Media Director Jobs in Burr Ridge, IL (NOW HIRING)

Company Description
Spark Foundry is a global media agency that exists to bring HEAT - Higher Engagement, Affinity, and Transactions - to brands. By combining flawless media fundamentals with aggressive innovation, Spark inspires consumers to pay more attention, to care more about our clients' brands, and to buy more products and services from them.
Balancing the nimble spirit of a startup with the powerhouse soul of Publicis Media, Spark Foundry delivers the best of both worlds to a client roster that spans some of the world's best and most beloved brands and companies. We combine boutique-caliber insights and service with the buying clout and first-look access of a global leader, bringing the heat to challenger brands that want to act like giants, and to giant brands that want to act like challengers.
With a bottom-up culture that celebrates diversity and aims for all voices to be heard, Spark has become a magnet for the industry's best talent, with one of the best retention rates in the industry. And by applying a whole-person approach to professional and personal development, Spark develops a workforce that is well prepared for today's challenges, and also poised to create meaningful careers in the years to come.
Because we know that heat arises the intersection of complementary forces, our professionals come from myriad disciplines and backgrounds: data, analytics, and insights, content and creative production, communications and strategy, finance and marketing, and sociology, psychology, and other liberal arts disciplines.
Overview
The Associate Director, Media Analytics and Insights is responsible for the application of data-driven insights into Spark Foundry's planning, investment, and measurement processes. Additionally, the role requires the candidate to design and lead the implementation of modern measurement plans and longer terms roadmaps for the client. Working closely with internal cross-functional teams and Analytics leads are vital parts of the role, with accountability for the highest quality execution of a diverse array of client and project deliverables an imperative. The role functions as an expert technical point of escalation, an analytical problem solver, and a technical translator to internal account teams and clients. It also provides ongoing strategic account direction/vision for technology, process, and media reporting/insights.
Responsibilities

• Build strong relationships with internal partners, facilitating alignment between the planning and activation functions that manage day-to-day client business
• Build and develop relationships with client business directors and brand teams, ensuring that client and overall data proposition is relevant and aligns with strategy direction
• Identify organic growth opportunities and partner with Client and Analytics leadership to convert
• Encourage a culture of constant data-driven decision making to embed the use of analytics in media/marketing investment planning and activation
• Scope and direct advanced analytics projects to ensure that the deliverables are designed to answer valuable client and media team questions, and that timelines and scope are adhered to
• Have experience and expertise in how to intersect consulting skills, data, advanced analytics, and marketing strategy to drive and improve clients' business results
• Consult with senior client marketing and business leaders to define and answer most important business questions
• Advise on how to best leverage media and marketing investments to drive business results
• Work collaboratively with the network to provide the client with thought leadership, and use it to create meaningful and measurable marketing experiences
• Underpin client marketing processes with 'big picture' measurement frameworks and critical metrics that will be used to evaluate experiences and specific plans, campaigns, or investments across paid, owned, and earned media environments
• Keep abreast of evolving media landscape, including research and emerging trends to provide insight to both media teams and client (as required)
• Guide and work closely with the planning teams and the client teams to deliver on "data-driven" marketing investment decisions (how much, where, when, which channels, etc...)
• Create and manage deliverables against detailed project plans that set shared expectations with actionable outcomes
• Provide a high-value consultation layer on top of analytics deliverables
• Consult with client media teams to align on the strategy, implementation, and measurement plans for all key accounts
• Determine the best means of communicating analytical insights to clients that ensures understanding of results and application of the analyses is applied
• Build presentations providing clear analytics story - why the work is important, the truths that the analytics reveal, and the actions that should follow the analysis
• Build the profile of Analytics within the agency by packaging and evangelizing best in class client work

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in performing analytics in marketing sciences capacity at a media agency, market research, or consulting company, or in-house at a brand.
• Working knowledge of databases and SQL is preferred
• Knowledge of web measurement technologies:
  • Ad serving platforms
  • Website analytics software
  • Data visualization skills desirable (e.g. Tableau, Datorama, PowerBI, etc.)
• Quantitative education or experience preferred (Statistics, Social Sciences, Economics, Quantitative Marketing).
• Experience in a cross-functional team environment with agency experience a big plus
• Strong understanding of contemporary marketing analytics, advertising technology and research techniques, as well as an innovative vision on how the practice should evolve to keep pace with the ever-changing marketing environment
• Strong client management/consultative experience with both presenting and resolving issues
• Extensive experience leading and managing marketing technology projects from ideation through implementation
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills - a demonstrated ability to mine data for relevant and actionable insights
• Solid written and verbal communication skill with ability to communicate/translate complex concepts to non-technical audiences
• Strong understanding and experience with digital media buying, KPI development, and technology practices during campaign planning and execution
• Demonstrated experience with programmatic audience buying concepts and execution
• Powerful leadership qualities, as will be required to lead external and internal resources into new marketing effectiveness territories
• Strong attention to detail, and be able to quality-check their teams' work to ensure that data anomalies/mistakes are caught prior to delivery of the analysis to the client teams
• Strong management capabilities, both operationally (as well as strategically) to ensure that guidance is given to all teams on how to enhance the product as the account matures)
• Outgoing and able to integrate with fast-paced planning and activation teams
• Able to cultivate excellent relationships with technology and research partners
• Ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Hands-on, problem solving abilities - "can do" approach (someone who is a thinker and a doer)

Additional Information
Our Publicis Groupe motto "Viva La Différence" means we're better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.
Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off. If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact USMSTACompliance@publicis.com.
Compensation Range: $110,580- $158,865 annually . This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 12/01/2025.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
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25-11689
Compensation Range: USD $110,580.00 - USD $158,865.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 11/21/2025.