations in industry committees.
8. People & Performance: Build and lead a high‑performing operations team; own operations budget and resource planning.

Qualifications & Experience

10+ years in audience measurement, broadcast operations, or data platform operations; 5+ years in senior leadership. Experience with South African TV ecosystem and client governance. Familiarity with panel methodologies, RPD data, and cross‑platform measurement. Strong knowledge of cloud data platforms, ETL pipelines, and QA frameworks. Compliance expertise in POPIA and international security standards.

Operational excellence in mission‑critical environments; strong stakeholder management; risk and incident management under pressure.

Success Metrics

On‑time daily releases (T+1; T+28); panel health and representativeness; system reliability and uptime; audit readiness and compliance. Monitor and manage costs against budgets.

What We Offer

Opportunity to shape South Africa’s TV audience currency for the future; high‑impact role with visibility across the media industry.

NIQ may utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools at various stages of the recruitment process, including résumé screening, candidate assessments, interview scheduling, job matching, communication support, and certain administrative tasks that help streamline workflows. These tools are intended to improve efficiency and support fair and consistent evaluation based on job‑related criteria. All use of AI is governed by NIQ’s principles of fairness, transparency, human oversight, and inclusion. Final hiring decisions are made exclusively by humans. NIQ regularly reviews its AI tools to help mitigate bias and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. If you have questions, require accommodations, or wish to request human review were permitted by law, please contact your local HR representative. For more information, please visit NIQ’s AI Safety Policies and Guiding Principles: https://www.nielseniq.com/global/en/ai-safety-policies.

• Flexible working environment
• Volunteer time off

About NIQ

NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state‑of‑the‑art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. NIQ is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.

For more information, visit NIQ.com

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Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At NIQ, we are steadfast in our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace that mirrors the rich diversity of the communities and markets we serve. We believe that embracing a wide range of perspectives drives innovation and excellence. All employment decisions at NIQ are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We invite individuals who share our dedication to inclusivity and equity to join us in making a meaningful impact. To learn more about our ongoing efforts in diversity and inclusion, please visit https://nielseniq.com/global/en/news-center/diversity-inclusion