Associate Digital Activation Director

At Spark Foundry we bring HEAT to brands, Higher Engagement, Affinity and Transaction. Engagement with consumers, customers and stakeholders, affinity with brands, and transactions, that materially impact our client’s businesses. Spark is uniquely positioned to deliver HEAT because we have an aligned set of beliefs that guide how we navigate a changing media landscape, a structure that is designed for total accountability and a repeatable methodology to bake continuous improvement into everything we do.

In order to bring this vision to life, we seek alignment around key values from our talent. Diverse thinkers with diverse thinking—what we call Allsorts—are essential to tackle challenges through the lens of different disciplines and perspectives. To succeed at Spark, you must thrive on the belief that great ideas are only great if they work. It’s not enough to be new, cool, or interesting; our solutions must drive business results. You need to embrace both the art and the evidence—right and left brain, imagination and activation, insight and technology in the pursuit of big ideas that are forensically measured. If you are motivated by these values, we welcome you to apply to become a Sparkie.

Overview

As Associate Digital Activation Director, you'll sit at the intersection of strategy, performance and leadership - influencing multimillion-dollar media investment decisions, mentoring a high-performing team, and driving measurable business growth across a major national brand within the health insurance sector.

This is an opportunity to play a key role in a category that directly impacts millions of Australians, helping drive customer acquisition, engagement and business growth through sophisticated paid media strategies.

You’ll lead the delivery of integrated digital activation solutions spanning paid search, paid social and emerging digital channels. You'll partner with senior stakeholders, influence business outcomes, shape strategic recommendations and help unlock new opportunities through innovation, testing and performance-driven thinking.

This role offers the best of both worlds - the chance to remain close to the technical side of digital media while stepping further into strategic leadership. You'll collaborate on major brief responses, investment forecasting, digital maturity initiatives and growth planning, while nurturing and developing a talented activation team.

You'll join an award-winning team known for its collaborative culture, strong client partnerships and commitment to developing its people. With access to Publicis Groupe's market-leading capabilities, tools and benefits, you'll be empowered to accelerate your career while doing work that creates meaningful business impact

This role is ideal for an experienced Digital Activation Manager, Performance Manager or Senior Manager who wants greater strategic ownership, stronger leadership exposure and the opportunity to work on a large-scale account with ambitious growth plans. If you've mastered campaign delivery and are looking for a role where you can shape strategy, mentor others and influence bigger commercial decisions, we'd love to talk.

What key accountabilities does this role have?

• Lead the end-to-end delivery and performance of paid search, paid social and broader digital activation activity across the account.
• Partner with clients and stakeholders to understand their business objectives, establish effective ways of working and provide clear, strategic digital guidance.
• Work with Digital Activation Managers and Executives to develop high-quality brief responses, activation strategies, reporting and business reviews.
• Collaborate with other Digital specialists on major briefs, technical maturity initiatives, investment forecasting and strategic account priorities.
• Guide campaign implementation and optimisation, ensuring activity is accurate, well governed and aligned with agreed performance objectives.
• Lead, coach and motivate within your team, supporting development, capability and career growth.
• Build strong relationships across the wider agency and connect clients with expertise in areas such as SEO, conversion optimisation, technology and analytics.
• Bring new ideas, platform developments, testing opportunities and learning initiatives to the team and client.
• Develop productive relationships with key media and technology partners, including Google and Meta.
• Oversee account financial management, including forecasting, invoicing and monitoring servicing levels.
• Oversee workflow, governance, forecasting and reporting processes to drive operational excellence across the team.

What are the key skills and requirements for this role?

• Strong experience managing large-scale paid search accounts, supported by solid knowledge of paid social and the broader digital media ecosystem.
• A thorough understanding of search engine marketing, social media marketing and the Australian media landscape.
• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching and developing digital activation or performance media teams.
• The ability to translate business objectives into clear activation strategies, practical recommendations and measurable outcomes.
• Confidence building relationships with senior clients, presenting strategic thinking and influencing a range of stakeholders.
• Strong working knowledge of campaign implementation, optimisation, reporting, quality control and performance management.
• Experience managing media investment forecasts, account finances or campaign budgets.
• A client‑first mindset, with clear, professional communication skills.
• A collaborative, solutions-focused leadership style and a genuine interest in helping others grow.
• Strong organisational skills, attention to detail and the ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast-moving agency environment.
• Curiosity about new platforms, products, betas and emerging media opportunities, with the confidence to turn learning into relevant testing ideas.

What does life at Spark look like?

We offer progressive flexible working options to everyone at all levels – It’s not a policy. It’s behaviour led and reinforced through our values. Mental health and wellbeing is something we take seriously – It’s championed by our own people internally and is a regular conversation. We have a lot of fun – Even in this virtual world, we are constantly looking at reinventing how we connect with each other.

Additional Information

Publicis Groupe benefits: Be a part of the Publicis Groupe family, recent winner of the Employer of Choice Awards and one of the world's most progressive and dynamic modern communications businesses. You can learn more about us at www.publicisgroupeanz.com.

Enjoy all the perks that come with our network offering:

• A comprehensive Wholeself program supporting physical, mindful, and financial wellbeing.
• A creative, lively, and rewarding office environment where people love working with each other, supported by our Publicis Liberté flexibility approach — "working your way with us."
• Access to our Global AI Platform Marcel, connecting Publicis Groupe employees with opportunities for career mobility and collaboration across our global network.
• Extensive Learning & Development opportunities including more than 15,000 learning programs via our online learning platform, Marcel Classes.
• A culture of open feedback and support to reach your goals through our Career Conversations program.
• A committed Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion strategy driven through our Viva Women, Égalité, enABLE, EmbRACE, and Écologique committees.
• Leave benefits including Birthday Leave, Flexible Public Holidays, and an additional 5 days of leave after 2 years of service.
• Work Your World program enabling employees the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world for up to 6 weeks per year.
• Parental leave policy with up to 18 weeks based on tenure, paid primary carer leave, secondary carer swap, and Cub Care leave.
• Access to counsellors, psychologists, and professionals through Sonder, an all-in-one digital wellbeing technology platform designed to support psychological, medical & safety needs.
• A workplace that stands together to provide a more open, supportive, and recovery-forward culture for all employees with life-threatening illnesses. Read more about our Working With Cancer Pledge: https://workingwithcancerpledge.com/
• Proud partners of Diversity Council Australia, Pride in Diversity, Family Friendly Workplaces, Supply Nation, and the Australian Disability Network.

If you don't tick every box in this ad, please don't rule yourself out. Research suggests that women and other people in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they meet every requirement. We focus on hiring people who share our values of inclusion, collaboration, adaptability, fearlessness, and integrity rather than ticking boxes — so if this role resonates with you, please apply.

Diversity. Inclusion. Equity. More than just words; these are part of our DNA. At Publicis Groupe, we are committed to the inclusion and recognition of all people regardless of race, age, culture, ability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, and religious affiliation. We believe that to deliver the best solutions to our clients, our people need to reflect the diverse communities in which our clients operate. We value diversity and the skills, knowledge, and experience that difference brings to our culture and solutions.

Uniqueness is powerful; without it, we wouldn't be where we are today. So be you — we like it that way.

We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for people with disability or those that require additional support throughout the application process. If you need any assistance or adjustments, please contact us via recruitment@publicisgroupe.com; your personal information will be kept confidential.