Associate Director, Integrated Media

About the role

Set the strategic direction for integrated media across a portfolio of complex clients and business challenges
Translate client business priorities, audience needs, market conditions, competitive dynamics, and performance data into clear media investment strategies
Guide teams in developing integrated plans across paid search, paid social, programmatic, display, video, streaming, direct media, traditional media, and emerging channels
Ensure media strategies reflect the full customer journey and clearly define the role of each channel, audience, message, and investment
Challenge teams to connect platform and channel recommendations to broader marketing and business outcomes
Oversee annual planning, major campaign planning, portfolio investment strategy, and long-term media roadmaps
Guide the development of KPI frameworks, testing strategies, measurement plans, and investment priorities
Evaluate strategic tradeoffs across growth, efficiency, scale, reach, frequency, brand impact, and measurable business performance
Provide senior-level review and direction on complex media plans, presentations, and strategic recommendations
Ensure media strategies remain adaptable to changes in client priorities, market conditions, consumer behavior, technology, and performance
Establish a consistent standard for strategic quality across assigned accounts and teams
Oversee the performance, strategic health, and delivery quality of a portfolio of accounts
Ensure teams are proactively managing toward client business goals, not only platform or campaign metrics
Identify portfolio-wide trends, risks, opportunities, and areas requiring senior intervention
Guide teams through complex performance challenges and high-stakes investment decisions
Evaluate whether media programs are delivering meaningful business impact and recommend strategic shifts when needed
Oversee budget allocation, reallocation, scaling decisions, and performance recovery strategies
Ensure optimization and testing approaches are supported by clear hypotheses, measurable objectives, and actionable learning agendas
Establish expectations for proactive account management, performance communication, and strategic evolution
Monitor client confidence, account health, delivery quality, and team effectiveness across the portfolio
Identify opportunities to expand agency capabilities, increase media investment, or deepen client relationships
Partner with agency leadership on client retention, recovery, and growth strategies
Escalate significant performance, financial, operational, or relationship risks with clear context and recommended solutions
Define expectations for how teams measure, analyze, and communicate media performance
Ensure reporting and analysis connect media activity to client business outcomes and strategic priorities
Guide teams in moving beyond descriptive reporting toward meaningful interpretation and decision-making
Evaluate the appropriate use of attribution, incrementality, lift studies, marketing mix modeling, business data, and platform reporting
Partner with analytics and measurement leaders to improve tracking, reporting systems, data quality, and performance visibility
Help clients understand the strengths, limitations, and appropriate applications of available measurement approaches
Guide the development of KPI frameworks, benchmarks, forecasting models, and performance targets
Ensure test results and account learnings are documented, shared, and applied across the portfolio
Identify measurement gaps and champion solutions that improve confidence in media decision-making
Connect media investment to lead quality, customer acquisition, revenue, sales, brand impact, or other relevant business outcomes
Use portfolio insights to influence broader agency approaches, best practices, and strategic recommendations
Serve as a senior strategic media partner to client executives and key decision-makers
Lead high-level conversations related to business goals, media investment, performance, market opportunity, and long-term planning
Build a deep understanding of client industries, business models, customer journeys, competitive environments, and growth priorities
Influence client decisions through clear strategic recommendations, data, market context, and sound business judgment
Guide clients through performance challenges, organizational changes, market shifts, and changes in consumer or platform behavior
Communicate complex media concepts, risks, and tradeoffs in clear and accessible business language
Establish realistic expectations and provide transparent guidance on what media can and cannot accomplish
Build client confidence through proactive leadership, strategic foresight, accountability, and consistent follow-through
Partner with Client Strategy and agency leadership to align media recommendations with broader business and marketing priorities
Lead or support sensitive client conversations, performance recovery plans, and relationship-management efforts
Identify and advance opportunities to expand the agency relationship, introduce new capabilities, or increase strategic value
Represent the Integrated Media team in executive-level client meetings, annual planning sessions, and business reviews
Lead cross-functional collaboration across Integrated Media, Client Strategy, analytics, creative, organic, web, and other agency disciplines
