Associate Director, Affiliate Partnerships

Company Description

Zenith is one of Publicis Groupe’s largest media agencies, spanning 95 markets globally with US offices in New York, Burbank, Chicago, Atlanta and Detroit. For more than 30 years, we have been at the forefront of media, helping to evolve and reshape the industry. We are highly regarded as a true agency partner by many high‑profile brands for our expertise across numerous categories and wide range of capabilities that are unparalleled in the industry.

Clients hire us for our track record of excellence in strategic planning, investment, and measurement. We also have specialist offerings, including content, commerce, multicultural and future‑proofed data capabilities.

About PubW:

PubW is a tailored business unit set up to bring the full power of the Publicis Groupe together to support Walmart’s media and data needs. Through our Power of One model, we put Walmart at the center bringing together specialists in strategy, media investment, data, influencers, commerce, and content delivering a highly connected, purpose‑led and collaborative approach for our clients. PubW’s mission is to help Walmart navigate a period of intense change, continually keeping them “one more step ahead”.

This means challenging conventions, driving continual progress, and pushing the marketplace to keep Walmart at the forefront of the media industry. Our approach is grounded in using data and technology to connect with real people across the full funnel, ensuring that Walmart’s investment in media is directly contributing to innovative marketing experiences, driving brand and business growth.

Overview:

Zenith is looking for a hard‑working Associate Director, Affiliate Partnerships to manage always‑on affiliate strategy and activation for Walmart. You'll lead a team of affiliate and commerce specialists, manage a portfolio of publisher, creator, and platform partnerships, and serve as a trusted commerce advisor to client and integrated teams. The AD effectively demonstrates experience, knowledge, and hands‑on skills to push fresh thinking while balancing client, agency and team needs with the assistance of the VP and EVP.

This position reports directly to VP Commerce.

• Develop affiliate and social commerce strategies aligned to client marketing, campaign, and profitability goals.
• Act as the senior affiliate and social commerce voice in the room, presenting performance results, recommendations, and industry perspectives to senior client collaborators.
• Own always‑on channel performance and optimization across core performance levers, including traffic, conversion, ROAS, AOV, repeat rate, LTV, and contribution margin.
• Manage and grow relationships with publishers, creator platforms, influencer networks, and commerce technology partners.
• Develop commission strategies, incentive frameworks, and partner tiering models that drive productivity and retention.
• Own end‑to‑end affiliate operations, including onboarding, attribution, commissions, invoicing, payouts, governance, and lifecycle management.
• Demonstrate financial competence through experience managing invoicing, reconciliation, and budget ownership.
• Build scalable workflows and documentation, finding opportunities to automate and simplify processes.
• Lead and develop a team of affiliate and commerce specialists, setting clear expectations and ensuring high‑quality delivery across multiple clients, partners, and campaigns while keeping collaborators aligned on priorities, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Maintain a detailed understanding of the affiliate landscape, industry trends, challenges, and driven activity, and translate insights into scalable opportunities for clients.

• B.A. or B.S., preferably in Marketing, Advertising, or a related field.
• 4+ years of experience in affiliate marketing, partnerships, social commerce, or performance marketing, including experience leading programs across multiple partners, clients, or categories.
• 2+ years of experience managing junior staff.
• Hands‑on fluency with , CJ, or a comparable affiliate platform; you have managed programs directly, not just reviewed dashboards.
• Proven track record working…