Associate Activation Director

At Spark Foundry we bring HEAT to brands, Higher Engagement, Affinity and Transaction. Engagement with consumers, customers and stakeholders, affinity with brands, and transactions, that materially impact our client’s businesses. Spark is uniquely positioned to deliver HEAT because we have an aligned set of beliefs that guide how we navigate a changing media landscape, a structure that is designed for total accountability and a repeatable methodology to bake continuous improvement into everything we do.

In order to bring this vision to life, we seek alignment around key values from our talent. Diverse thinkers with diverse thinking—what we call Allsorts—are essential to tackle challenges through the lens of different disciplines and perspectives. To succeed at Spark, you must thrive on the belief that great ideas are only great if they work. It’s not enough to be new, cool, or interesting; our solutions must drive business results. You need to embrace both the art and the evidence—right and left brain, imagination and activation, insight and technology in the pursuit of big ideas that are forensically measured. If you are motivated by these values, we welcome you to apply to become a Sparkie.

As Associate Activation Director, you'll play a critical role within a team of Investment Specialists, overseeing the successful activation and delivery of campaigns across a diverse portfolio of clients spanning FMCG, automotive, education, and more.

Sitting at the heart of our Activation function, you'll oversee the delivery of campaigns across a mix of global and local clients. With exposure to both audited and non-audited accounts, this role offers the opportunity to deepen your commercial expertise while working across a broad range of trading environments, client challenges and growth opportunities.

Beyond campaign delivery, you'll play an influential role in driving investment excellence. Partnering closely with clients and senior leaders, you'll contribute to negotiation strategies, unlock commercial opportunities, lead client audit outcomes and help elevate the performance of both clients and the wider team. This is a role where your expertise, judgement and market knowledge will directly shape business results.

Just as importantly, you'll help lead and develop a team of talented media Investment Specialists, creating an environment where people can learn, grow and do their best work.

If you’re a seasoned Investment Manager or Senior Trader looking for a step up and a new challenge (and a wonderfully supportive team!), in this role, you'll be empowered to make decisions, influence investment strategies and contribute to a high-performing team making exciting work!

What key accountabilities does this role have?

• Lead media investment and activation activity across a broad portfolio of clients, ensuring campaigns deliver against business objectives, buying KPIs and audited performance measures
• Build trusted relationships with clients and stakeholders, and act as a strategic adviser on investment opportunities, market trends and performance outcomes.
• Drive commercial value through strong negotiation, trading and partnership opportunities across TV, BVOD, radio, streaming, out-of-home and digital media channels.
• Drive media buying excellence across a diverse portfolio of clients, ensuring commercial and client objectives are consistently met.
• Help manage the day-to-day output of the Activation team, ensuring campaigns are delivered to the highest standard.
• Lead client audits and trading reviews, ensuring contractual commitments, audit requirements and performance benchmarks are successfully delivered.
• Mentor, coach and develop a team of media investment professionals, fostering a culture of collaboration, learning and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen partnerships with media owners and internal teams to deliver seamless, integrated client solutions.
• Oversee workflow, governance, forecasting and reporting processes to drive operational excellence across the team.
• Contribute to agency-wide initiatives and support the ongoing evolution of Spark Foundry's activation and investment capabilities.

What are the key skills and requirements for this role?

• 4+ years’ experience in media investment, activation or trading within a media agency environment.
• Proven experience managing and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong experience managing complex client portfolios and senior stakeholder relationships.
• Experience managing audited accounts and delivering against trading commitments, buying KPIs and performance benchmarks (highly regarded).
• Strong media negotiation skills with a proven ability to deliver commercial outcomes and value for clients.
• Deep understanding of the Australian media landscape, including TV, BVOD, radio, streaming, out-of-home and digital media channels, as well as trading practices and offline media buying tools.
• Strong client leadership skills with the ability to build trusted relationships and influence senior stakeholders.
• Commercially astute with the ability to balance client outcomes, agency objectives and market opportunities.
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple clients and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Established relationships with senior media owners and investment partners will be highly regarded.
• A resilient, adaptable and collaborative approach, with a passion for mentoring others and delivering exceptional client outcomes.
• A client‑first mindset, with clear, professional communication skills.

What does life at Spark look like?

We offer progressive flexible working options to everyone at all levels – It’s not a policy. It’s behaviour led and reinforced through our values. Mental health and wellbeing is something we take seriously – It’s championed by our own people internally and is a regular conversation. We have a lot of fun – Even in this virtual world, we are constantly looking at reinventing how we connect with each other.

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Publicis Groupe benefits: Be a part of the Publicis Groupe family, recent winner of the Employer of Choice Awards and one of the world's most progressive and dynamic modern communications businesses. You can learn more about us at www.publicisgroupeanz.com.

Enjoy all the perks that come with our network offering:

• A comprehensive Wholeself program supporting physical, mindful, and financial wellbeing.
• A creative, lively, and rewarding office environment where people love working with each other, supported by our Publicis Liberté flexibility approach — "working your way with us."
• Access to our Global AI Platform Marcel, connecting Publicis Groupe employees with opportunities for career mobility and collaboration across our global network.
• Extensive Learning & Development opportunities including more than 15,000 learning programs via our online learning platform, Marcel Classes.
• A culture of open feedback and support to reach your goals through our Career Conversations program.
• A committed Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion strategy driven through our Viva Women, Égalité, enABLE, EmbRACE, and Écologique committees.
• Leave benefits including Birthday Leave, Flexible Public Holidays, and an additional 5 days of leave after 2 years of service.
• Work Your World program enabling employees the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks per year.
• Parental leave policy with up to 18 weeks based on tenure, paid primary carer leave, secondary carer swap, and Cub Care leave.
• Access to counsellors, psychologists, and professionals through Sonder, an all-in-one digital wellbeing technology platform designed to support psychological, medical & safety needs.
• A workplace that stands together to provide a more open, supportive, and recovery-forward culture for all employees with life-threatening illnesses. Read more about our Working With Cancer Pledge: https://workingwithcancerpledge.com/
• Proud partners of Diversity Council Australia, Pride in Diversity, Family Friendly Workplaces, Supply Nation, and the Australian Disability Network.

If you don't tick every box in this ad, please don't rule yourself out. Research suggests that women and other people in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they meet every requirement. We focus on hiring people who share our values of inclusion, collaboration, adaptability, fearlessness, and integrity rather than ticking boxes — so if this role resonates with you, please apply.

Diversity. Inclusion. Equity. More than just words; these are part of our DNA. At Publicis Groupe, we are committed to the inclusion and recognition of all people regardless of race, age, culture, ability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, and religious affiliation. We believe that to deliver the best solutions to our clients, our people need to reflect the diverse communities in which our clients operate. We value diversity and the skills, knowledge, and experience that difference brings to our culture and solutions.

Uniqueness is powerful; without it, we wouldn't be where we are today. So be you — we like it that way.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for people with disability or those that require additional support throughout the application process. If you need any assistance or adjustments, please contact us via [email protected]; your personal information will be kept confidential.