Director, Digital Advertising Operations

Hearst•Charlotte, NC

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Hearst Television is seeking a Director, Digital Advertising Operations to lead the management, optimization, and integration of our digital advertising operations team. In this role, you will manage our digital advertising operations end to end—from order intake through trafficking, optimization and reporting. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to support new product development, streamline workflows, and drive automation and innovation in digital ad operations. You will report to the Vice President, Advertising Operations and Information Services. This role will be based in Charlotte, NC. This role requires in-office presence.

Requirements

8+ years in digital advertising operations/ad tech/platform management; 5+ years in a leadership role.
Expertise with Google Ad Manager and programmatic platforms (DV360, The Trade Desk), OMS/workflow tools, and trafficking processes.
Proficiency with analytics/reporting (Power BI, Tableau, GA4); strong attention to data accuracy and reconciliations.
Excellent cross-functional communication, stakeholder management, and documentation skills.
Familiarity with tag management (e.g., Google Tag Manager) and troubleshooting ad tags.
Knowledge of VAST/VPAID, viewability/IVT, brand safety, header bidding, PMPs, and audience targeting.
Experience with platform migrations, change management, and UAT best practices.

Responsibilities

Take operational ownership of all digital ad platforms and processes from order entry through fulfillment, reporting, and invoicing.
Align trafficking and campaign management standard operating procedures with downstream systems (Order Management Systems, billing, data warehouse, BI) and maintain change control.
Coordinate new product rollouts and platform updates, ensuring proper data flow into reporting, billing, and Power BI dashboards.
Implement and maintain a cohesive change management process for initiatives impacting ad servers and related platforms.
Plan and execute platform migrations and upgrades; lead User Acceptance Testing, cutovers, and post-launch stabilization.
Oversee platform setup, configuration, and maintenance across ad servers (e.g., Google Ad Manager), DSPs (e.g., DV360, The Trade Desk), OMS/workflow, and analytics tools.
Monitor delivery, pacing, margins, and revenue at risk; drive optimizations, manage makegoods, and ensure on-time, accurate reconciliations.
Drive automation (alerts, QA, trafficking, reconciliations) and build clear, up-to-date documentation and SOPs.
Manage vendor relationships and contracts; track license utilization and platform performance against KPIs.
Lead, coach, and scale a high-performing operations team; set SLAs, capacity plans, and career development paths.