Programmatic Account Director

BRAND: Spark Foundry
Job Function: Media Performance
Location: London, United Kingdom
Experience Level: Specialist
Workplace Type: Hybrid

Company description

Who We Are in the UK?

Spark Foundry, the Acceleration Agency.

We help brands to identify, learn and respond to opportunities faster than the competition.

Every client has an area of their business they need to accelerate, from short-term goals to long-term transformation.

We've proven our approach during the most difficult year on record. Now we're using it to provide a launchpad for their future.

Come be an accelerator with us.

How we accelerate

• Planning: an approach that works in practice rather than theory, arming planners with the ability to create cutting edge campaigns
• Intelligence: a suite of tools that give definitive answers to big questions, and uncovers actionable insights about real people
• Trading: a model built on flexibility and trusted relationships, underpinned with bold guarantees
• Relationships: a culture of asking challenging questions to better understand the brief - we are not a 'yes' agency
• People: a strong history of recruiting talent from diverse backgrounds and accelerating their careers

Our Commitment

We are diverse though our experience, people and the clients we look after - and we celebrate that diversity. Our people hold us accountable to our beliefs and via regular surveys and our grass roots D&I team, The Collective, and internal next generation board, Firestarters, we hold regular events and work continually towards generating ideas, initiatives and educating our people to ensure we are a diverse and inclusive agency.

As part of our dedication to create an inclusive and diverse workforce, Spark Foundry is committed to equal access to opportunity for people without regard to race, age, sex, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.

Overview

The Programmatic Account Director is a key leadership role, that will oversee the strategic growth and development of several accounts within the programmatic team.

This is a 12 months fixed-term contract maternity cover.

You will be a trusted advisor to senior clients as well as your colleagues within the agency. With your team of channel specialists, and support from across the agency your primary goal will be to develop client strategy and work closely with your Business Director to ensure that you are bridging client business goals with Publicis' strategic direction. This includes protecting existing revenue and driving growth.

Responsibilities

• Operational excellence - You will be accountable for you and your team delivering the b rilliant basics including QA processes through mandating the use of QA system s to mitigate errors as well as accurate planning and optimisation. These should be continuously assessed in line with changes in platforms and industry updates to maintain their relevance. You will ensure a bsolute financial accuracy and adherence to all processes including t eam training, query management, complying with SLA's as set by the business, PO management, finance tracking via relevant dashboards and ensuring supplier invoices are cleared within the required timelines . This will all be achieved by developing and m aintain ing best practice guidelines and creat ing additional material enabling the team to deliver excellence from planning through to optimisation, reporting and financial reconciliation.

• Media planning excellence - You will be expected to manage and coordinate a team of channel specialists who are creating complex media plans and delivering campaigns across a range of programmatic platforms. You will be expected to champion our best-in-class approach to delivering campaigns, strategy coordination, communication and driving innovation in the way that we plan media. Challenging data partners based on team andclient feedback to drive best-in-class results and that uses data to create privacy-first solutions toclient business challenges.

• Revenue tracking - Your contribution in shaping a client's programmatic strategy through a commercial lens and spearheading innovation will be a critical component of your role. You will work closely with the investment & Performics teams to ensure our efforts within the programmatic channel continuously delivers on our investment strategy and targets for Publicis Media. You will ensure that revenue is tracked accurately and in a timely manner .

• Client sophistication - Working with both your Business Director and Head of Programmatic you will surface product innovation from a client need. Consider potential product development that will add to our programmatic prowess and has the promise to drive organic gro wth . Innovation should also be viewed as driving efficiencies and enabling our teams to deliver complex media plans with the use of automated solutions. Building a test and learn culture amongst your team, delivering on DSP diversification and other transformational approaches .

• Awards - Identify market leading work that has been delivered by you and your team. Proactively, track upcoming award entry opportunities and draft submissions to play your part in the OneProgrammatic team becoming recognised for award winning work.

• Commercial strategy - Yo u and yo ur team will offer media solutions in online display, video, YouTube and BVOD media via self-serve platform trading but also supporting other routes to media execution. Elevating and promoting Publicis Media's in-house solutions will be key to delivering revenue growth for our business with a particular focus on APEX Digital and Guaranteed Outcomes, Epsilon, Performics T&I (Technology and Intelligence) as well as our p rogrammatic inventory solutions such as Publicis Inventory Exchange (PIE). You will be measured on the adoption of these product and services as part of your success metric s .

• Team management - Managing a team of specialists across a client portfolio, y ou will be a leader who creat es an environment where all members of the team have an opportunity to fulfil their potential and deliver exceptional work.

• New Business - Effectively represents their area of expertisewithin new business pitches where required.

Qualifications

• Prior relevant experience within a digital agency, specifically in programmatic disciplines and/or vendors within the programmatic demand & supply ecosystem.

• Comprehensive understanding of the digital advertising ecosystem (Adservers, DSPs, SSPs) and a broader understanding of the UK media marketplace.

• Extensive experience of managing teams. Effective at people management and compliant with following policies and practices in line with the talent team. Good knowledge around recruitment, performance management best practice, motivation, development plans, and issue resolutions.

• Ability to offer consultative advice to large-budget advertisers about their programmatic campaigns. Holisticallyattribution of value relating tothe client's business and marketing successmeasures to report cross-channel marketingoutcomes.

• Strategic experience in identifying & delivering commercial growth - not just in media billings but in new emerging revenue streams. Delivers high value client business strategies andtranslates these into team actions and outputs.

• Champions equal opportunities and supportiveways of working for teammates with equityrequirements by working with the Talent team.Promotesa culture of diversity, equity andinclusion within the team.

Additional information

Spark offers a wide range of benefits to support our employees. Full details are shared when you join, but highlights include core benefits such as Pension, Life Assurance, and Private Medical cover, alongside enhanced policies like Reflection Days and Shared Parental Leave. You'll also have access to a range of additional initiatives, including:

Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG's (Employee Action Groups).

Publicis Groupe works primarily from the office or our clients' office four days per week.

At Spark, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.

We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition - please let us know. We'll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application.

Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.