Senior Manager, Affiliate Marketing

About Ovative Group

Ovative Group is an independent, full-funnel media, measurement, and creative firm. Leveraging our deep industry expertise, we help brands like Best Buy, Domino's, American Eagle, The Home Depot, Post, Disney, Tumi, Michael Kors, Boost Mobile, and UnitedHealth Group transform their media and measurement programs. The result? Profitable growth that speaks for itself.

At Ovative, we don't just track data, we redefine success. How do we do it? Our proprietary MarTech platform, EMRge helps businesses transform marketing into a driver of sustainable growth. Powered by Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), our differentiated approach to holistic media buying, planning, and measurement, EMRge is the first MarTech platform to measure businesses holistically. We're all about raising the bar every day, and it shows. Our work has been recognized by organizations like Digiday, Google, Inc. 5000, USA Today, and Search Engine Land.

About The Role

The Ovative Group Senior Manager, Affiliate Marketing position is an opportunity for an experienced candidate to take the next step in a leadership role at a fast-growing company that has the highest standards for talent, fun, and client success. The ideal candidate demonstrates phenomenal client management, inspiring team leadership, great critical thinking, and sophisticated understanding of the digital media landscape. Their role will play a pivotal role in helping Ovative build and drive new capabilities toward measuring and optimizing paid media to the true enterprise impact, not solely ecommerce impacts.

While Minneapolis, Chicago or New York City (hybrid) are the preferred locations, we are open to hiring in the Denver, Colorado area as remote team member.

Responsibilities

Affiliate strategy & thought leadership:

• Act as a subject matter expert in Affiliate and performance-driven creator programs, by continually evolving Ovative’s approach to best practices, managing planning and execution tools, and staying on top of emerging trends.
• Develop and drive forward Affiliate strategies and roadmaps aligned with client program and enterprise-level growth goals.
• Lead forward-thinking team strategies within the client mix in partnership with other team members.
• Support audit and acquisition efforts across the portfolio.
• Have a pulse on best-in-class commissioning, conversion-optimized content approaches, creator affiliate structures, and incentive models.
• Partner with Influencer, Social, and Creative teams to build full-funnel affiliate + creator roadmaps, integrating creator content to drive measurable enterprise impact.

Performance Media Management & Execution

• Lead day-to-day management and optimization of Affiliate marketing campaigns with exceptional execution, including:

• Planning, prioritization, and execution of campaign and roadmap tactics.

• Strategic partner identification, recruitment, activation, and optimization.

• Analyzing program performance, defining actionable insights, and leading the team on strategic next steps.

• Hold teams accountable to best practices when managing publisher agreements, billings, transaction inquiries, and compliance.

• Lead and execute on testing roadmap ideation, planning, and management.

• Lead performance creator campaign planning, including creator recruitment, commission/incentive modeling, promotional calendar alignment, and content optimization for conversion.

• Guide cross-functional teams in creator briefing, content review, and iterative optimization based on channel performance and enterprise-level KPIs.

• Create proactive communications and POVs for internal teams and clients regarding Affiliate & Influencer opportunities and other digital media topics.

• Partner with our in-house measurement team to develop industry-leading measurement capabilities.

• Serve as a key strategic partner to foster strategic relationships with key publishers and tools that pull the channel forward.

Client Relationship Management

• Own, manage, and grow the overall relationship and performance of some of Ovative Group’s largest clients.

• Lead development and delivery of client-facing solutions, including:

• Clearly defining program objectives, tactics, and KPIs.

• Developing and delivering clear and strategic client communication.

• Building strategies for clients and leading tactical planning and execution.

• Work collaboratively with the Client Services team to proactively identify and support key opportunities and challenges at the program and enterprise level.

• Effectively manage and grow client relationships and establish trust and credibility.

• Effectively influence client stakeholders to evolve strategies and measurement approaches to drive enterprise impact through the affiliate channel.

Team Leadership And Employee Development

• Develop team members through trainings, SME development, and support.
• Partner with Influencer leadership to create joint training programs that develop SME capabilities across both Affiliate and Creator teams.
• Model cross-channel collaboration, ensuring teams understand the role of creators in affiliate diversification, revenue growth, and enterprise impact.
• Support staffing strategy and help recruit, train, and manage new Ovative team members.
• Foster a culture of open communication and 360-degree feedback.
• Inspire your team and direct reports to reach their quarterly, annual, and long-term goals.

Requirements For This Role

• 6+ years of relevant experience within affiliate marketing with some experience in Influencer marketing.
• 3+ years of experience and proven success record directly leading and supporting multiple team members.
• Proficient in common Affiliate and Influencer tracking platforms, such as Impact, LTK, ShopMy; experience with influencer sourcing platforms such as Sprout Social, Creator IQ is preferred.
• Proven track record of success driving strong positive results through affiliate marketing programs.
• Strong communication and time management skills.
• Ability to tell a story with data.
• Direct responsibility for enterprise-level affiliate marketing programs.
• Strong digital agency experience or experience as a digital lead on the client side.
• Subject matter expertise with affiliate marketing networks and tools.
• Strong knowledge of attribution platforms and a proven track record of converting data sets into actionable insights.

Pay Transparency

At Ovative, we offer a transparent view into three core components of your total compensation package: Base Salary, Annual Bonus, and Benefits. The salary range for this position below is inclusive of an annual bonus. Actual offers are made with consideration for relevant experience and anticipated impact. Additional benefits information is provided below. For our Sr. Manager positions, our compensation ranges from $111,000 to $186,000, which is inclusive of a 25% bonus.

Benefits Of Working At Ovative Group

We provide strong, competitive, holistic benefits that understand the importance of your life inside and out of work.

Culture: Culture matters and we’ve been recognized as a Top Workplace for ten years running because of it. We demand trust and transparency from each other. We believe in doing the hard and complicated work others put off. We’re open in communication and floor plan. We’re flat – our interns sit next to VPs, our analysts work closely with senior leaders, and our CEO interacts with every single person daily. Put together, these elements help foster an environment where smart people can support each other in performing to their highest potential.

Ovative is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can participate and thrive. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Our policies reflect this commitment—for example, our medical leave benefits are inclusive of same-sex partners, ensuring equitable care and support for all families.

Compensation and Insurance: We strive to hire and retain the best talent. Paying fair, competitive compensation, with a large bonus incentive, and phenomenal health insurance is an important part of this mix.

We’re rewarded fairly and when the company performs well, we all benefit.

Tangible amenities we enjoy:

• Access to all office spaces in MSP, NYC, and CHI
• Frequent, paid travel to our Minneapolis headquarters for company events, team events, and in-person collaboration with teams
• Generous paid vacation policy
• 401k match program
• Top-notch health insurance options, inclusive of same sex partners
• Family formation benefits including reimbursement options for fertility, pregnancy, and parenting needs
• Monthly stipend for your mobile phone and data plan
• Sabbatical program
• Charitable giving via our time and a financial match program
• Shenanigan’s Day

Working at Ovative won’t be easy, but if you like getting your hands dirty, driving results, and being surrounded by the best talent, it’ll be the most rewarding job you’ll ever have. If you think you can make us better, we want to hear from you!