Director, Media Planning & Buying

Yahoo serves as a trusted guide for hundreds of millions of people globally, helping them achieve their goals online through our portfolio of iconic products. For advertisers, Yahoo Advertising offers omnichannel solutions and powerful data to engage with our brands and deliver results.

A Little About Us

Our team is focused on accelerating growth across Yahoo's consumer portfolio by bringing together performance marketing, media, data science, and experimentation. We build the measurement, experimentation, and technical capabilities that help drive customer acquisition, engagement, and long-term growth.

Position Overview

As Director of Media Planning & Buying, you will be Yahoo's senior practitioner for how media dollars are deployed across channels to maximize reach, precision, and business return. This is a strategic and hands-on role. You will own the full media investment cycle, from annual upfront planning through in-flight optimization and post-campaign analysis. You will be the internal authority on programmatic buying strategy, audience targeting, and cross-channel measurement, and you will play a key role in integrating Yahoo's own DSP and agentic AI buying capabilities into Yahoo's internal media programs, creating a genuine first-mover advantage.

What You'll Do

• Lead the development of comprehensive media plans, including annual, quarterly, and campaign-level planning, aligned to Yahoo's user acquisition, re-engagement, and brand goals across digital, programmatic, mobile, and emerging channels.

• Own programmatic media buying strategy and execution across leading DSPs and direct publisher buys, with accountability for reach, frequency, audience quality, and cost efficiency.

• Build and maintain a rigorous cross-channel measurement framework that quantifies incremental reach, frequency, lift, ROAS, and brand safety across all media investments using geo tests, holdouts, and attention metrics.

• Partner with Data Science to develop and apply audience models and lookalike targeting strategies that improve media precision and reduce wasted spend.

• Drive the integration of Yahoo DSP's agentic AI buying capabilities, including autonomous campaign management, AI-driven audience discovery, and proactive optimization agents, into Yahoo's own media programs.

• Evaluate and onboard new media partners, emerging channels (CTV, DOOH, audio), and AI-powered buying platforms, serving as the team's expert on the evolving programmatic ecosystem.

• Build standardized media planning templates, KPI frameworks, post-campaign analysis playbooks, and vendor scorecards that can scale across a growing team.

• Manage relationships with key media partners, publishers, and ad tech vendors, negotiating rates, placements, and co-investment opportunities.

What You Bring

• 10+ years in media planning and buying, with demonstrated ownership of large-scale digital media budgets.

• Deep programmatic expertise across leading DSP platforms and fluency in audience targeting, brand safety, viewability, and attention measurement.

• Strong analytical capability, including experience building attribution models, running geo holdout tests, interpreting cross-channel lift studies, and translating measurement complexity into executive-ready insights.

• Proven track record collaborating with Data Science teams to develop audience segmentation, lookalike models, and targeting strategies that improve media ROI.

• Strong vendor management and negotiation experience, with existing relationships across major publishers, SSPs, and ad tech partners.

• Ability to translate complex media plans and performance data into clear, confident recommendations for senior and executive audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leveraging agentic AI features in programmatic buying, including autonomous campaign management, AI-driven pacing, or agent-assisted audience refresh.

• Familiarity with Yahoo DSP's agentic framework and its "Yours, Mine, and Ours" model for AI flexibility and control.

• Background in media strategy at a publisher, media company, or large first-party data-rich brand.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means building a scalable media planning and buying function that maximizes the impact of every media investment. You'll strengthen cross-channel planning and measurement, make strategic media investment decisions across a diverse portfolio of products, and ensure every media dollar is deployed where it can have the greatest business impact.

#LI-BD2

The material job duties and responsibilities of this role include those listed above as well as adhering to Yahoo policies; exercising sound judgment; working effectively, safely and inclusively with others; exhibiting trustworthiness and meeting expectations; and safeguarding business operations and brand integrity.

At Yahoo, we offer flexible hybrid work options that our employees love! While most roles don’t require regular office attendance, you may occasionally be asked to attend in-person events or team sessions. You’ll always get notice to make arrangements. Your recruiter will let you know if a specific job requires regular attendance at a Yahoo office or facility. If you have any questions about how this applies to the role, just ask the recruiter!

Yahoo is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against based on age, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected category. Yahoo will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law. Yahoo is dedicated to providing an accessible environment for all candidates during the application process and for employees during their employment. If you need accessibility assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, please submit a request via the Accommodation Request Form (www.yahooinc.com/careers/contact-us.html) or call +1.866.772.3182. Requests and calls received for non-disability related issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace strengthens Yahoo and deepens our relationships. When you support everyone to be their best selves, they spark discovery, innovation and creativity. Among other efforts, our 11 employee resource groups (ERGs) enhance a culture of belonging with programs, events and fellowship that help educate, support and create a workplace where all feel welcome.

The compensation for this position ranges from $123,005.00 - $267,335.00/yr and will vary depending on factors such as your location, skills and experience.The compensation package may also include incentive compensation opportunities in the form of discretionary annual bonus or commissions. Our comprehensive benefits include healthcare, a great 401k, backup childcare, education stipends and much (much) more.

Currently work for Yahoo? Please apply on our internal career site.