VP, Activation - Amplifi Solutions

Job Description:

Overview 

Amplifi is dentsu’s commercial innovation arm: we amplify the craft of the network, delivering incremental value and measurable outcomes. Amplifi builds growth solutions that drive effectiveness, efficiency, and impact for clients. The Amplifi team is organized into the following core practice areas that all work together to deliver against the Amplifi vision: 

• Client Success identifies client needs/opportunities, ensuring that both internal teams and clients clearly understand the value of Amplifi’s solutions. The team plays a pivotal role in aligning Amplifi’s offerings with client objectives, integrating the right partnerships and solutions to drive measurable impact. 

• Commercial leads Amplifi’s overarching commercial strategy—identifying, negotiating, and activating premier partnerships that power our best-in-class solutions and deliver diverse revenue growth 

• Solutions leads the sourcing, development, and commercialization of innovative new products and services to solve client challenges and deliver measurable value for both clients and dentsu.  

• Activation implements Amplifi solutions with a performance-first mindset—executing, optimizing, and reporting on campaigns across platform and direct channels to deliver the best outcomes for all (sanpo yoshi). 

• Data, Technology & Analytics drives Amplifi’s product, data, and analytics initiatives to ensure the effective implementation of our solutions and data driven tools 

• Revenue Operations designs and implements the infrastructure that protects and grows Amplifi’s revenue—ensuring accurate revenue recognition and compliant processes across all partnerships and programs.  

• Business Strategy shapes & drives the strategic direction of the Amplifi organization, connecting the dots between our big picture goals and the day-to-day work across all teams.  

Role Summary

The VP, Activation leads multidisciplinary activation teams responsible for planning, buying, optimizing, and reporting across programmatic and direct channels—owning the delivery of Amplifi Solutions within client activation engagements. The role has a specific remit to govern and scale our internal managed service activation model, ensuring audit‑ready transparency, and drive outcomes‑based performance for clients and for dentsu.

The VP, Activation plays a key role in leading a team of activation experts in driving outcomes-based results utilizing Amplifi’s products and solutions. This role partners closely with Solutions, Client Success, Curation, Commercial, Data & Technology and Strategic Partnerships teams to ensure smooth execution and strong client engagement, while contributing to the overall go-to-market strategy and performance tracking.

In this position, you will report to the EVP, Head of Activation. Our main office location is in New York City.

Responsibilities

1) Team leadership & scaling

• Build, coach, and retain high‑performing activation talent (Directors, Managers, Traders), ensuring clear career paths, succession, and coverage across priority accounts and channels.

• Set operating rhythms, QA standards, and escalation paths; foster a learning culture consistent with Amplifi & dentsu values.

2) Internal managed service media stewardship

• Define guardrails (eligibility, opt‑in language, vendor visibility standards, supply due‑diligence, brand suitability) and embed them in briefs, IOs, PMPs/PGs, and platform setups.

• Partner with Commercial and Revenue Ops to codify pricing constructs, disclosures, documentation, and audit artifacts (deal memos, worksheets, trafficking checklists, reporting evidence).

3) Forecast accountability

• Own in‑quarter pacing, revenue recognition hygiene, leakage prevention, and reconciliation in partnership with Revenue Operations.

• Operationalize revenue levers (media mix, principal inventory, rate cards, fees, supply curation) while protecting client outcomes.

• Build forecast models and scenarios

4) Outcomes‑based solutioning

• Translate business problems into activation strategies using Amplifi products (e.g., Advantage, Modern Video, dentsu.audiences, commerce/retail media constructs), with measurable KPIs across efficiency, effectiveness, and impact.

• Stand up test‑and‑learns, define success criteria, and institutionalize learnings into playbooks.

5) Activation excellence across channels

• Oversee omnichannel execution: programmatic, CTV/video, audio, display, social, retail/commerce media, and direct IO.

• Ensure end‑to‑end craft: audience and identity setup, trafficking, brand safety/suitability, measurement, reporting, and optimization loops aligned to Amplifi’s commitments to Quality, Visibility, Vetted Supply, Safety, Opt‑In, and Outcomes.

• Troubleshoot complex issues, ensuring quick resolution and proactive solutions that align with the needs of both clients and internal teams. 

6) Cross‑functional orchestration

• Partner with Solutions to bring principal/proprietary offerings to life; with Partnerships/Commercial on supply strategy and deal economics; with DTA on data, tech, and measurement; and with Revenue Ops on compliant processes.

• Contribute to Amplifi pipeline reviews, status readouts, and leadership forums.

• Collaborate with Client Success to support client conversations, provide product expertise, and help drive adoption of new solutions.  Cultivate strong, trusted relationships with key clients and agency stakeholders to drive strategic partnerships. 

• Represent Amplifi in key industry forums, advocating for innovative solutions and thought leadership in the technology-enabled media space.

• Work closely with key stakeholders to optimize internal processes and communication around new product launches and activations. 

Qualifications

• 10+ years in digital media activation with progressive team leadership; proven ownership of programmatic and direct buying at scale.

• Demonstrable experience designing and operating in proprietary media constructs with transparent, audit‑ready processes.

• Strong commercial acumen (revenue management, forecasting), ideally within a solutions‑oriented or proprietary media context.

• Fluency in DSPs, data/identity, measurement, and supply curation across all formats, retail/commerce, and premium video, linear, social.

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication across executive, client, and ops audiences.

The annual salary range for this position is $113,000 -$182,850. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law.

Benefits available with this position include:

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance

• Life insurance

• Short-term and long-term disability insurance

• 401k

• Flexible paid time off

• At least 15 paid holidays per year

• Paid sick and safe leave

• Paid parental leave

Dentsu also complies with applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, in accordance with its plans and policies. For further details regarding Dentsu benefits, please visit www.dentsubenefitsplus.com.

To begin the application process, please click on the "Apply" button at the top of this job posting. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and qualified candidates will be contacted for next steps.

At dentsu, we believe great work happens when we're connected. Our way of working combines flexibility with in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen our teams. Employees who live within a commutable distance of one of our hub offices, currently located in Chicago, metro Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York City, are required and expected to work from the office three days per week (two days per week for employees based in Los Angeles). Dentsu may designate other Hub offices at any time. Those who live outside a commutable range may be designated as remote, depending on the role and business needs. Regardless of your work location, we expect our employees to be flexible to meet the needs of our Company and clients, which may include attendance in an office.

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Location:

New York

Brand:

Amplifi

Time Type:

Full time

Contract Type:

Permanent