Freelance Associate Director, Programmatic

The Role

The Freelance Associate Director, Programmatic is responsible for leading activation excellence and team performance for a portfolio of enterprise DEPT® clients. Working in close partnership with the Group Director, this role ensures that account and campaign strategies are translated into high-quality execution, operational rigor, and measurable client outcomes.

This role serves as the senior day-to-day leader for the assigned programmatic team, overseeing Managers and Associates across a distributed team structure while fostering a culture of accountability. Collaboration, and continuous improvement. The Associate Director is expected to be a strong people leader, hands-on programmatic expert, and a confident client presence, capable of guiding execution, troubleshooting complex challenges, and maintaining best-in-class activation standards.

What You'll Do

• Lead and mentor a team of Managers and Associates across U.S.-based, nearshore, and offshore teams, fostering professional growth, accountability, and a high-performing team culture.
• Oversee activation excellence across clients & campaigns, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and adherence to platform and account best practices.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for campaign execution, platform troubleshooting, measurement challenges, and operational issues, partnering with internal teams to drive timely resolution.
• Lead campaign architecture, optimization frameworks, and testing execution while driving performance narratives that ensure high-quality execution and continuous improvement.
• Partner closely with the Group Director to translate strategic recommendations into actionable activation plans that drive client performance and business objectives.
• Contribute programmatic expertise and performance insights to support ongoing strategic development, innovation, and testing initiatives.
• Support client engagements by providing programmatic subject matter expertise, performance insights, and activation updates, while partnering with senior team members on strategic discussions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Integrated Media Strategy & Planning, Ad Operations, Data Science & Analytics, and Project Management to deliver seamless campaign execution and measurement.
• Drive operational consistency, documentation, workflow improvements, and quality assurance processes across the programmatic team.
• Promote DEPT®'s values while creating an inclusive, collaborative environment that supports learning, innovation, and growth.

What You Bring

• 5–7 years of programmatic experience, within an agency on fast-paced, agile, enterprise account(s).
• Advanced proficiency across leading programmatic platforms including The Trade Desk, DV360, Amazon DSP, Google Ads, and CM360.
• Confident mastery of campaign activation, optimization, measurement, troubleshooting, and quality assurance across complex programmatic campaigns.
• A “Better Together” spirit, demonstrated through a passion for collaboration, mentorship, and developing future leaders. Proven experience leading and developing teams, with the ability to coach, influence, and create opportunities for others to grow.
• Experience operating as a senior contributor within enterprise accounts, embodying a true “self-starter” mindset. Demonstrated ability to build trust, stay organized, maintain exceptional attention to detail, fluidly manage changing deliverables and deadlines, and communicate effectively across stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate performance data into actionable recommendations and clear business insights.
• A "get sh*t done" mentality when it comes to troubleshooting technical issues or navigating industry shifts.
• Able to balance strategic thinking with operational execution, comfortably moving between high-level recommendations, story-led presentations, and detailed campaign reviews.
• A collaborative, curious, and solutions-oriented approach aligned with DEPT®'s values and culture.