Director, Media Services

About Us

Applecart is the leading technology company that C-suites rely on to reach business-critical decision makers. The most important decisions are made by the hardest people to reach and influence. Historically, C-suite leaders have lacked the tools to reach the stakeholders who matter most to their business. The C-suites of hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, major agencies, trade associations, nonprofits, and governments use Applecart to put their best content in front of business-critical decision makers and those they trust —  from policymakers and investors to CEOs, key employees, members of the media and more. Decision makers are informed by what they read, learn from advisors, hear from colleagues, and discuss with family and friends. To break through to them, you must reach them through the only channel that really moves them: those they know and trust. Applecart's platform uses publicly available data to map billions of social relationships between nearly every American adult and enable clients to deliver content directly to decision makers and those who matter most to them.

We are hiring a Director, Media Services in our New York City office.

About the Role:

As Director of Media Services, you will lead an internal team of media planners and buyers, as well as oversee external partners, to execute digital advertising campaigns on behalf of Applecart's clients. You'll be a strategic partner to our Client Services leadership and account management teams, and will be client-facing for complex and dynamic accounts. 

You'll build and define best practices for Applecart campaigns, using a data-driven approach to test and learn. You'll be responsible for scaling our media services department for rapid growth, including process improvement and hiring. 

The ideal candidate will have a depth of experience in media planning and buying, familiarity with targeting custom lists, and has been a leader and builder of teams.

What You'll Do:

• Lead and scale a high-performing team of Digital Media Managers and Associates, delivering world-class service to high-profile clients.
• Oversee the strategic planning and execution of data-driven digital marketing campaigns aligned with client objectives in corporate communications, public affairs, investor relations, employee outreach, and brand reputation.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to account leaders on digital advertising strategy, emerging trends in decision-maker targeting, and performance optimization.
• Define operational standards, workflows, and best practices to support efficiency, consistency, and excellence in campaign delivery.
• Partner with cross-functional teams—including Analytics, Research & Insights, Platform, and Client Services—to ensure campaign tactics are data backed and technology driven.
• Mentor team members through coaching, performance development, and career pathways; foster a culture of intellectual curiosity and continuous improvement.
• Contribute to thought leadership and business growth through presentations, case studies, and client-facing innovation.

Experiences and Capabilities You Bring:

• Minimum of 8+ years in digital advertising; importantly, 4+ years leading teams in strategic client service environments.
• Proven track record managing complex digital advertising campaigns supporting C-suite audiences and high-profile clients such as Fortune 500s, advocacy groups, or agencies.
• Deep fluency in paid digital platforms, including LinkedIn, Meta, programmatic advertising, and measurement frameworks, plus hands-on keyboard experience in programmatic platforms.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to build client trust and influence at senior executive levels.
• Operational excellence: strong systems perspective, detail-oriented project management, and process optimization mindset.
• Collaborative instinct: ability to align across teams, escalate issues constructively, and deliver integrated solutions.
• Experience in fast-growth, marketing tech environments, with comfort in ambiguity and iterative scaling.

This is a hybrid role. Work from home or in the office on Monday and Friday, and in Applecart's New York City office Tuesday through Thursday.

Compensation:

Our compensation package consists of three components: (i) a base salary, (ii) annual cash bonus, and (iii) generous equity compensation.

The base salary range for this role is between $170, ,000.00, based on the candidate's experience and skills relative to the requirements listed above. The salary range provided is exclusive of discretionary annual cash bonus and equity compensation. The salary range provided for this role is specific to candidates located in the New York City area.

A few facts about us:

• Applecart's platform has been used by hundreds of industry-leading clients spanning Fortune 500 companies like Blackstone and Intuit, leading nonprofit organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund, and top-tier advertising and communications agencies like Teneo, FGS, Weber Shandwick, and OMD. 
• Applecart is growing quickly — over the last 3 years, we've increased our bookings by 10X, grown our headcount by 4X, and we're cashflow positive. 
• Our senior leadership team includes two members of the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Marketing and Advertising, the former Head of Product at Moat, Oracle's online ad measurement platform, a former senior White House advisor, early sales and talent leaders from Google and Twitter, two of the Democratic Party's most successful pollsters and strategists, a former CRO of a high-growth tech company with hundreds of millions in ARR, and alums of top-tier organizations like Bain, Amazon and Simpson Thacher.
• Our investors include Bain & Company, global sports, entertainment and marketing giant Endeavor, KKR Co-Founder Henry Kravis, entrepreneur Chris Burch, a founder of Palantir, senior engineering leaders at Twitter and Yelp, former Fortune 50 and advertising agency CEOs, and a number of well-known venture capitalists. Ari Emanuel, CEO of TKO and Executive Chairman of WME, and Jennifer Fonstad, Owl Capital Managing Partner, serve on our board. 
• Our work has been featured on Morning Joe on MSNBC, BloombergTV and The Colbert Report, and in Axios, BusinessWeek, the Associated Press, Forbes, the Washington Post, and Politico, among many others.