Retail Media Manager

Job Description

Job Description:

The role of Retail Media Manager MEA exists to maximize the rapidly expanding opportunity in Retail Media, which is growing massively year over year, and where DCOM (e-commerce) channel today has become a major growth driver in the business. This job is essential to sustaining and accelerating that momentum, as retail media has become a main growth driver to deliver the DCOM ambition year on year. Retail media growing exponentially and expected to represent significant portion of total media spend by 2030.

Strategic Leadership

• Develop, lead and drive the MEA retail media and search strategy across all customers and sub-channels.

• Serve as the MEA representative with the Global Retail Media Manager to absorb global best practices and cascade them across the region.

• Lead the Connected Commerce agenda of retail media across MEA

• Lead the retail media “Test & Learn” agenda for key customers to unlock new growth levers.

Performance Optimization

• Drive continuous improvements to SEO/SEM performance and stay ahead of evolving search/retail media trends.

• Conduct deep keyword research and algorithm understanding to optimize placements, bidding, and always-on/activation strategies across key retailers.

• Lead periodic reporting of media and search campaigns, recommending optimization actions.

• Analyze retailer performance vs. global Retail Media benchmarks and drive improvements.

Budget & Planning

• Manage media budgets across MEA to ensure maximum ROI.

• Lead retail media budget tracking with the agency and support quarterly media business reviews.

• Contribute to JBP development with customers, OTG Step planning, and annual DCOM business reviews.

• Lead planning of media budgets for future years and lead the retail media driver across DCOM.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Publicis, Acceleration Managers, DCOM Portfolio Manager, and market teams to build aligned media and search strategies by customer/market.

• Partner with PDS on Share of Search tracking and customer search optimization.

• Align SKU lineups, campaign plans, and activation strategies across markets.

Capability Building & Knowledge Sharing

• Lead capability trainings on retail media for markets and customer teams.

• Drive best practice sharing across regions and maintain internal knowledge sharing platforms.

• Lead retail media workstreams aligned with the One Demand vision of connected commerce.

Customer & Agency Engagement

• Partner with key customers to educate, empower, and accelerate Search & Retail Media excellence.

• Manage agency relationships to ensure high-quality execution.

Knowledge / Experience

• 5+ years’ experience in Digital Commerce, Retail Media, Search (SEO/SEM), or performance media within FMCG, retail, marketplace, or agency environments.
• Strong Retail Media expertise covering strategy, activation, measurement, and optimization across key DCOM retailers or platforms.
• Solid SEO/SEM knowledge, including keyword research, bidding strategies, algorithm behavior, and always-on/activation execution.
• Strong analytical skills with experience using media dashboards, retail media portals, and performance data to drive decisions.
• Experience managing agencies and/or working with major retail customers to co-develop plans, Test & Learn pilots, and performance improvements.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple markets, campaigns, and stakeholders internally and externally simultaneously.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, able to influence cross-functional teams and collaborate across regions.