Director, Media Operations

Company description

Mars United℠ Commerce is a global commerce marketing practice that aligns people, technology, and intelligence to make the business of our clients better today than it was yesterday. Our worldwide capabilities coalesce into four key disciplines — Strategy & Analytics, Content & Experiences, Digital Commerce, and Retail Consultancy — that individually deliver unmatched results for clients and collectively give them an unparalleled network of seamlessly integrated functions across the entire commerce marketing ecosystem.

These disciplines are powered by our industry-leading technology platform, Marilyn®, which helps marketers understand the total business impact of their commerce marketing activation, enabling them to make better decisions, create connected experiences, and drive stronger, measurable results. Learn more at

We're seeking a Director, Media Operations.
Candidates must reside within a commutable distance to the Mars Rogers, AR or Chicago office for a hybrid work schedule.

The Director, Media Operations will be a practical business partner to media teams within a complex, multi-agency environment. The candidate will be responsible for media and financial operations, integrating multiple parties across the media team, process improvements, systems management, general reporting, and driving compliance. They will coordinate and support the media finance process flow — specifically regarding budgeting, billing, and forecasting — with oversight of ad operations, and will ensure end-to-end operational excellence for the client.

We are looking for a leader with expertise in marketing technology and media performance management and measurement. The ideal candidate is a dot connector with an analytic mindset, problem-solving skills, and the ability to organize and track multiple projects simultaneously. They should be proactive, resourceful, agile, and a creative problem solver who can foster client relationships and partner with clients to work through process changes, partner concerns, and forward-thinking ideas.

• Serve as the media business partner across agency financial teams.
• Manage budget, billing, and financial compliance.
• Improve and streamline existing media budget forecasts, actuals, and billing processes, ensuring all reconciliations are completed according to client guidelines.
• Provide supportive guidance and consultancy across client billing, working closely with key partners including Media Strategy & Activation teams, Finance Operations, and Corporate Accounting:
  • Track client budget approvals through the client’s budget management system
  • Ensure communication of approved funding is disseminated amongst the appropriate parties within the paid media team
  • Billing for paid media
  • Scheduling changes
  • Special client requests
  • Bridge with shared financial services and agency teams
  • Invoices
• Prepare billing verification and budget management reports drawing from Guidelines Planning and Media Ocean/Prisma.
• Work with internal partners to resolve discrepancies prior to monthly billing.
• Analyze and explain variances.
• Track client payables and receivables, answer client questions, and resolve issues.
• Coordinate billing approvals with inter-company partners.
• Prepare ad-hoc reports for internal and external clients.
• Manage the monthly budgeting process and coordinate resolution of all forecast and billing-related issues.
• Work with the client to verify and reconcile any issues with the reporting of actuals.
• Offer administrative support, training, and troubleshooting for the Guidelines Planning platform.
• Ensure team and personal deliverables are met on time; steward workflow and project management.
• Support key account leadership with assessing and communicating…