Media Operations Lead - 12 month FTC in Manchester

This position sits in our Creative & Media delivery team. We combine data, technology, creative content, and paid media to crack brands’ business problems & drive revenue through innovative digital marketing solutions. We plan, create and execute a variety of world class campaigns, from culture lead, social first content to award-winning integrated creative campaigns that have been built from data lead strategies and insights. Our clients include Just Eat Takeaway, Victoria's Secret, TikTok, The White Company, Meta, Pepsico, EasyJet and many more.

JOB PURPOSE

As a UKI Media Operations Lead at DEPT®, you will be responsible for overseeing media delivery across complex client work and enabling strong collaboration between channel specialists, delivery teams, and commercial stakeholders. Your goal is to ensure media projects are set up and run successfully, with the right focus on quality, pacing, resourcing, and operational consistency. You will lead the delivery of complex media initiatives, with a particular focus on process improvement and standardisation as there is an opportunity to bring the Media function from “good to great”. You will act as a key operational partner across teams, helping to coordinate delivery, support enterprise client onboarding, and identify smarter ways of working in a fast-moving environment. This role is about creating maximum value where it matters most. In this matrix structure, the Media Operations Lead will focus on aligning team strategy and leading critical situations, fixing complex problems, and managing big client relationships instead of managing day-to-day operations. The role is to focus on the UKI function, but there will be lots of collaboration with the wider EMEA media teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead complex media delivery initiatives across multiple stakeholders, ensuring work is well-paced, properly resourced, and delivered to a high standard.
• Drive process improvement and standardisation across UKI media delivery to create more consistent and scalable ways of working.
• Drive alignment between local Delivery, Media craft leadership, Finance, Commercial and Resource Management to ensure stable and scalable Media delivery.
• Support the successful onboarding of enterprise-level clients and complex account structures, helping teams move smoothly from setup to execution.
• Act as a bridge between channel teams, new business, delivery, and client-facing stakeholders to keep work aligned and on track.
• Enable forward planning and ensure hiring decisions are made in line with pipeline.
• Ensure that Media delivery is scoped and executed to a high standard to guarantee profitability.
• Ensure visibility on incoming commercial pipeline and anticipated delivery demand across Media crafts in close collaboration with Sales and Commercial leadership.
• Act as senior escalation point for critical delivery situations with significant commercial / operational impact.
• Partner with Client Partners in critical client situations to de-escalate operational issues before they impact client relationships.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Experience working across digital media departments and campaigns (paid media, SEO, SEA, programmatic, etc) and data-driven marketing environments.
• Strong command of project management principles, delivery processes, and operational coordination.
• A hands‑on, proactive style, with the ability to spot inefficiencies, solve problems, and guide others in a dynamic environment.
• Experience improving process and connecting teams in a complex structure with multiple stakeholders, ideally across digital marketing & media teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and change leadership: you can influence without formal authority and bring teams along through clear communication and pragmatic implementation.
• Comfort working in a matrix with multiple stakeholders and workstreams, and enabling multiple teams at once.
• A solid understanding of the industry and changing client needs.

WE OFFER

• A flexible, hybrid working policy.
• The choice of medical healthcare providers (Bupa or Medicash).
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and your birthday off each year.
• Company pension scheme.
• Ride to work scheme.
• Enhanced family friendly policies.
• Buddy Program: You will be paired with a ‘Buddy’ to help you through your first weeks’ at DEPT®.
• A reputation for doing good. DEPT® has been a Certified B Corp® since 2021 and named ‘Agency of the Year’ at both The Lovies and The Webby Awards.
• Awesome clients. Whether big or small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with clients of all sizes and across all industries. And we celebrate all of our successes together!
• The opportunity for possibility. We want to enable you to do what you do best and help you develop your skills further with training, development and certifications.
• Global annual DEPT® Cares Month in which employees come together and donate their skills to support local charities.

WHO ARE WE?

We are pioneers at heart. What does that mean? We are always looking forward, thinking of what we can create tomorrow that does not exist today. We were born digital and we are a new model of agency, with a deep skillset in tech and marketing. That’s why we hire curious, self-driven, talented people who never stop innovating. Our culture is big enough to cope and small enough to care. Meaning, that with people across 30+ countries, we’re big enough to provide you with the best tools, global opportunities, and benefits that help you thrive. While acting small by investing in you, your growth, your team, and giving you the autonomy to solve our clients problems, no matter where you are in the world. DEPT® is committed to making a positive impact on the planet and since 2021 has been Climate Neutral and B Corporation certified.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives.