The Shipyard is a leading, independent marketing and communication agency headquartered in Columbus, OH and San Diego, CA that brings together talented individuals across the creative, communications, media and digital landscape. Uniquely designed to Engineer Brand Love through a unifying approach of paid, owned and earned channels, we work together to grow brands that audiences can't help but love. Our family of brands, Fahlgren Mortine, TURNER and TinyWins, span integrated communications, travel and lifestyle, and digital innovation, giving us the range and depth to deliver for clients locally, regionally and nationally. Momentum is nothing without the people driving it. See who we are at https://theshipyard.com/culture before you hit apply! SUMMARY We are looking for a smart, experienced, and motivated Programmatic Director to join our team. The Programmatic Director is the senior-most leader of the programmatic practice at The Shipyard. This role exists to set the vision for how Shipyard approaches programmatic advertising - establishing the strategic and technical standard, developing the talent pipeline, driving the growth of client relationships, and ensuring the programmatic team consistently delivers work that is best-in-class. A great Programmatic Director doesn't just oversee campaigns - they define what great programmatic looks like for the entire team and for the agency. They are a trusted strategic advisor to clients, a visible expert in the programmatic marketplace, and a leader who makes everyone around them better. At The Shipyard, we know that it's your unique talents, backgrounds, and perspectives that make you who you are, just like our team, who come from various career paths and experiences. We believe we can't be truly diverse without you bringing your most authentic self to the agency. Studies show that people from marginalized communities may not always apply for positions if they don't meet every single requirement in a job posting. At The Shipyard, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the requirements. We believe that your passion for what we stand for - our values and purpose - is just as important as meeting every checkbox.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Media Knowledge The Programmatic Director is the foremost programmatic expert at the agency. Your knowledge is not just deep - it is visionary, and you use it to set the direction for how the team thinks, plans, and executes.
- Possess and actively demonstrate expert, current, and forward-looking knowledge of the full programmatic ecosystem - DSPs, SSPs, ad exchanges, identity solutions, data clean rooms, AI-driven optimization, emerging programmatic formats, and the evolving privacy landscape - and apply it to set the strategic direction for the programmatic team
- Define and evolve the standards for how programmatic platforms and technology are used across the team - ensuring rigorous, sophisticated application that consistently delivers competitive advantage for clients
- Serve as the senior-most steward of client investment within the programmatic practice - ensuring budgets are managed responsibly, billing processes are accurate and timely across every account, and the team treats client spend with the same care they would their own
- Lead the agency's thinking on programmatic investment strategy, budget allocation, and technology evaluation - setting a high bar for how programmatic campaigns are planned, executed, and measured
- Serve as the agency's internal and external thought leader on programmatic - bringing a clear, informed, and forward-thinking POV to client conversations, industry discussions, and new business opportunities
- Proactively identify and evaluate emerging programmatic platforms, technology shifts, privacy developments, and industry disruptions - and translate them into clear strategic implications for clients and the agency
- Build and maintain the agency's most strategic platform and technology partnerships - negotiating at the highest level to secure preferential access, beta opportunities, and competitive intelligence that benefit clients across the portfolio
Strategic Thinking & Planning The Programmatic Director sets the strategic vision for the programmatic team and ensures that sophisticated, insight-driven channel strategy is embedded in every campaign across the portfolio. This role creates a programmatic practice that delivers on client solutions so effectively that it attracts spend and growth.
- Set and own the strategic vision for programmatic advertising across the agency's client portfolio - ensuring every channel plan reflects a sophisticated audience strategy, a defensible inventory and targeting approach, and a measurable commitment to business outcomes
- Bring a strong, informed point of view to the evolution of the agency’s programmatic strategy frameworks, best practices, and optimization standards – partnering with the VP, Media Investment to ensure consistency, ambition, and continuous improvement across all accounts and team members
- Lead the development of programmatic strategy for the agency's most complex and high-value accounts - applying the highest level of strategic rigor to multi-channel, full-funnel programmatic challenges
- Drive a culture of insight-driven strategy across the programmatic team - ensuring data, platform intelligence, and audience research are consistently embedded in how the team plans, optimizes, and learns
- Identify transformative strategic opportunities for clients - new programmatic approaches, emerging technology applications, advanced measurement capabilities - and bring them forward with a compelling business case
- Serve as the programmatic strategic anchor in all cross-functional, new business, and client leadership contexts - ensuring programmatic thinking actively elevates the overall media strategy across the agency
Communication The Programmatic Director is an exceptionally skilled communicator who can move a room, build client confidence, and inspire the programmatic team. Your communication sets the tone for the entire practice.
- Lead client presentations with authority, strategic depth, and the ability to connect programmatic thinking to business outcomes in a way that earns trust and wins confidence
- Develop and drive a communication standard for the programmatic team - in presentations, in campaign reporting, and in day-to-day client interactions - that consistently reflects Shipyard's ambition and expertise
- Communicate complex, multi-faceted programmatic strategies to senior client stakeholders, C-suite audiences, and agency leadership clearly, persuasively, and memorably
- Represent Shipyard's programmatic capabilities and POV externally - in industry forums, new business contexts, and marketplace conversations - with confidence and conviction
- Coach and develop strong communicators across the programmatic team, from Coordinators through Associate Directors, ensuring communication excellence at every level
Partnership The Programmatic Director builds and leads the relationships across the agency’s programmatic practice - with clients, with platform partners, and across the integrated agency team.
- Serve as the senior client programmatic partner for the agency's highest-value accounts - building deep, trust-based partnerships rooted in strategic value and business impact
- Manage agency relationships with key DSP platforms, data partners, and programmatic technology vendors - leveraging relationships to build preferential access and identifying opportunities that create meaningful competitive advantage across the client portfolio
- Partner closely with media planning, analytics, creative, client engagement, and brand planning to drive integrated, outcome-focused work across the agency
- Build a strong working relationship with the data and analytics team – ensuring programmatic campaigns are grounded in data intelligence and that measurement is built into the work from the start, not bolted on at the end
- Serve as a senior leader for the programmatic practice in new business, agency growth, and industry contexts - building The Shipyard's reputation as a programmatic leader in the marketplace
- Model and champion a culture of partnership - across the programmatic team, across the agency, and in the marketplace
Team Development The Programmatic Director is a committed people leader who builds a strong, capable programmatic team. Building, developing, and retaining great programmatic practitioners is among the most important things this role does.
- Directly manage the programmatic team, including hiring, onboarding, development, and performance management
- Build and sustain a high-performing team culture defined by technical excellence, strategic rigor, intellectual curiosity, genuine collaboration, and a commitment to doing great work
- Develop a strong bench of talent at every level - from Coordinator through Associate Director - ensuring the team is always growing toward the next level of capability
- Set clear performance expectations and hold team members accountable with fairness, directness, and genuine care for their development
- Serve as a mentor and career advisor to senior practitioners and Associate Directors, helping them develop the leadership skills and strategic vision to grow into the next generation of programmatic leaders at Shipyard
- Partner with the VP, Media Investment on workforce planning, talent acquisition strategy, and team structure to ensure the programmatic practice is built for long-term success
WHAT YOU’LL GET
- The overall target range of base compensation for this role is $135,000 - $150,000. Compensation offered will be determined by additional factors such as location and experience.
- Open PTO
- Paid sick time (in applicable states)
- Flexible work hours
- Paid holidays + holiday closure between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day
- Company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Life insurance and disability benefits
- 401k program with employer matching
- 6 weeks paid parental leave
- Employee bonus referrals
- Dog-friendly offices
- Company-provided snacks and beverages (yes, beer/wine included)
- … and lots more!
- Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.
