Attention Arc is hiring: Media Director in Durham

Director, People & Experience at Attention Arc; SHRM-CP

At Attention Arc, we exist to make media matter. As part of our Activation team — the Operators & Negotiators — you shape how programmatic strategy, innovation, and operational excellence come together across some of our most important client relationships. Directors operate at the intersection of leadership, strategy, and craft: guiding teams with clarity, elevating thought leadership, and ensuring our programmatic work is intentional, insight-driven, and delivered with care.

As a Director, Programmatic, you are responsible for stewarding a portfolio of business, growing client trust, and setting the standards of excellence for the discipline. You champion cross-functional partnership, strengthen team capability, and ensure our work reflects the depth, rigor, and humanity at the center of Attention Arc’s values. You lead through The Arc Code — showing up all in, building trust through collaboration, exploring with curiosity, and communicating with honesty and heart.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Tracking & Monitoring

• Lead measurement strategy across your portfolio, ensuring tagging, reporting, and data flows accurately reflect client KPIs.
• Guide teams in diagnosing performance trends, identifying risks early, and resolving complex issues with clarity and confidence.
• Strengthen the quality of reporting and insights, ensuring outputs are concise, narrative-driven, and strategically relevant.
• Uphold analytic rigor across teams, modeling best practices in Excel, Tableau, SQL, Python, and data storytelling.
• Ensure operational consistency and excellence by setting clear expectations and maintaining disciplined workflows.

Development & Implementation

• Architect programmatic strategies that translate client goals into actionable, platform-specific plans across display, mobile, video, OTT, CTV, and audio.
• Lead programmatic components of RFPs, POVs, and new business efforts, bringing sharp audience thinking and platform innovation.
• Provide high-level oversight of campaign structure, taxonomy, QA, pacing, and optimization frameworks.
• Partner with DSPs to evaluate new capabilities, guide pilot opportunities, and integrate innovation into client roadmaps.
• Establish and evolve best practices that improve efficiency, quality, and cross-team collaboration.

Analytics & Insights

• Lead client-facing conversations by transforming complex data into clear insights and forward-looking recommendations.
• Ensure dashboards and reporting tools are designed for clarity, actionability, and strategic alignment.
• Shape budget strategies based on performance patterns, audience behavior, and predictive insights.
• Champion thoughtful experimentation by designing structured test-and-learn plans that deliver meaningful learning.
• Connect platform insights to broader marketing and business outcomes, identifying cross-channel opportunities for growth.

Professional Skills, Leadership & Team Development

• Serve as a senior strategic partner to planning, account, analytics, and creative teams — ensuring work is cohesive, intentional, and integrated.
• Build trust‑based client relationships through honest communication, clear guidance, and strategic perspective.
• Lead and mentor supervisors and emerging leaders with empathy, accountability, and a focus on craft development.
• Foster a culture of shared ownership, curiosity, and collaboration through consistent modeling of The Arc Code.
• Support staffing, resourcing, operational improvements, and capability building across the team and discipline.
• Represent Programmatic in agency‑level initiatives and strategic planning efforts.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• Extensive programmatic expertise — 7+ years across major DSPs with the ability to guide strategy at both the client and portfolio level.
• Strategic clarity — a talent for distilling complexity into direction that is simple, actionable, and tied to outcomes.
• Analytical depth — advanced skills in Excel, Tableau, Python, SQL, or similar tools, paired with a curious mindset that turns data into insight and insight into action.
• Leadership grounded in care and accountability — you coach with empathy, set clear expectations, and create an environment where teams feel supported and empowered.
• Operational excellence — the discipline to manage multiple workflows, build efficient processes, and ensure consistent quality across the team.
• Client partnership rooted in Truth With Heart — you communicate with honesty and empathy, navigate challenges with steadiness, and build trust through reliability.
• A collaborative, no‑ego approach — aligned with No Sidelines, you share information freely and strengthen cross‑team partnership.
• Future‑focused thinking — you anticipate needs, identify opportunities, and help both clients and teams move forward with intention.
• A mindset of curiosity and innovation — staying ahead of industry shifts and helping shape how Attention Arc evolves its programmatic practice.

WHO YOU ARE

You are a strategic leader who brings vision, structure, and clarity to programmatic strategy and operations. You bridge high‑level thinking with pragmatic execution and guide teams toward excellence. You are a trusted advisor, a disciplined operator, and a mentor — someone who strengthens both the work and the people behind it.

• All In: You take full ownership of programmatic strategies and client relationships, operating with conviction, consistency, and a deep sense of responsibility.
• No Sidelines: You unify planning, analytics, activation, and account partners to cultivate an environment where collaboration drives better thinking and better work.
• Move With Curiosity: You explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and use data to illuminate possibilities and inspire smarter decisions.
• Truth With Heart: You deliver clear, honest communication — guiding teams through ambiguity, navigating challenges with steadiness, and supporting talent growth with empathy.

Location

This is a hybrid role requiring three in‑office days per week. To maximize collaboration, we are considering candidates who could be based out of one of these offices: New York City, Irvington, NY, or Durham, NC.

Salary Range

Our estimated range for this role is $130k - $150k. Compensation packages are based on the skill level and experience each candidate brings to their role. There may also be a more senior or junior position available that could be a better fit with your expertise. Each level has its own compensation range.

Right To Work In The US

You must be authorized to work in the US for any employer. At this time, we are not sponsoring or providing assistance with obtaining work authorization.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401(k)