Director of Ad Operations

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title: Director of Ad Operations

Reports to: CTO

Position Summary

The Storygize Director of Ad Operations is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and executing the strategic vision for all digital ad delivery and performance across the Storygize platform. This position leads the Ad Operations team, overseeing the real-time bidding, yield management, inventory quality, and campaign execution to maximize profitability while ensuring

superior client objective achievement and satisfaction. The Director will drive operational efficiency, help define and utilize the platform's capabilities, and manage every aspect around ad delivery and campaign execution. This role requires a combination of strategic oversight and hands-on execution, especially in complex troubleshooting and campaign setup and

optimization. This position requires close collaboration with Sales, Product Development, and Account Management to align operational capabilities with business goals. Candidates must possess exceptional strategic planning, team leadership, analytical, and communication skills, thriving in a high-growth, fast-paced environment.

Duties, Tasks and Responsibilities

• Define and implement the strategic roadmap for the Ad Operations department, ensuring scalability and efficiency.
• Lead, mentor, and manage the Ad Operations team, fostering a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure the operational team executes all campaigns accurately, in full, and achieves superior client performance goals.
• Provide expert, hands-on support for campaign setup, trafficking, and real-time optimization when required, serving as the top escalation point for critical issues.
• Serve as the primary liaison between Ad Operations and executive leadership, sales, and account management regarding revenue forecasting, campaign delivery, and margin analysis.
• Collaborate strategically with Product Development to prioritize, test, and implement new platform features, technology integrations, and operational tools to streamline workflows and enhance delivery capabilities.
• Lead complex troubleshooting efforts for critical campaign tracking, configuration, and platform integration issues.
• Evaluate and manage relationships with key 3rd party ad-tech and data vendors.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven leadership and people management skills, with the ability to scale and develop a technical team.
• Exceptional strategic planning, decision-making, and general management abilities.
• Deep, expert-level understanding of the programmatic advertising ecosystem (RTB, DSP, SSP, DMP, PMP) and ad-serving technologies.
• Superior communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, capable of influencing cross-functional executives.
• Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills, with a focus on data-driven decision making.
• Demonstrated ability to be hands-on with campaign trafficking, ad server configurations, and troubleshooting.
• Proficiency in advanced data manipulation and reporting tools (e.g., advanced Excel, BI tools etc).
• Ability to operate successfully and strategically in a high-growth, fast-paced environment.

Experience and Education

• BS/MS degree in a relevant field or equivalent practical work experience.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in digital media operations or ad technology.
• 3+ years of experience managing and mentoring a team within Ad Operations or Programmatic Trading.
• Extensive experience working with major DSPs/SSPs (e.g., Doubleclick, DV360, TTD etc) and 3rd party analytics/verification platforms.
• Proven history of hands-on expertise in complex ad-tech configurations, campaign optimization, and real-time troubleshooting.

Our ideal candidate holds an advanced degree or possesses a track record of success commensurate with a Director-level role and has at least 5 years’ experience in digital media operations, including 3+ years managing a high-performing team. The candidate must have extensive experience in audience and contextual buying and strategic oversight of a major trading desk or ad operations function. The candidate should be an expert in data analysis,

highly proficient in advanced Excel or similar BI tools, and adept at managing multiple complex strategic accounts and initiatives simultaneously. They must be comfortable oscillating between strategic planning and rolling up their sleeves for complex, hands-on operational tasks. He/She must possess a deep and current understanding of the programmatic landscape, able to define,

articulate, and drive strategy around DSP, SSP, RTB, PMP, header bidding, and ad fraud mitigation. Exceptional written and oral communication skills are mandatory, as is an organized, strategic, and positive approach to leading the department and solving complex business problems.