Associate Director, Business Operations

Agency: Hearts & Science Job Function: Media Job Subfunction: Media Operations Job Description: Overview

The Business Operations (Project Management) team serves as the backbone, orchestrating the intricate mechanisms that drive our business forward. From enhancing communication to managing significant investments, each member of the team plays a crucial role in aligning our activities with overarching company goals. Our culture is our cornerstone, fostering empowerment and success in both professional and personal realms for every member of our dynamic team. Through collaboration, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, our team empowers the company to navigate challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and achieve sustainable growth in a dynamic and competitive landscape.

We are looking for a highly skilled and motivated Associate Director to join our dynamic Business Operations team, to fill a gap in skillset we are looking to include. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in interfacing with senior leadership across the organization to drive operational excellence in a wide variety of business planning and operations functions, financial and vendor management, communications and engagement, and daily operations.

The Associate Director, Business Operations will support the broader strategy, investment, and Marketing Science teams on a key account for our agency. This role will be critical in marshalling cross-disciplinary and inter-agency teams to drive meaningful impacts to the business and our agency-client relationship. A successful candidate will be process oriented, able to communicate effectively, and able to partner with account leadership to maintain momentum against key workstreams.

Lead project management efforts to ensure the successful planning, launch, and reporting of media campaigns  Confirm operational best practices with discipline teams, embedding finance expertise into workflow definitions and project timelines (e.g. client and deliverable expectations, turnaround times, client escalations, client-facing deliverable consistency)  Consult and confirm implementation governance and best practices, ensure training compliance across platforms   Lead integration and connectivity between cross-functional teams (e.g. Planning, Integrated Investment, Marketing Science, Finance, Project Management) - inclusive of integration between onshore and offshore resources   Collaborate with investment + activation and operations teams both onshore and offshore, act as liaison for offshore work deployment.   Confirm consistency in client facing deliverables (e.g. Budget Deliverables) in partnership with Team Leadership and BPM   Collaborate with Budget Project Management, Planning Analysts, and Account Leadership to ensure that all invoicing for fees and media is delivered timely.   Ensure utilization of planning and tracking tools to ensure accurate delivery of campaign data for the client (including Proof of Performance, monthly campaign budget tracking, and bi-weekly financial ‘status’, etc.)   Serve as the first POC for collaboration systems and tools related inquiries, including Smartsheets, Teams, and SharePoint   Support gathering of financial rigor and strategic insight around business decisions that affect both client and agency.   Foster good working relationships and understanding with various teams as well as the client to facilitate flawless execution   Leverage industry experience (where applicable) to advise on best practices and address questions and/or issues as they arise   Assist in managing relationships with vendors, especially when discrepancies arise, finding creative solutions to complex situations

Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.  Proven experience in project management, preferably in a technology-driven environment.  Knowledge of the Broadcast,