VP, Programmatic Strategy & Operations

Canvas Worldwide • El Segundo, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Canvas Worldwide is seeking a VP of Programmatic Strategy & Operations to support the SVP of Programmatic & Activation Technology. This role involves strategic media development, cross-functional partnership, and operational excellence for a team of over 33 people managing significant media investment for major brands. The ideal candidate thinks in systems, simplifies complexity, and has a strong understanding of how programmatic media should function.

Requirements

• 10+ years in programmatic media with progressive responsibility, moving from execution to strategy to leadership.
• Expert-level knowledge of the programmatic ecosystem, including how DSPs, SSPs, identity, data, and measurement work together.
• A track record of developing sophisticated programmatic strategies that drive business outcomes.
• Real experience building measurement frameworks beyond last-click (incrementality, multi-touch, brand lift, custom attribution) and partnering with analytics teams.
• Deep technical platform knowledge: DV360, The Trade Desk at minimum, plus working familiarity with ad servers, CDPs, clean rooms, and identity solutions.
• Experience managing senior direct reports (Directors and above) with emotional intelligence to coach, challenge, and retain high performers.
• Agency experience required, understanding internal politics, client expectations, and cross-functional alignment.
• Automotive account experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic development of programmatic media plans, including channel selection, DSP strategy, audience construction, deal structures, and budget allocation.
• Design media strategies across CTV, display, video, DOOH, and emerging formats, focusing on how each channel contributes to business outcomes.
• Translate client briefs and investment strategies into sophisticated programmatic plans.
• Demonstrate mastery of the programmatic ecosystem (DSPs, SSPs, DMPs, CDPs, clean rooms, identity graphs, etc.) and its interconnections.
• Serve as an internal authority on the evolving programmatic landscape (signal loss, identity resolution, contextual targeting, attention metrics, MFA/brand safety) and translate this into actionable strategy.
• Own the relationship between programmatic and the broader biddable ecosystem (paid search, social) to ensure integrated efforts.
• Partner with activation technology and engineering on proprietary tooling, providing strategic input for product development.
• Build measurement frameworks that answer real business questions (incrementality, path-to-conversion, cross-channel attribution, audience quality).
• Partner with analytics and data science teams to develop custom testing frameworks.
• Own the reporting narrative for key accounts, translating complex programmatic data into clear, credible insights connected to client objectives.
• Build non-standard reporting frameworks for accounts where standard metrics are insufficient.
• Maintain hands-on fluency across major DSP environments (DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP) and advanced features.
• Understand trafficking structures, pixel implementation, brand safety controls, frequency logic, and bid landscape mechanics to identify and prevent errors.
• Provide technical direction on audience strategy, including segmentation, lookalike modeling, and data marketplace evaluation.
• Evaluate and pressure-test new ad tech partnerships with technical rigor.
• Serve as the primary operational lead for the programmatic team, managing escalations, QA oversight, and capacity management.
• Directly manage Directors and Associate Directors, providing strategic coaching.
• Bridge programmatic with investment, strategy, analytics, and local teams to reduce friction and improve quality.
• Partner with the SVP on organizational design, hiring, and staffing models.

Benefits

• Generous medical, dental, vision, pet insurance, commuter benefits, disability and life insurance coverage
• 401(k) matching
• Up to 14 holidays per year
• A “Do Good Day”
• Unlimited PTO
• Employee social and wellness events
• DEI Council
• Auto purchase rebate program
• Monthly wellness allowance
• In-office amenities such as fresh kombucha and an in-house barista

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed