Director, Operations

Title: Director of Operations

Reports to: Senior Vice President, Operations

Travel Required: Ability to travel to various industry events as well as various DAS business trips will be required on an as needed basis.

Position Location: Scottsdale, AZ

Position Overview:

The Director of Operations is a full-time salaried position based in Scottsdale, AZ. This role serves as the critical operational layer between the Sr. VP of Operations and the teams executing day-to-day client work, while also overseeing Co-Op and Project Management. The Director of Operations will provide direct, hands-on ownership of team performance, career development, and service delivery across these functions, freeing the Sr. VP to focus on strategic and executive-level priorities. The ideal candidate combines strong people-leadership instincts with the operational rigor to manage SLAs, quality standards, and cross-functional coordination in a fast-moving digital marketing agency environment. 

Responsibilities:

• Directly manage and develop team leads and individual contributors across Client Activation & Support, the Audit team, the Social/Content/Creative organization, Co-Op, and Project Management. 

• Serve as the primary escalation point for client activation, audit, and content execution issues, ensuring timely and effective resolution. 

• Own performance management, coaching, and career development planning for direct reports and their broader teams, including implementation of a consistent leveling and career-pathing framework. 

• Partner closely between in-office subject matter experts and the team executing tasks to ensure alignment across Content, Audit, and Client Activation & Support. 

• Work in close partnership with the Director, Growth & Performance marketing to ensure staffing support needs are met without requiring escalation to the Sr. VP of Operations. 

• Oversee day-to-day service delivery, SLA adherence, and quality standards across Content, Client Activation & Support and the Audit team. 

• Lead organizational planning for the Content/Social team, including title consolidation, role definition, and career pathing. 

• Support and/or own recruiting efforts for open roles within scope of oversight, partnering with the Sr. VP of Operations on strategy and prioritization. 

• Drive process improvement, documentation and intelligent use of AI across teams, with particular attention to handoffs and cross-departmental workflows. 

• Monitor, analyze, and report on team performance metrics and KPIs to the Sr. VP of Operations on a regular cadence. 

• Support the Manager, Operations in the rollout of expanded responsibilities, including vendor invoice management and Client Activation KPI reporting (turn times, client blockers, stalled accounts). 

• Manage transition plans for internal role changes and headcount actions, including onboarding new team members as needed. 

• Participate in hiring decisions for open roles within span of control, including interviewing, assessment, and final selection recommendations. 

• Foster a culture of accountability, quality, and professional growth across all teams under this role's oversight. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field preferred. 

• 7-10+ years of experience in operations leadership, with a proven track record managing managers or team leads, not solely individual contributors. 

• Demonstrated experience overseeing multiple teams, including managing coordination between resources. 

• Experience in a digital marketing agency environment strongly preferred; automotive industry familiarity a plus. 

• Demonstrated ability to design or implement career pathing, leveling frameworks, and organizational structure for a growing or evolving team. 

• Strong performance management, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills. 

• Experience with vendor management, contract or invoice oversight a plus. 

• Strong analytical skills, with comfort owning KPI and SLA reporting and translating data into action. 

• Exceptional communication skills across all levels, from front-line specialists to executive leadership. 

• Proven ability to manage competing priorities across multiple functional teams simultaneously.