Ad Operations Jobs & Programmatic Trading

Ad Operations or Ad Ops refers to the processes and systems that support the delivery of online advertising. Ad operations specialists are responsible for managing the trafficking, delivery and optimisations of digital ad campaigns for multiple clients and reporting on this.

Programmatic advertising is the use of automated technology for media buying. This allows for extremely targeted adverts to be served to the consumer across multiple platforms including Display, Digital Out Of Home, Connective TV, Mobile and more. 

Roles in Ad Operations (Ad Ops) and Programmatic are technical and often require knowledge of: 

  • Google Ad Manager
  • Google Analytics
  • DCM 
  • Flashtalking
  • Demand-side platforms (DSP’s) 
  • Supply-side platforms (SSP’s)
  • DV360, The Trade Desk, OpenX, Xander, Pubmatic

Landing an ad ops or programmatic trading role

Landing ad operations or programmatic jobs does not necessarily require any specific educational history as experience is desired more for these types of roles.

Skills that are sought by hiring managers include people management, relationship management, analytical and organisational skills. 

If you are looking to begin your career in Ad Ops and Programmatic trading, how much higher education would you need? A bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science or Business Administration couldd be an ideal launching point for your career. However, if you want to progress further through education, there are other postgraduate options, such as a master's degree in Business, Computer Science or Business Administration.

Additionally, you would need to demonstrate the ability to handle multiple functions: 

  • Technical Tasks
  • Project management 
  • Budgeting 

Align your experience to the role. In Ad Ops/Programmatic this may include demonstrating good campaign management experience using programmatic and ad ops platforms or technologies. 

Show your ability to use data and excel and that you can identify strategic ad technology solutions, test frameworks and give recommendations.

An interview for an ad ops and programmatic role will often begin with a chat to assess your skills and abilities. If you pass this and are moved on to a second stage interview you will usually be presented with a task to complete and present back to the team, this will often be a programmatic optimisation task which will involve candidates analysing a data set and responding to this brief. Hiring managers will be interested to see your ideas and approaches. 

A solid understanding of digital and media concepts and the industry is key. An interest in advertising and how it works can show that you have a passion for the media industry and help you progress through interviews. 

What salary can you expect for a career in ad operations or programmatic trading? 

Salaries in ad operations roles start at around £25,000 - £30,000 and, depending on location and experience, can reach salaries of £80,000 - £100,000+. 

Programmatic Trading and Optimisation roles can have entry salaries of £27,000-£32,000 and those with more than 10 years' experience earning £100,000+

Bonuses aren't a given with these roles with only 53% receiving a bonus in 2022. 

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