We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Ad Operations to create and lead a newly established Ad Operations organization through the next stage of growth. This is a mission-critical role for a seasoned leader passionate about delivering high revenue growth, developing new and seamless operations procedures and building a high-performing ad operations team. Reporting directly to the VP, Programmatic and Ad Operations, the Director of Ad Operations will work closely with cross-functional leadership to align operations efforts with strategic business priorities and drive measurable impact across our advertising sales initiatives.
The Outcomes You’ll Deliver
Operational Efficiency: Build scalable processes and systems that reduce error rates, speed up time-to-launch, and improve client satisfaction.
Inventory Monetization: Optimize ad placements, viewability, and fill rates to drive higher eCPMsand Revenue per Session without degrading user experience.
Revenue Growth: Maximize direct-sold and programmatic ad revenue through a focus on data analysis and operational excellence.
Cross-Functional Enablement: Enable Sales, Product, Marketing, and Finance with the tools, reporting, and insights needed to make informed decisions and meet revenue goals.
Innovation: Collaborating with Product and Engineering teams, along with outside vendors, on innovation in ad formats, measurement, and monetization strategies.
In This Role, You can Expect To
- Manage day-to-day operations and workflows for direct-sold and programmatic campaigns across display, video, native, and other formats
- Build and lead a best-in-class Ad Operations team
- Establish challenging Quarterly OKRs for your team that ensure personal and corporate growth
- Manage post-sale customer interactions to collect digital assets, oversee complex campaign launches and provide detailed campaign reporting, ensuring maximum customer satisfaction
- Partner with Product, and Engineering teams to develop and launch new monetization products and strategies
- Oversee ad quality control and troubleshooting, including escalation with tech partners
- Develop and maintain robust reporting and analytics infrastructure for revenue forecasting and campaign performance
- Stay ahead of industry changes, such as third-party cookie deprecation, privacy shifts, and bidding mechanics
- Create scalable documentation, training, and SOPs to support a high-performing ad ops organization
To Thrive in this Role, You Have These Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience in digital advertising, with at least 5 in ad operations leadership roles
- Deep expertise in Google Ad Manager, Order Management Systems, Inventory Quality, and Data Analysis
- Experience managing cross-functional teams and communicating technical topics with both non-technical stakeholders as well as external advertising customers/agencies
- Excellent project management, documentation, and stakeholder management skills
- Proven success optimizing revenue across a diverse ad stack and high-traffic publisher environments
- Data-driven decision-maker with strong analytical and forecasting skills
- Clear understanding of industry trends including privacy regulation, audience data strategies, and measurement frameworks
- Comfortable navigating fast-paced, high-growth environments with evolving priorities
- A passion for both the operational detail and the strategic impact of advertising technology
How You Play
- Ownership over Participation- You take responsibility for achieving holistic outcomes, prioritize key objectives, and adapt quickly when situations require a different approach. You follow through even against the toughest challenges.
- Team over Stars- You are a bridge builder, establishing processes and relationships with teams outside your own. You work to rally around common goals, find win-win solutions, compromise when necessary, and help others succeed.
- Growth over Comfort- You are driven by a desire to grow and actively seek opportunities to expand your comfort zone, skills, and confidence. You embrace new challenges with curiosity, accepting discomfort and failure as opportunities to learn.
- Fairness over Popularity- You approach decisions with a scientist’s mindset, challenging your assumptions and remaining objective. You consider long-term impact rather than relying on short-term gains, proactively seek others’ perspectives, and manage emotions in decision-making.
Company Overview
PlayOn is a dynamic growth-stage company dedicated to championing the spirit of play in the high school space. Backed by KKR, our family of brands—including GoFan, NFHS Network, and MaxPreps—empowers schools with innovative solutions and exceptional service. Our fan engagement platform is the only one that offers event ticketing, streaming, fundraising, concessions, merchandise sales, and website management in one place. We save administrators time so they can focus on what truly matters: supporting the students, staff, and fans who bring their programs to life.
Trusted by thousands of schools across the country, we're here to help create more instant replays, hold-your-breath moments, last-minute comebacks, and games you want to watch over and over again.
When being there means everything, we make sure you never miss a moment.
Why you’ll love working at PlayOn
Product, potential, and people. We’re a leader in the high school event space, constantly evolving our product to meet the needs of administrators. We focus on solving real challenges, learning quickly, and creating impactful solutions.
This is a growth-stage company, meaning your contributions have real impact. You’ll have opportunities to grow your skills, tackle meaningful problems, and make a difference in the lives of schools and the students and fans they serve.
Our culture is built on accountability, collaboration, growth, and fairness. We don’t just show up—we show up for each other. Everyone wears the same jersey, and we play hard, make the extra pass, and cheer one another on. Losses teach us, challenges motivate us, and persistence drives us forward. We value integrity over shortcuts, choosing to do what’s right even when it’s hard. Together, we strive to be better every day—because we know that’s how we win as a team.
The Benefits We Offer
Multiple medical insurance plans to choose from
Dental, vision life and disability insurance
Employee Emergency Fund
Company equity (stock options)
Open PTO policy
401K plan with company match
Hybrid/flexible work environment
Note: Must be a full-time employee to participate in the company’s employee health benefit plan. Part-time employees and interns are not eligible to participate.
Originally posted on Himalayas
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