Associate Director, Horizon Futures, Channel

Overview

The Associate Director, Future of Channel is a critical member of the Horizon Futures Channel team. The role reports to a VP or SVP and collaborates on agency initiatives, leading projects, and mentoring direct reports.

• Support agency thought leadership publications and initiatives, including thought‑provoking and actionable points of view on channel consumption, emerging opportunities, forecasting, and predictions of evolving behavior, market shifts, and technology that will influence media strategy and innovation. Propose initiatives to take on as lead, coached by the manager.
• Develop collaborative and influential relationships with Business Solutions, Investment, Analytics, and other internal stakeholders.
• Establish strong relationships with key media partners of Horizon and clients for shared initiatives.
• Build client exposure and relationships under the supervision of the manager.
• Attend agency and industry events and develop recaps of key takeaways to keep Horizon at the forefront of marketplace trends and innovations.

• Develop understanding of and advocate for marketing strategy best practices by leveraging both external and internal resources.
• Work with the manager to advise Business Solutions teams and other stakeholders on higher‑order strategic questions related to channel‑led projects (e.g., consumer journey work, budget setting, custom work, forecasting).
• Represent the Futures perspective in client meetings and internal discussions.

• Support agency partnerships and evaluation of media measurement and currency providers.
• Build expertise on Horizon’s blu. platform, understanding its capabilities, data sources, and how to engage marketing sciences for advanced analyses.
• Proactively monitor the data and measurement landscape to identify complementary resources or those to evaluate within the blu. ecosystem, and recommend solutions for clients in partnership with Analytics.

• Collaborate closely with Horizon Futures’ Consumer & Culture and Multicultural teams to ensure understanding and application of evolving capabilities.
• Proactively develop knowledge of and relationships with Horizon’s COEs, BST, Investment and Horizon Holdings services.

• Help manage Channel‑led contracts, cultivate partner relationships, assist the manager in developing proposals for Finance and leadership, and monitor licenses, spend commitments and timelines.
• Develop and source training on proprietary and syndicated Channel tools to empower BSTs, Investment and other stakeholders.
• Support testing of Channel resources, and testing and beta needs of other internal teams.
• Support the product team on blu. and other resource development initiatives.

• Oversee ongoing training and professional development for team members, ensuring fluency with the blu. platform, AI, advanced analytics tools, proprietary resources, and new communication channels.
• Mentor any direct report(s) to support their growth, independence, and managerial skills.
• Participate in all mandatory Horizon training initiatives and the mentorship program.

Bachelor’s or higher degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Data Solutions, Analytics or a related field. Minimum of 6–7 years of relevant experience in insights, strategy, data solutions and resource development within the media, marketing, or technology sectors. Exceptional organizational, project‑management, and multitasking abilities. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Word), Nielsen, Comscore, AI agents and models, media research/reporting resources, data visualization, and business intelligence tools.

Experience managing people is preferred.

A strategic thinker passionate about leveraging insights, data, and research to drive business growth and innovation in dynamic environments. An engaging and persuasive storyteller who translates complex data into compelling narratives. Curious, adaptable, and committed to continuous learning, with the ability to synthesize…