Vice President, Media

Job description

**POSITION DESCRIPTION** ROLE: VICE PRESIDENT, MEDIA (Financial Institution Experience) TEAM: ACCOUNTS, SALT MEDIA LOCATION: TORONTO (HYBRID) **COMPANY OVERVIEW** Salt is a North American marketing agency that creates connected experiences through creative, digital & media innovation. Our mission is to “Earn The World’s Attention” and Salt is built to find, develop, execute, and amplify the ideas that are worthy of our clients’ audiences. We’ve structured our agency to do what’s right for our clients – to connect different perspectives, to work across mediums, and to focus on delivering meaningful, effective results. We’re committed to living up to the values in our name. “Salt of The Earth” means we value collaborative, humble, hard-working people here. We’re looking for people who are as smart as they are kind because we believe the right talent and the right culture help us do what’s right for our clients. **ROLE OVERVIEW** As Vice President, Media, you are responsible for the vision, growth, and performance of Salt’s Media practice. You establish the strategic direction for media planning, investment, measurement, technology, and innovation while ensuring the discipline continues to evolve alongside changing consumer behaviors, platform ecosystems, and client needs. You lead the overall media business, guiding Managing Directors and senior leaders to deliver exceptional client outcomes while driving operational excellence, financial performance, and capability development across the department. You balance long-term strategic thinking with decisive leadership, creating the conditions for teams, clients, and the business to thrive. This role is focused on building the future of Salt’s media offering. You will shape agency-wide media philosophies, foster strategic partnerships, champion innovation, and drive sustainable growth while ensuring the Media practice remains a market-leading discipline within the agency. **CORE RESPONSIBILITIES** **Media Strategy & Planning Leadership** - Define and lead the long-term vision, strategy, and evolution of Salt’s Media practice. - Establish agency-wide standards, frameworks, and best practices across media planning, investment management, audience strategy, measurement, and optimization. - Guide senior media leaders in developing innovative solutions that drive business growth and measurable client outcomes. - Partner with executive leadership to align media capabilities with agency objectives, growth strategies, and market opportunities. - Represent Salt as the senior media authority both internally and externally, driving thought leadership and industry influence. **Media Buying & Investment Management** - Establish Salt’s media investment philosophy, governance standards, and operating frameworks across all channels and platforms. - Oversee media investment performance across the agency, ensuring accountability, efficiency, and long-term value creation for clients. - Develop strategic relationships with major media owners, technology providers, publishers, and platform partners. - Lead high-value negotiations, partnership agreements, and investment opportunities that strengthen agency capabilities and commercial outcomes. - Ensure investment approaches evolve in response to market trends, consumer behavior shifts, and emerging technologies. **Measurement, Analytics & Insight Development** - Define agency-wide measurement philosophies, reporting standards, and performance frameworks. - Champion the integration of analytics, attribution, and business intelligence capabilities across media operations. - Ensure client performance measurement aligns with business objectives and demonstrates clear return on investment. - Guide the development of advanced analytics capabilities that enhance decision-making, optimization, and strategic planning. - Foster a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement through data-driven decision making. **Media Technology & Innovation** - Establish the strategic roadmap for media technology, platform adoption, automation, and innovation. - Evaluate and invest in technologies that improve operational efficiency, campaign effectiveness, and agency competitiveness. - Build and maintain executive-level relationships with technology partners and platform providers. - Lead agency adoption of emerging technologies, AI applications, automation solutions, and future-facing media capabilities. - Ensure teams have access to the tools, training, and support required to deliver best-in-class media solutions. **Performance Optimization & Audience Strategy** - Define optimization frameworks, testing methodologies, and performance standards across the Media practice. - Champion innovation in automation, AI-driven optimization, and advanced performance management approaches. - Guide senior leaders in identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability. - Ensure learnings from performance initiatives are embedded into agency processes and future planning. - Drive a culture of experimentation, innovation, and continuous performance improvement. **Financial Leadership** - Own the overall financial performance, profitability, forecasting, and growth strategy of the Media practice. - Develop annual business plans, investment priorities, resource strategies, and performance targets. - Monitor revenue growth, margins, utilization, and operational efficiency across the department. - Partner with executive leadership and Finance to identify opportunities for expansion, investment, and long-term business growth. - Ensure disciplined financial management and accountability across all levels of the Media organization. **Client Growth & Industry Leadership** - Build and maintain executive-level relationships with key clients, serving as a trusted advisor on media, marketing, and business transformation. - Identify emerging market opportunities and develop strategies that strengthen Salt’s competitive position. - Drive agency growth through new business development, strategic partnerships, and expanded service offerings. - Lead media participation in major pitches, enterprise-level opportunities, and agency growth initiatives. - Represent Salt at industry events, conferences, partner forums, and thought leadership opportunities. **Team Leadership & Culture** - Lead, mentor, and develop Managing Directors and senior media leaders across the organization. - Establish succession planning strategies and leadership development programs that support long-term growth. - Partner with People & Culture to define organizational structures, talent strategies, and workforce planning initiatives. - Champion a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, DE&I, and continuous learning. - Build a high-performing organization capable of adapting to changing client needs, technologies, and market dynamic **EXPERIENCE & SKILLS** - 15+ years of progressive experience in media planning, buying, strategy, investment management, performance marketing, or agency leadership, including significant experience leading media departments, business units, or enterprise-level client portfolios. - Financial Institution Experience - Proven success developing and scaling media practices, driving organizational growth, and leading high-performing teams through periods of change and transformation. - Deep expertise in media planning, buying, investment governance, audience strategy, measurement, analytics, and performance optimization across digital and traditional channels. - Demonstrated experience defining media investment philosophies, operating models, and strategic frameworks that drive business results. - Advanced knowledge of media technologies, ad platforms, DSPs, analytics ecosystems, marketing technology solutions, automation tools, and AI-driven capabilities. - Strong commercial and financial acumen with experience owning departmental P&L performance, forecasting, resource planning, and business growth strategies. - Exceptional leadership capabilities with a track record of developing senior leaders, building succession plans, and fostering high-performance cultures. - Highly skilled relationship builder with experience influencing executive stakeholders, negotiating strategic partnerships, and serving as a trusted advisor to C-suite clients. - Outstanding communication and presentation skills, with the ability to inspire teams, influence decision-makers, and represent the agency at the highest levels. - Passionate about media innovation, consumer behavior, technology, and marketing effectiveness, with the vision to shape the future of media and drive meaningful business impact. **PERKS & BENEFITS THAT SET US APART** We don’t just talk about balance, growth, and culture, we build for it: - **Work-Life Flexibility:** Hybrid schedule (2 days per week in office), up to 28 paid days off, winter holiday shutdowns. - **Comprehensive Coverage:** Health, dental, and vision plans, plus Salt Bucks to spend on what matters to you—wellness spending, RRSP matching, or extra time off. - **Growth-Driven Culture:** Learning & Development-focused (Salt Days), top-tier learning access, and formal leadership development. - **Celebration-First Mentality:** Legendary Company trips, social events, and Salt Swag.