Head of Ad Operations

GroupM is the leading global media investment management company serving as the parent to WPP media agencies including Mindshare, EssenceMediaCom, and Wavemaker, as well as the programmatic digital media platform, Xaxis, each global operations in their own right with leading market positions. With 800 people based in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, GroupM’s primary purpose is to maximize performance of WPP’s media agencies by operating as leader and collaborator in trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. GroupM’s focus is to deliver unrivalled marketplace advantage to its clients, stakeholders and people.

**YOUR ROLE IN A NUTSHELL**:
The role of head of ad operations is oversee and lead the delivery of ad operations services for GroupM clients, including management of the national ad operations team. As the lead for this business division you will also be the custodian of ad operations excellence across GroupM and ensure that this is reflected across all facets of our business. You will work with various stakeholders, from heads of digital through to buying teams, to be both the figurehead for ad operations craft and to supervise delivery to these standards.

You are the ‘Yoda’ of ad operations, and so will be a key supporter of agency new business efforts and client-facing capabilities where required. Alongside this, you will also create, deliver, and oversee training & development that motivates our people and provides our clients with the best ad operations practice in Australia. This extends to official recognition of these capabilities through certification, accreditation, and awards.

In addition, you will oversee and lead the centralised ad operations teams that service the group, maintaining levels of engagement, process excellence, client satisfaction, and commercial outcomes as expected across all GroupM Services.

This role will work closely with the technology and transformation teams to support national tent pole initiatives as agreed with the chief technology and transformation officer and head of performance.

**REPORTING OF THE ROLE**:
General Management - GroupM Nexus Performance

**KEY OBJECTIVES**:

- People: employee engagement and regrettable turnover; certification rate
- Process & operations: continuous improvement of craft excellence, process cycle time
- Client: client (agency) satisfaction
- Commercial: clients under management w/scope; creation and commercialisation of ad operations agency capabilities, error rate

**KEY STAKEHOLDERS**:
GroupM Nexus teams, specialty businesses, GroupM agencies and their clients, commercial directors, trading & investment, vendors, publisher partners.

**WHAT YOU SHOULD SPEND YOUR TIME DOING**:
For our business to work, you will be required to spend time of certain areas of the business and make sure that your (direct and indirect) reports do the same. Your key responsibilities are as follows:
**People**
- Live and breathe the GroupM values every day
- Via matrix management, oversee ad operations across our network
- Work with people leads to attract, develop, and retain the best ad operations talent in market
- Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, rigour, and development to the team in a variety of ways
- Work with the people team to develop and own the ad operations onboarding experience for all new starters
- Grow skills and capabilities of the team through custom-developed training and certification programs

**Process & operations**
- Collaborate with agency and GroupM Nexus stakeholders to understand needs and anticipate areas for improvement
- Oversee ad operations standards across the group, ensuring a continuous improvement of excellence scoring through leadership and strategic intervention
- Lead by example, playing both an ambassadorial role managing in a matrix style with shared accountabilities
- Work with global and regional counterparts, and agencies, to define the optimal process to ensure quality, efficiency, and accuracy in all ad operations delivery
- Identify and implement tools, technology, data, and automation solutions through the group
- Maintain strong vendor and publisher relations including:

- Reviewing potential new ad operations products & partners, and communicating a clear POV (including to external press and partners where necessary)
- Representing GroupM’s needs to existing partners through both formal reviews and day-to-day interaction
- Ensuring that industry developments are quickly and concisely communicated across the group

**Client**
- Support the agency in new business where required
- Maintain a strong view of client satisfaction and proactively develop strategies for improvement in collaboration with agency stakeholders
- Work in tandem with delivery leads to resolve escalations as they arise
- Be a partner to agency chief digital & product/growth officers in leading our network’s ad operations serv