Associate Director, Media Investment & Partnerships

Bully Pulpit International is an outcomes agency made up of strategists, data scientists, and artists. We come from politics, brands, and government and we communicate without barriers and measure what matters. We have more than 350 team members in six countries and thirteen offices - Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, D.C., London, Los Angeles, New York, Oslo, San Francisco, and Zürich. We apply our unique expertise across strategic communications, public affairs, research, and digital marketing to create sophisticated and customized strategies that make change possible for both American and European clients.

• Starting Salary Range: $100,000 - $115,000
• Location: Expectation to work from DC, New York, Chicago, SF or LA offices at least 3 days a week

This role will be the strategic leader responsible for overseeing BPI's multi-hundred-million-dollar media investment strategy, focused on maximizing agency-wide value and performance across all top-tier platform and publisher partners. You will sit at the critical intersection of media, finance, and client strategy teams, ensuring BPI maintains its competitive edge and delivers high-impact outcomes for our clients.

The Impact You Will Make

• You will be the architect of BPI's holistic media investment strategy, translating agency growth goals into actionable partnership commitments that drive efficiency, scale, and innovation.
• You will own and cultivate our most critical platform and media partner relationships, acting as the primary point of contact for senior-level leadership at companies like Meta, Google, major programmatic partners, and premium video, audio & news publishers (e.g., Disney, NBCU, New York Times).
• You will be the internal authority for adopting emerging media innovations and vetting best-in-class partners, ensuring BPI secures market-leading rates and premium offerings that directly accelerate our clients' goals and maintain our leadership in brand safety and platform innovation.

What You'll Do

Investment & Negotiation Strategy

• Develop and implement the agency-wide media investment strategy, focused on securing and leveraging maximum value, efficiencies, and "first-look" access from top-tier media partners.
• Lead the negotiation, execution, and ongoing management of annual Joint Business Plans (JBPs), deals, and investment agreements with media platforms and publishers.
• Establish and track agency-level key performance indicators (KPIs) for media value and partnership ROI, ensuring BPI meets investment thresholds and unlocks tiered benefits.

Innovation & First-to-Market Access

• Identify and secure agency-wide access to platform alphas, betas, and emerging media placements, ensuring BPI maintains a competitive edge and delivers "first-to-market" opportunities for our clients.
• Establish BPI's formal point of view on joint partnerships and industry shifts, translating complex market changes (e.g., identity solutions, AI integration) into actionable guidance for internal teams in partnership with Planning, Buying, and Marketing Analytics leads.
• Co-manage and coordinate the internal distribution of non-financial partnership benefits, such as proprietary research, training, and event access, to maximize value across all teams.

Operational Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as the main point of contact for top media partners, providing quarterly updates to agency leadership and collaborating with paid media leadership to align on client spend projections.
• Serve as the primary point person for managing and overseeing the media partner NDA process, working in close coordination with the Legal & Contracts teams to ensure timely execution.
• Provide project-based support for reviewing and negotiating contract terms related to specific client media engagements, while defining and enforcing BPI's standards for brand safety, ad fraud, and data privacy.