Ensure integrated teams operate against a shared business and audience strategy
Bring together the appropriate expertise to solve complex client, performance, and operational challenges
Influence broader agency strategy by contributing media insights, market intelligence, and client needs
Ensure media recommendations are informed by creative, messaging, customer experience, landing-page, measurement, and organic considerations
Resolve cross-functional ownership, communication, quality, and workflow gaps
Establish clarity around roles, responsibilities, decision-making, and accountability across major initiatives
Represent Integrated Media in leadership, planning, staffing, and operational discussions
Strengthen collaboration and knowledge-sharing across disciplines
Advocate for integrated solutions that improve both client outcomes and agency delivery
Help evolve how Integrated Media works with other departments as agency capabilities and client needs change
Lead, coach, and develop Sr. Managers, Managers, and other assigned team members
Establish clear expectations for strategic leadership, client ownership, performance management, and people development
Help Sr. Managers and Managers strengthen their judgment, delegation, coaching, communication, and decision-making
Hold team leaders accountable for the quality, performance, and health of their accounts and teams
Provide ongoing feedback, coaching, and development planning
Support performance reviews, succession planning, promotion readiness, and career-path decisions
Identify high-potential talent and create opportunities for expanded responsibility and visibility
Address performance or leadership gaps directly and constructively
Ensure work is delegated effectively across teams based on account needs, capacity, strengths, and development goals
Monitor team workload, utilization, morale, and resourcing across the portfolio
Partner with department leadership on staffing plans, hiring needs, team structure, and organizational development
Support onboarding, training, and continued education across Integrated Media
Build a culture of accountability, strategic curiosity, collaboration, inclusivity, and continuous improvement
Develop future leaders who can independently manage complex clients, teams, and business challenges
Establish and reinforce consistent standards for planning, activation, quality assurance, optimization, reporting, and client communication
Ensure teams follow the appropriate governance, documentation, approval, and risk-management processes
Identify recurring operational, quality, staffing, or communication issues and implement scalable solutions
Guide the development and adoption of department playbooks, templates, workflows, and best practices
Improve how teams manage budgets, timelines, staffing, deliverables, reporting, and account documentation
Partner with department and agency leadership to improve resource planning, utilization, and delivery models
Ensure appropriate senior oversight is in place across high-risk, high-investment, or strategically important accounts
Identify opportunities to use automation, AI, and technology to improve efficiency, accuracy, and strategic capacity
Evaluate where processes should be standardized and where teams require flexibility
Lead department initiatives that strengthen quality, scalability, and team effectiveness
Ensure operational concerns and portfolio risks are communicated clearly to senior leadership
Help the department evolve its structure and processes as client needs and agency capabilities change
Help define how the Integrated Media team responds to changes in technology, platforms, consumer behavior, privacy, and measurement
Maintain a strong understanding of the evolving media landscape and its implications for clients and the agency
Evaluate new platforms, vendors, tools, partnerships, and capabilities based on strategic value, operational feasibility, and business impact
Guide the adoption of automation, AI, data solutions, and emerging media opportunities
Ensure innovation efforts have a clear strategic purpose, implementation plan, and measurement framework
Build senior relationships with platform representatives, media partners, vendors, and technology providers
Identify opportunities for agency partnerships, preferred relationships, pilot programs, and early access
Lead or contribute to agency points of view, thought leadership, training, playbooks, and industry education
Encourage teams to test new ideas while maintaining appropriate quality

Qualifications

A minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in integrated media, with a focus on leading complex accounts.
Proven track record of setting and executing successful media strategies that drive business growth and ROI.
Experience in managing multiple accounts simultaneously, ensuring alignment with broader business goals and client priorities.
Strong strategic acumen, ability to translate business objectives into actionable media plans, and a deep understanding of the latest media trends and technologies.
Excellent leadership skills, including the ability to mentor and develop junior team members, and a demonstrated history of building high-performing teams.
Adept at communicating complex media concepts to non-technical stakeholders and influencing senior-level decision-makers.
Demonstrated success in managing budgets, scaling operations, and driving performance improvements across multiple channels.