Account Director, Programmatic Sales

NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our theme parks and consumer experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, USA Network, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Universal Studio Group, and have world-renowned theme parks and attractions through Universal Destinations & Experiences. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

Our impact is rooted in improving the communities where our employees, customers, and audiences live and work. We have a rich tradition of giving back and ensuring our employees have the opportunity to serve their communities. We champion an inclusive culture and strive to attract and develop a talented workforce to create and deliver a wide range of content reflecting our world.

Comcast NBCUniversal has announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company ('Versant') comprised of most of NBCUniversal's cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel along with complementary digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. The well-capitalized company will have significant scale as a pure-play set of assets anchored by leading news, sports and entertainment content. The spin-off is expected to be completed during 2025.

The Programmatic & Partnerships Sales team is responsible for leveraging programmatic advertising technology to deliver personalized and addressable advertising at scale across NBCUniversal’s broad portfolio of owned and operated properties and platforms. Consumer adoption of streaming and Connected TV has significantly accelerated, creating monetization opportunities for ad-supported content creators. Growing Connected TV viewership also translates to more opportunities for advertisers to stream their advertising alongside premium content and do so via programmatic channels. The Programmatic division of Ad Sales focuses on NBCU’s market leading position as the creator of the most premium, professionally produced content in market, that combined with scale and rich customer data, delivers unparalleled results for all marketers and brands locally, nationally, and globally.  

Programmatic Sales offers a unique opportunity to join a highly visible team that is a significant driver of the overall company’s current and future growth.  This Account Director will report into the Lead, Programmatic Partnership Sales, and will be a member of an ambitious, fast paced team in hyper growth mode that is focused on serving the needs of major holding companies, independent agencies, mid-tier and performance marketers, DSPs, and marketers who have in housed programmatic buying.  

The ideal candidate has several years of programmatic experience earning, retaining, growing revenue across various inventory ad formats, devices and screens, as well as buying models (Private Marketplace, Programmatic Guaranteed).  In addition to generating revenue, the candidate should be a passionate, patient disruptor, change agent, and educator, who knows how to counsel, coach, and instill comfort and confidence in data enabled automated buying and selling. The role also requires significant collaboration and coordination with cross-functional teams and the ideal candidate values an ad tech start up team culture, changing legacy mindsets, and exploring new way of doing things in order to stay in front of a fast-paced industry and company environment during a transformative point in time. 

Responsibilities:

This is a critical role with a wide range of responsibilities, including: 

• Delivering against multi-hundred million dollar programmatic revenue and upfront digital budgets 
• Creating, executing, and managing OTT and Connected TV programmatic campaigns 
• Serving as a subject matter expert and evangelist on important programmatic business trends, best practices, ad technologies, and NBCU specific capabilities.  Serve as the primary resource for internal teams and sales colleagues across business units 
• Prospecting and driving new demand and revenue through Private Marketplace and Programmatic Guaranteed activation methods 
• Leading programmatic selling efforts to all relevant buy side advertising partners: DSPs, Agency PBUs & Precision groups, brand marketers 
• Cultivating existing programmatic & partner relationships to maximize revenue opportunities 
• Collaborating with strategy, campaign management, product, and operations to manage deal health, trouble-shoot as needed, provide bid guidance, and be solutions-forward on how to increase revenue through deal optimization 
• Ensuring timely, accurate, and successful delivery of programmatic campaigns. Troubleshoot any issues with clients and proactively seek to prevent delivery and performance concerns 
• Educating clients as well as management and oversight with regards to programmatic platforms, products, and campaign best practices 

Basic Requirements:

• 5+ years in digital advertising, with direct experience in the programmatic media ecosystem (including exchanges, ad networks, DSPs, SSPs, DMPs, CTV platforms) 
• In-depth experience in programmatic video and OTT & CTV sales, including strong grasp of OTT monetization and measurement 
• Deep understanding of the online advertising ecosystem including audience targeting, the programmatic landscape, and different media types, with a specific emphasis on Video/OTT  
• Understanding of the technologies behind programmatic monetization 

Desired Characteristics:

• Organic desire to continually learn about and stay up to speed with industry trends and new areas of revenue growth 
• Expertise in creating value and differentiation in the market and understanding where, why, and how clients are focused on audience targeting, automation, and decisioned media 
• Senior-level relationships across the OTT ecosystem with all major programmatic players (agencies, in house teams, DSPs.).  Deep understanding of the agency and client landscape, as well as ad-tech; comfort driving opportunity in all contexts 
• Ability to interpret programmatic data patterns and bid metrics (delivery, bid rates, win rates, etc.) 
• Outstanding communicator with excellent interpersonal skills.  Team player with the ability to communicate and translate technical concepts clearly, concisely, and effectively, both in writing and verbally, with management and cross-functional teams, for both technical and non-technical audiences 
• Ability to take a data-driven and consultative approach to maximizing revenue across a broad portfolio of premium properties on all platforms 
• Highly analytical, strategic thinker, problem solver with strong attention to detail  
• Comfortable supporting a large book of business across a wide variety of clients and agency accounts 
• Entrepreneurial team player with strong interpersonal skills and work ethic with ability to work in a fast-paced, exciting environment. Ability to thrive in a team-oriented startup environment 
• Ability to work independently with internal and external teams to make decisions and maintain forward momentum and lead projects independently from start to finish, 
• Exceptional verbal, written, presentation and communication skills with ability to translate technical concepts clearly and concisely for a broad audience 

Additional Requirements:

• Hybrid: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week.

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Learn more about the benefits offered by NBCUniversal by visiting the Benefits page of the Careers website. Salary range: $95,000 - $170,000 (SIC eligible)

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to [email protected].