Senior Director, Global Ad Tech & Programmatic Strategy

Fixed-Term Contract starting ~April 2026

In a nutshell…

We’re looking for a senior strategic leader to shape the future of a global media planning and ad‑tech ecosystem for a major advertiser. Working closely with the Media Transformation Lead, you’ll set the direction for media technology strategy, governance, and standards, and align teams across product, engineering, data, procurement, and operations.

This is a high‑impact role where you’ll bring clarity to complex decisions, turn strategy into action, and deliver clear, business‑led outputs that protect the client’s proprietary approaches and drive long‑term growth.

What you’ll be doing…

You will be embedded with the client, working as the strategic lead on a programme that will determine how their marketing operating model evolves. The work spans three inter-connected areas. The work moves fast multiple deliverables will need to be developed concurrently, and we need someone who can operate at pace without sacrificing quality or strategic rigour.

Agency and supplier landscape assessment

Map how agencies and suppliers actually use AI, automation, and workflow tools
Cut through claims to assess real‑world capability and maturity
Benchmark automation across holding companies and independents
Deliver a clear landscape view: benchmarks, vendor map, and key players
Identify both established and emerging solutions
Evaluate everything against the client’s specific needs — not generic industry models

Translating findings into planning system implications

Turn market capability insight into clear implications for the client’s operating model and tools
Protect and strengthen the client’s proprietary IP across any new tools or workflows
Map external capabilities across end‑to‑end media activities
Test feasibility and assess integration complexity
Identify critical dependencies across data, identity, and workflow
Lead build‑vs‑buy‑vs‑partner decisions for priority capabilities
Define clear data and identity requirements based on real agency automation practices

Operating model options and recommendation

Develop clear operating model options across technology, talent, and process
Quantify the investment, capability, and change required for each scenario
Validate what works in practice across the client’s priority markets
Produce a scalable global recommendation that can actually be implemented
Build a robust business case covering benefits, costs, and risks
Integrate insights from parallel workstreams and surface key market differences
Ensure alignment with the client’s wider transformation goals

Stakeholder alignment and decision-making

Work across engineering, data, product, procurement, and senior leadership
Drive aligned decision‑making and prioritisation across complex stakeholders
Build consensus and momentum in ambiguous, high‑stakes environments
Produce crisp strategic outputs that senior leaders can act on
Define clear governance principles and decision frameworks
Create the conditions for confident, coordinated execution

About you…

This role sits at the intersection of three areas of experience. You don’t need to have spent equal time in each, but you need genuine depth in all three.

Client‑facing consulting or agency experience

Proven experience solving complex client problems in agency or consulting environments
Comfortable earning trust fast and managing senior stakeholders
Strong at turning strategy into clear decision frameworks and requirements
Confident communicator with executives; simplifies complexity
Delivers high‑quality strategic outputs at pace

Technical depth from a product, engineering, or tech environment

Strong understanding of how ad‑tech and platforms are built, integrated, and scaled
Able to engage credibly on data architecture, APIs, and build‑vs‑buy decisions
Experience translating marketing models into tech and process requirements
Comfortable evaluating data infrastructure, identity, and interoperability
Acts as the strategic owner of the ad‑tech vision, alongside engineering teams

End‑to‑end understanding of the paid media value chain

Clear understanding of how paid media is planned, bought, optimised, and measured
Able to spot friction points across the media lifecycle
Experience benchmarking agency or supplier capabilities and automation maturity
Can design globally scalable media frameworks independent of markets or agencies

About our client

When brands act responsibly in the media and marketing environment, their success deepens. Responsible marketing is a broad set of criteria - from a baseline of standards in brand safety, governance, and compliance through to future-proofing endeavours in sustainability, inclusion and diversity, and ethical marketing practice. Our client’s success hinges on making media and creative fit for progress.
Their team’s passion for diversity, inclusion, sustainability, equality, and ethical practice through responsible marketing is what sets them apart. They help clients realise growth through media, digital, and marketing consultancy.

They are at an exciting and critical phase of growth and, as they evolve, they want to bring together more passionate people who share these values.

We’re all about our business and our client’s businesses reflecting the world around us, which means we embrace diversity and inclusion and promote equity and belonging. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences. Apply as you are, because we’d love to hear from you.

Snr Director, Global Ad Tech & Programmatic Strategy