Associate Director, Digital Activation (Financial)

Omnicom Media US PHD•New York, NY

1d•$70,000 - $125,000•Hybrid

About The Position

PHD is a global communications planning and media buying agency network delivering smart strategic thinking and creative innovation for the world’s leading brands. The Associate Director of Digital Activation (Programmatic & Direct) is both a strategic thinker and hands-on leader responsible for owning activation across a high-profile Financial Services account. This individual will drive performance, shape activation strategy, and lead a team through continued growth and complexity within the digital ecosystem. The Associate Director will work closely with the Senior Director to set priorities, allocate responsibility, and measure team performance, ensuring best-in-class execution across all programmatic and direct channels. This role requires a strong command of trading, optimization, and partner management, coupled with the ability to operate at scale and influence senior client stakeholders. As a key leader on the business, this individual will help evolve digital activation, drive innovation, and elevate team capabilities while maintaining a strong focus on accountability, precision, and performance outcomes within a highly regulated financial category. This is a high-impact leadership role on one of the world’s most recognized financial brands. You will have the opportunity to own foundational performance channels, shape how Programmatic and Direct evolves, and play a key role in advancing full-funnel strategy, innovation, and measurement. This role offers immediate visibility, ownership, and the ability to make a meaningful mark on both the account and broader practice.

Requirements

Deep expertise in programmatic performance marketing
Ability to translate data into clear insights and business impact
Strong client leadership and communication skills
Proven ability to own strategy and execution in complex environments
Proactive mindset with a focus on growth, innovation, and continuous improvement
Having a passion for advertising and establishing yourself as a thought leader within the office
Staying up to date on industry trends and partner updates
Proactively bringing new opportunities to the team
Proactively bring new ideas for the account for broader business impact
Day-to-day lead on client communications
Bachelor’s degree or relevant post-secondary education, training, or equivalent experience
5+ years of experience in programmatic and/or digital activation
Hands-on keyboard experience with DSPs (Yahoo!, The Trade Desk, DV360, Google Ads) and programmatic ecosystems
Experience executing across display, video, native, and direct publisher buys
Strong understanding of financial advertising regulations, data usage, and compliance considerations
Proficiency in ad serving and measurement tools
Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into insights and business impact
Proven team leadership or mentoring experience
Strong client communication and presentation skills
Ability to manage multiple workstreams in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment
Strong negotiation and partner management skills

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor Programmatic/Direct Investment team members, setting clear expectations and performance standards
Manage team resourcing and ensure efficient use of talent across workstreams
Support onboarding, training, and development of team members
Establish and reinforce best practices, processes, and frameworks
Foster a collaborative, accountable, and solutions-oriented team culture
Own Investment performance and identify opportunities to drive incremental growth
Develop strategies aligned to client business goals across awareness, consideration, and conversion, with a focus on bottom-funnel tactics
Identify and test new partners, products, and approaches
Contribute to broader practice development and innovation initiatives
Own end-to-end execution of programmatic and direct publisher campaigns
Translate client strategy into actionable activation plans, ensuring alignment with business goals across awareness, consideration, and conversion
Drive in-platform optimization including bidding strategies, audience refinement, inventory selection, and creative testing
Ensure effective and compliant use of data signals (1P, 3P, contextual), particularly within Financial Services guidelines
Maintain rigorous pacing, delivery management, and troubleshooting across all campaigns
Build and maintain strong relationships with programmatic platforms, SSPs, data providers, and premium publishers
Manage large-scale partner relationships alongside the Senior Director to anticipate future needs and unlock value
Identify and test new partners, products, and deal structures to drive incremental performance
Stay ahead of industry trends and evolving programmatic capabilities, particularly as they relate to privacy and financial advertising