SOME & SEM Associate Director

About the Role The Associate Director for SOME & SEM manages daily workflow for the activation/investment team across programmatic buying within the dentsu network (Carat, dentsuX, iProspect). They oversee tactical development, campaign activation, pacing and optimizations, and contribute to reporting, ensuring high-quality outputs and campaign performance. The AD also mentors the team, supports Activation Leads with timelines, and helps cultivate a collaborative, knowledge-sharing culture. What You'll Do

• Manage daily team operations and campaign excellence, ensuring best practices across activation/investment teams.
• Articulate optimizations, rationale, results, and recommendations in reporting commentary and client calls.
• Develop tactical recommendations across platforms and audiences; identify and test emerging tech solutions.
• Be an expert on buying platforms and ensure adherence to defined campaign management processes.
• Oversee QA and operational best practices; provide training and mentorship to direct reports.
• Manage expectations, timelines, and priorities with direct reports; delegate to foster accountability.
• Update Activation Leads on team performance, campaign health, and strategic growth opportunities.
• Contribute to thought leadership, POVs, or collateral to raise knowledge across digital and programmatic investment teams. What We're Looking For
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent; at least 5 years' experience in programmatic and digital advertising.
• Experience managing a team and leading a high-performing group.
• Strong experience across all digital media channels and the ability to articulate channel strategies.
• Solid understanding of business concepts and client objectives to identify expansion opportunities.
• Exceptional project management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to articulate optimizations, results, and recommendations in client-facing contexts.