Associate Director, Investment

Company Description

Starcom is the Human Experience Company; we believe that our clients’ competitive advantage lies in understanding people better, and acting on that understanding faster than the competition.

The future lies in bringing together media, creativity and data to create powerful experiences that will drive faster growth. We are the flagship Publicis Media agency to do this through our Power of One client teams that span clients such as Stellantis, P&G, Samsung, P&O and Visa.

We work differently to most agencies and base many of our models on consultancy ways of working to build a more agile workforce in this hybrid world. We complement our account teams with Squads – small teams that work for a short period to solve a specific brief. We hold cross discipline Sprints to crack client briefs at speed. These processes are designed to fuel high performance and fast results through collaboration.

Even in this most challenging period, Starcom has had an exceptional 12 months. We have welcomed brilliant clients such as Stellantis, Ferrero, Axa, KP Snacks and E.ON into the fold. Our client satisfaction scores are among the highest in the market, significantly above agency norms. We place a huge focus on our team and have driven flagship DEI and L&D programmes within Publicis Media; our goal is to help every individual reach their fullest potential and we encourage everyone to make “Brave Plays” in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign’s Best Places to Work in 2021.

Starcom operates in over 100 markets across the world. We have very close ties to our global HQ in Chicago who encourage learning and sharing best practice with our colleagues around the world. We are part of Publicis Groupe.

Job Description

The Digital Investment Associate Director is responsible for managing the team that handles our clients’ day-to-day digital business and investment operations. The Associate Director develops and implements processes and best practices to ensure digital investment success for our company and clients.  The Associate Director works on a variety of accounts and understands our digital systems, data needs, and media buy structure to improve process efficiency. The ability to problem-solve and work well with various internal and external teams is a critical aspect of this role. This role provides the opportunity to work on cross-agency projects that drive business goals (both for Starcom and our clients) and increase efficiency across the agency.

Role Objectives:

• Develop and improve processes to ensure data integrity and implement across the agency
• Share ideas and solutions for pain points/problems in processes; work alongside internal and external teams to develop best practices, and enhancements
• Develop and implement processes to improve the work required for digital buying, client billing, and digital reconciliation
• Develop processes to ensure data integrity and implement across the agency
• Maintain a strong understanding of the systems used such as Mediaocean–Prisma digital buying tool, Ad Servers/Verification, DSPs, Social Platforms, DMPs, and internal proprietary tools
• Serve as an escalation point for teams to help troubleshoot operational issues
• Determine and activate how to deliver necessary data to teams for various reporting purposes 
• Ensure proper digital contracts and terms are in place with vendors, evaluate IO notes requested by vendors
• Share best practices and learn from other teams in Publicis to ensure consistency and best work product across The Groupe
• Build and maintain strong relationships across multiple internal teams and leadership
• Maintain relationships with vendors to ensure trust and confidence with our buying partners
• Manage vendor-side billing and maintain close oversight of open items clearing
• Cultivate a team-focused mentality across the larger Investment Operations team
• Responsible for team management and development of Associates/Sr. Associates/Supervisors

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, communications, consumer insights or equivalent
• 5+ years of related experience and 3+ years of management experience
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with diverse groups
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Technical proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite with a heavy focus on Excel
• Knowledge of agency billing process (client-side and/or vendor-side)
• Knowledge of digital planning and buying process with an understanding of various vendors, different cost methods, vario