Associate Director, Commerce (Retail Media)

Associate Director, Retail Media

Company description Starcom is the world's first standalone media agency, a storied innovator that continues to lead the way for many of the world's best brands. Starcom has long been the professional birthplace and proving ground for marketing leaders – CEOs, CMOs, sales leaders, and technology pioneers – and we continue to drive the industry with peerless talent and relentless innovation. From the start, we've known that achieving growth for our clients requires understanding and connecting with real people where they live and work, in ways they value. In an AI era, we remain "Guided By Humanity," a phrase that describes our foundational belief that human expertise must remain in the driver's seat, supported by the best processes and technology. With our proprietary capabilities and Publicis Media's industry-leading resources and clout, we create ideas that move people and drive transformative business outcomes for brands.

Overview As Associate Director, Retail Media, you will lead the strategy, activation, and evolution of retail media programs across sponsored search and programmatic retail audience solutions. Sitting at the intersection of eCommerce, shopper marketing, and brand media, you will partner with clients, retailers, and internal teams to drive measurable business growth both online and in-store. You will translate commerce objectives into full-funnel retail media strategies, guide investment decisions across retail media networks, and ensure programs are executed with operational excellence. In this role, you will serve as a senior client advisor, elevate performance through insights and optimization, and develop high-performing teams equipped to navigate a rapidly evolving retail media landscape.

Responsibilities Lead the development of end-to-end retail media strategies spanning sponsored search, onsite display, offsite programmatic, and emerging retail media formats across multiple retail media networks. Create and present strategic media plans that align retail media and programmatic investments with broader commerce, brand, and shopper marketing objectives. Partner with shopper marketing, eCommerce, brand, analytics, and finance teams to align media investment with retailer sales goals, joint business priorities, and budget frameworks. Oversee planning, activation, optimization, and reporting across on-retailer and off-retailer environments, including retail DSP and audience-based programmatic solutions. Collaborate with senior leaders to evolve processes that improve performance, consistency, and scalability across platforms, clients, and teams. Deliver clear, actionable performance reporting and insights, translating campaign results into strategic recommendations, optimization opportunities, and test-and-learn roadmaps. Maintain accountability for forecasting, pacing, and performance reconciliation in partnership with analytics and finance stakeholders. Serve as a senior point of contact for clients, leading day-to-day communications, recurring status meetings, and strategic working sessions. Advise clients on retail media capabilities, measurement considerations, and evolving best practices, including incrementality and full-funnel impact. Lead, manage, mentor, and develop Managers and Specialists, building strong capabilities across sponsored search and programmatic retail media disciplines. Scale team skillsets through training, coaching, workflow design, and documentation of best practices. Foster a culture of collaboration, curiosity, accountability, and continuous learning. Conduct performance reviews, career development planning, and ongoing feedback for direct reports. Stay current on retail media trends, new ad products, audience solutions, and industry changes, proactively sharing POVs and recommendations with clients and internal teams.

Qualifications Bachelor's degree or higher preferred, preferably in marketing, advertising, business, engineering, statistics, economics, sociology, or equivalent 5+ years of related experience 2+ years of team management experience Hands‑on experience with retail search and retail media DSPs, spanning both on‑retailer and off‑retailer activation. Experience working across major CPG‑relevant retail media networks, including Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, Target Roundel, Kroger Precision Marketing, Instacart Ads, and similar mass, grocery, and convenience retail platforms. Strong understanding of full‑funnel retail media strategy, including the role of retail search in lower‑funnel performance and retail audience activation in upper‑ and mid‑funnel media. Demonstrated fluency in retail media measurement and reporting, with awareness of closed‑loop attribution, incrementality considerations, and platform limitations. Excellent communication, presentation, and organizational skills, with the ability to translate complex performance data into clear strategic recommendations. Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint, with comfort navigating retailer and DSP reporting environments. Proven ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously in a fast‑paced, cross‑functional environment.