Media Operations Manager

The Grow Collective; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A digital agency in Cape Town seeks a Media Operations Manager to ensure operational excellence across campaign pods. This senior role involves managing workflow efficiency, quality assurance, and team leadership while collaborating closely with internal and external stakeholders. The ideal candidate has 6-9 years in a media agency, a deep understanding of digital platforms, and exceptional organizational skills. Competitive compensation based on experience, hybrid working model with flexibility around UK hours.

Qualifications

• 6-9 years' experience in a media or performance agency.
• Deep understanding of digital media platforms.
• Strong background in QA, trafficking, and reporting workflows.

Responsibilities

• Oversee operational workflow across all campaign pods.
• Design and improve systems for quality and scalability.
• Lead quality assurance for campaign builds and optimizations.

Skills

Operational excellence

Project management

Quality assurance

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Problem-solving

Education

Experience in a media or performance agency

Tools

Excel/Microsoft

Asana

Smartly

Job description

About Us

We’re a small but dynamic and fast-growing full-service digital agency, expanding into a new division dedicated to servicing our UK agency partner focused primarily on digital media and performance marketing . This team is scaling rapidly, and we’re looking for someone who thrives in fast-paced, growth environments — a proactive problem-solver who can bring structure, clarity, and calm to the chaos.

Think of it as joining a start-up within an established agency: fast-moving, collaborative, and full of opportunity. If you’re excited by the idea of helping build and shape something from the ground up, this is the place for you.

Our team collaborates closely, values each other’s expertise, and takes pride in delivering work that truly moves the needle for our clients. We care deeply about the brands we partner with and hold ourselves to high standards but we also believe in balance. Efficiency, systems, and clarity are how we maintain both quality and sanity.

This new division sits at the intersection of digital performance, operations, and delivery excellence managing large-scale media campaigns across Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, Google, and emerging platforms.

Our culture is collaborative, transparent, and growth-minded . We operate as one team across borders, driven by efficiency, accountability, and high performance without the egos.

We experiment, learn, share, and push ourselves out of our comfort zones because that’s how we grow both as professionals and as people. We do work we enjoy, with people we like, and we strive to make what we do fun, rewarding, and meaningful.

If you thrive in fast-paced digital environments, are passionate about operational excellence, and want to help build something impactful from the ground up, you’ll fit right in here.

Role Overview

The Media Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring operational excellence, workflow efficiency, and delivery quality across all campaign pods within our UK partner division. You’ll oversee the systems, processes, and people that keep performance marketing running smoothly ensuring campaigns are built, optimised, QA’d, and reported on to the highest standard. This is a senior, cross‑functional role that works closely with the Client Partnership Lead, Paid Performance Lead, and managing the Account Manager/Pod Managers to manage capacity, delivery, QA, and reporting across multiple brands and markets.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Management & Workflow

• Oversee the end‑to‑end operational workflow across all campaign pods (Social + Google).
• Design, document, and continuously improve systems and delivery frameworks that ensure consistent quality and scalability.
• Manage resource allocation, workload balancing, and timelines across teams to maintain efficient delivery.
• Ensure processes are followed and updated for campaign setup, QA, optimisation, and reporting.
• Own and manage Asana (or equivalent) for delivery tracking, dependencies, and progress visibility.
• Collaborate with the Paid Performance Lead and Client Partnership Lead to ensure delivery excellence and commercial efficiency.
• Report to the Division Lead on operational performance, delivery quality, risks, and improvement initiatives.

Performance and QA

• Lead quality assurance across all campaign builds, ad setups, optimisations, and reports.
• Work with the Paid Performance Lead to standardise best practices, naming conventions, and campaign structures.
• Support campaign pacing and budget reconciliation processes across all brands.
• Implement QA frameworks for trafficking, tagging, and conversion tracking accuracy.

Process Improvement and Systems

• Identify operational bottlenecks and design process improvements that drive efficiency and reduce duplication.
• Develop SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and ensure consistent application across pods.
• Partner with the UK agency team to align tools, workflows, and reporting standards.
• Support on automation and tool integrations (e.g., Prisma, Datorama, Smartly) to streamline campaign setup and reporting.

Team Leadership and Support

• Collaborate with Pod Managers and Campaign Managers to ensure clear expectations, capacity visibility, and delivery quality.
• Support onboarding and training of new hires to maintain consistent process knowledge.
• Coach junior team members on operational discipline, QA, and delivery excellence.
• Foster a collaborative, high‑performance team culture.

Client and Partner Alignment

• Liaise between UK Account Managers and internal delivery teams to ensure smooth communication and aligned expectations.
• Consolidate and deliver operational updates, performance summaries, and issue escalations.
• Ensure all work aligns with brand standards, platform best practice, and agreed client workflows.

Reporting and Insights

• Track and report on division performance metrics — including efficiency, utilisation, and delivery accuracy.
• Prepare and present operational updates to the Client Partnership Lead and senior leadership.
• Collaborate with the Paid Performance Lead to surface insights and efficiencies across brands and platforms.

Experience and Skills Required

• 6–9 years’ experience in a media or performance agency , with strong exposure to operations, project management, or delivery.
• Deep understanding of digital media platforms — Meta, TikTok, Google, Pinterest, Reddit, Smartly, and other ad tech ecosystems.
• Strong background in QA, trafficking, pacing, and reporting workflows.
• Proven experience implementing and refining agency delivery systems and SOPs.
• Highly organised and process‑driven, with exceptional attention to detail.
• Experienced in cross‑functional collaboration with performance, client service, and analytics teams.
• Excellent communicator with strong stakeholder management skills.
• Proficient in Excel/Microsoft , data validation, and tracking methodologies.
• Experience managing automation or tooling integration initiatives is a plus.

Attributes

• Calm, structured, and dependable — thrives on clarity and order.
• Problem‑solver who finds practical solutions quickly.
• Confident leader with a collaborative mindset.
• Curious, always looking to improve systems and efficiency.
• Respects process, but knows when to flex for progress.
• Positive, proactive, and genuinely invested in team success.

Package

Salary: Competitive CTC (depending on experience)

Start date: November–December 2025 (ideal)

Location: Cape Town (Hybrid – 4 days in‑office)

UK Hours: UK Hours to be maintained, office hours flexi (8am - 4pm/8h30am - 4h30pm/9am - 5pm)

Reports to: Client Partnership Lead (SA) and dotted line to UK Operations