Director Data Jobs in Naperville, IL (NOW HIRING)

TEAM DESCRIPTION

The Data Management team provides oversight of the data generated throughout the campaign delivery and performance optimization throughout its lifecycle. They will also work with other internal practice teams of Digital Analytics, Planning, and Digital Investment. You will provide oversight of all digital media buys to ensure that they are following process, purchased, and inputted according to organizational standards. This role requires a strong familiarity with all available analytics and technology tools, both syndicated and proprietary. Candidate must have a mindset towards fostering processes through automation.

ROLE SUMMARY

The Director, Data Management, is a senior leader responsible for guiding the strategy, development, and execution of data operations, business intelligence solutions, and data governance processes across agency teams and client accounts. This individual establishes and implements the frameworks that ensure data integrity, analytic excellence, and operational effectiveness across all media channels. The role builds strong relationships with internal and external partners, drives team development, champions process automation, and positions data as the foundation of all marketing and media activities.

JOB DESCRIPTION

• Strategic Leadership: Develop, implement, and maintain comprehensive data management, governance, and quality frameworks to support the agency and clients' business objectives.

• Business Intelligence & Technical Solutions: Lead the adoption and enhancement of business intelligence tools, data warehousing solutions, and process automation; partner with stakeholders to streamline and standardize data and reporting applications.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Serve as a strategic liaison among internal teams (Media, Analytics, Strategy, Planning, Data Technology, Finance), vendor partners, and clients. Foster positive relationships, communicate ideas proactively, and ensure alignment of data operations best practices.

• Project & Resource Management: Oversee project planning, assign and prioritize tasks, and ensure timely and high-quality delivery of solutions. Proactively resolve project roadblocks, manage offshore and onshore teams, and allocate resources to maximize efficiency.

• Data Quality, Compliance & Issue Resolution: Direct the definition and execution of business rules, data cleansing, QA, and troubleshooting. Ensure comprehensive documentation, industry standards of compliance, and continual process optimization.

• Team Development: Supervise, mentor, and grow teams of managers, analysts, and offshore support. Establish clear goals, nurture a collaborative culture, mentor direct reports, and drive performance and growth across the data operations practice.

• Client Leadership: Act as a subject matter expert for client-facing initiatives. Repurpose client requirements into actionable internal insights and drive adoption of data best practices within agency and client ecosystems.

• Process Innovation: Champion adoption of emerging technologies and workflow solutions, prioritizing automation and data as core to agency and client success.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• 8+ years' experience in data management, data engineering, data operations and/or business intelligence

• 5-6+ years' experience in an advertising agency environment (ad operations, analytics, digital investment, or related disciplines)

• 6+ years' experience working with digital media data (ad server, digital, search, social, video, offline, etc.)

• 4-6+ years' experience in data governance and quality processes within data warehousing, ETL, and BI environments

• 5-6+ years' experience in management roles, including managing direct reports and offshore teams

• 5-6+ years' experience in client-facing roles

• Demonstrated success in leading the design, development, and delivery of data management frameworks and reporting applications

• In-depth expertise with processes across multiple media channels and diverse datasets (paid, owned, etc.)

• Exceptional attention to detail, organizational, multitasking, and project management skills

• Excellent communication skills-can translate complex technical topics for various audiences

• Strong ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex data and process issues

• Experience with budgets, resource scoping, and agency operations

• Media industry experience highly preferred

TOOLS

• Business Intelligence: Advanced Excel (required), Tableau, PowerBI, Datorama, Looker/Looker Studio, Domo, PowerPoint

• Data Management & Transformation: ETL Tools (Adverity, Datorama), Alteryx, SQL (preferred), Python (nice to have)

• Data Storage/Cloud: Snowflake, AWS (Redshift, S3), Starburst.io, Datorama, Domo

• Media Platforms: DCM, DV360, Google Ads, DoubleVerify, IAS, TradeDesk, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, Prisma

• Project Management: HIVE, Asana, Smartsheet, Microsoft Teams

• Media Planning: MediaTools, Lumina, Hudson (bonus)

• Other: Experience with writing business and technical requirements documents; comfort with business rules design and BI tool administration