Senior Direct Investment Manager

Jellyfish•New York, NY

1d•$85,000 - $110,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Direct Investment Manager is a hands-on, strategic role responsible for the execution, performance, and growth of Direct Buys and Affiliate Partnerships for Gerber Life. Acting as both operator and integrator, this individual ensures campaigns are effectively planned, executed, and optimized to drive measurable business outcomes in a highly regulated financial services environment. This role plays a critical part in building and managing relationships with premium publishers, (d)OOH vendors, and a diverse network of affiliate partners (such as NerdWallet and Forbes). Working seamlessly across a dual-stack tracking ecosystem (Impact and Everflow) and in close partnership with internal strategy, planning, and paid media teams, this person ensures cohesive execution and strong performance across all direct investment channels. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, understands the technical nuances of long-cycle lead generation, acts as a strict gatekeeper for audience quality, and brings a proactive, ownership-driven mindset.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in media strategy, planning, and execution, particularly in large-scale, multi-market campaigns.
Proven track record of managing enterprise affiliate partnerships (such as NerdWallet and Forbes).
Hands-on experience navigating complex or dual-stack partnership platforms (specifically Impact and Everflow).
Deep expertise in the technical affiliate ecosystem, including Server-to-Server (S2S) tracking, delayed offline conversion windows, publisher models, and commission structures.
A data-focused mindset with a sharp ability to vet publishers based on specific audience demographic criteria.
Ability to operate both strategically and tactically, balancing big-picture thinking with hands-on technical execution.

Nice To Haves

Experience in regulated industries (e.g., financial services, insurance, education) with longer sales cycles is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own performance across direct media and affiliate partnerships, serving as the primary point of accountability.
Translate complex strategies into clear, actionable plans for clients and internal teams.
Define KPIs and measurement frameworks to track and improve performance across a delayed underwriting/conversion cycle.
Operate independently, making informed decisions and driving outcomes with minimal oversight.
Manage and grow key affiliate and publisher partnerships (e.g., NerdWallet, Forbes), leveraging both Impact (for content creators) and Everflow (for lead aggregators).
Act as a strategic audience gatekeeper, ensuring all onboarded partners align strictly with our core demographic profiles (e.g., middle-class households, family decision-makers, and grandmothers) rather than generic traffic.
Proactively source, evaluate, and onboard new partners to unlock incremental growth while maintaining strict brand safety.
Lead or support partner negotiations, contracting, and commercial structuring to protect media efficiency.
Stay ahead of industry trends and bring forward new ideas across Premium Publishers (including CTV) and (d)OOH.
Own end-to-end campaign execution, from setup through ongoing optimization.
Oversee complex tracking infrastructure, ensuring accurate tracking of delayed offline conversions, Server-to-Server (S2S) routing, and postback mechanics.
Enforce strict regulatory compliance, auditing partner content to ensure adherence to approved life insurance claims, disclosures, and pricing.
Monitor performance closely, identifying opportunities to improve lead quality (CPQL) and scale.
Manage budget pacing and ensure alignment with client goals.
Partner closely with media strategy, planning, paid media, and analytics teams to share insights on publisher quality and backend lead validity.
Ensure alignment across teams to drive cohesive execution and maximize impact.
Serve as a senior, client-facing lead for direct investment and partnership strategies.
Lead client meetings, clearly communicating performance, technical stack recommendations, and insights.
Deliver clear, data-driven reporting with actionable insights, translating complex affiliate data into executive summaries.