Head of Advertising Operations

Takealot Group is seeking an exceptional Head of Advertising Operations to lead and scale our established retail media operations. Reporting directly to the Group Executive: Retail Media, you'll oversee a team of advertising professionals and drive operational excellence across our growing retail media network.
This is a pivotal leadership role where you'll combine strategic thinking with hands-on execution to optimize our advertising platform, implement cutting-edge AI capabilities, and build a high-performing team that delivers measurable results for our brand partners.

• Drive operational efficiency across all advertising campaigns, workflows, and processes to maximize output and minimize bottlenecks
  
  
• Optimize our existing retail media platform to improve campaign performance, reporting accuracy, and advertiser satisfaction
  
  
•  Establish and monitor KPIs that measure operational health, team productivity, and campaign effectiveness
  
  
• Build and refine SOPs, playbooks, and frameworks that enable the team to scale without sacrificing quality
  
  
• Identify opportunities for automation and process improvement across the advertising operations lifecycle AI Implementation & Innovation

• Lead the strategy and implementation of AI-driven solutions to enhance campaign optimization, audience targeting, and performance prediction
  
  
• Partner with product and engineering teams to integrate AI/ML capabilities into our advertising workflows
  
  
• Champion a culture of experimentation and innovation, testing new AI tools and methodologies
  
  
•  Stay ahead of industry trends in AdTech AI applications and translate insights into actionable initiatives

• Inspire, coach, and develop a team of professionals across two levels: Campaign Specialists (junior) and Performance Campaign Managers (senior)
• Create clear career progression pathways and invest in continuous learning and skill development
• Foster a collaborative, high-performance culture where team members feel valued, challenged, and empowered
• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and provide constructive feedback that drives growth
• Recruit, onboard, and retain top talent as the team scales
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Embed a data-first mindset across all advertising operations and campaign management activities
• Leverage analytics platforms (including Osmos and other tools) to derive insights that inform strategy and optimization
• Build dashboards and reporting frameworks that provide visibility into campaign performance, operational metrics, and business outcomes
• Train and upskill the team on data analysis, interpretation, and storytelling

• Partner with Sales, Product, Analytics, and Technology teams to align advertising operations with broader business objectives
• Act as the voice of operations in product roadmap discussions and platform enhancement initiatives
• Collaborate with the Group Executive: Retail Media to shape the strategic direction of the retail media network

• Bachelor’s Degree in Analytics, Business Administration or similar

• Minimum 8 - 10 years of progressive experience in advertising operations,campaign management, or related roles

• Proven leadership experience managing large teams of people, with demonstrated ability to develop talent and build high-performing cultures

• Deep expertise in Advertising Technology (AdTech) or Marketing Technology (MarTech) ecosystems 

• Strong track record of driving operational efficiency and process optimization in fast-paced, data-intensive environments

• Experience implementing or working with AI/ML tool, ideally in advertising, marketing, or analytics contexts (highly desirable)

• Exceptional analytical skills with the ability to make data-driven decisions and translate complex data into actionable insights

• Outstanding people management skills with a genuine passion for coaching and developing others
• Strategic thinker who can also roll up their sleeves and execute tactically when needed
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities
• Problem-solving mindset with a bias for action
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and navigate complexity
• Collaborative team player who builds trust across functions