Programmatic Manager

Overall Purpose:

This role is part of the Digital team and works closely with Planning, Data, and other media specialists (like AV, Paid Social, and Paid Search). As Programmatic Manager, you’ll run digital ad campaigns from start to finish, using smart strategies and processes to help clients grow.

You’ll be responsible for:

Planning and managing programmatic campaigns
Responding to client briefs and creating media plans
Setting up, trading, and optimizing campaigns
Reporting results and presenting insights to clients

You’ll collaborate with senior leaders to choose the best tools, data partners, and media vendors. You’ll also manage vendor relationships and lead initiatives to improve campaign performance, making sure everything aligns with client goals.

Data and analytics are key in this role. You’ll help shape how the agency measures success and tests new ideas.

This is a client-facing role, so you’ll need to understand how different media channels work together to meet client objectives. Your campaigns will often be part of broader media plans that include both online and offline channels.

You’ll work with a variety of clients, including startups launching their first campaigns. That means you’ll lead onboarding and technical setup.

Key skills and attributes:

3+ years’ experience in programmatic trading: you’re highly proficient in planning, activating, optimising and reporting across diverse campaign types and advertiser categories (ideally across brand & performance objectives). This doesn’t have to be solely agency-side, but some agency experience is strongly preferred.
Strong technical knowledge of the Programmatic specialism: you’ve implemented programmatic strategies, traded across multiple DSPs and activated tests across campaigns.
Strategic capabilities: you’re able to translate clients’ business problems into suitable media KPIs, thinking beyond media metrics. This is not solely an implementational role - you need to be able to translate briefs and brands’ challenges into effective programmatic plans.
Skilled in analytics: you identify and interpret meaningful insights, and proactively ensure they’re acted upon. You have experience running brand uplift studies and working with reporting dashboards.
Able to build and develop strong, positive and productive relationships with clients, as well as vendor contacts, internal teams and other external stakeholders (e.g. creative agencies).

Ideal additional skills and attributes:

Good technical understanding of tagging and tracking systems, ideally with hands-on experience in CM360. Experience in managing Dynamic Creative Optimisation is a plus.

You have experience managing campaigns across multiple DSPs - The Trade Desk, DV360 & StackAdapt are preferred.
Good knowledge of the latest techniques, developments and challenges in the market, e.g. new ad products, data opportunities, tracking developments, and audiences. You monitor and communicate programmatic developments to the wider agency, and ensure they’re integrated into media recommendations and plans. Experience in dashboarding and data querying is a plus.
You’re proactive, positive, collaborative, well-organised, adaptable, numerate, commercially-minded and have strong attention to detail.
You have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and show an aptitude to presenting to senior clients and stakeholders.
You’re able to contribute to internal resources, process development and the upskilling of both colleagues and junior clients.
You ensure that billing is completed accurately and quickly.
You’re passionate about media and communications, and want to do great work that will make our clients and the agency famous.
You’re enthusiastic and proactive about your development, actively working with your line manager and the wider agency to make the most of the training on offer and continually enhance your skillset.
You’re able to participate in pitches, and manage the onboarding of new clients within your channels.