Product & Innovation Manager - Native

The product team are responsible for defining and managing media products offered to clients across GroupM agencies. These products cover a full spectrum of digital and programmatic channels from video, audio, native and social environments, to placements within video games.

As EMEA Product & Innovation Manager – Native, you will be leading and shaping our product strategy across the region for native products. You will be responsible for converting strategy into actionable goals and work closely with different departments within EMEA HQ to support local teams with development of Xaxis solutions and managing go-to market efforts.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of the programmatic advertising ecosystem including DSPs, SSPs, 3rd Party Verification Platforms, Ad Servers etc.

The role is based in the EMEA HQ team working across 24 markets, operating out of the UK London hub. As a Product & Innovation Manager, you will be working across these markets scoping, documenting, evaluating, and providing recommendations for new products and features that will drive sales engagement and revenue.

This high-profile position will provide a wealth of opportunity for professional and personal growth. A position which will put the candidate at the centre of innovation and strategic thinking at Xaxis and will allow for interaction and development across business operations working with the industries brightest minds. We are looking for an emerging thought leader and strategic thinker, able to quickly play a central role in defining our product strategy.

Responsibilities

• Product Ownership – Overall responsibility for the success of managed products. You will work on identifying short-term and long-term opportunities based on research and analysis of the industry and listening to clients’ needs. You will develop a strategy for the evolution of existing or new solutions with actionable goals and project plans.
• Product Marketing – building internal and external facing documentation. Working closely with the marketing and sales teams to ensure key benefits of our products are clearly defined. In collaboration with the marketing team, you will be organising and hosting internal and external webinars.
• Stakeholder Management - product development is a collaborative effort, and you will be expected to work with stakeholders from all levels of the business. You will drive alignment and focus across internal working groups from operational, commercial, and technical backgrounds, use established product development techniques to move products from a conceptual stage through to launch and beyond and will be responsible for facilitating adoption of new solutions in collaboration with local Xaxis teams.

Requirements

• Strong direct experience working with current and emerging advertising technologies. You will be able to intelligently discuss real-time bidding, ad-serving, the roles of DSPs & SSPs, targeting, measurement, 3rd-party data platforms and how different ecosystem players all work together
• Direct experience with native is highly desirable
• Strong and effective communicator across all levels
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships both internally and externally
• Ability to translate technical and complex points to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Entrepreneurial work style and being flexible and open to new ideas
• Excellent organisational & time management skills with the ability to prioritise work effectively
• Strong analytical and logical skills, as well as an ability to work with a highly technical team
• Strong team player and experience working in a collaborative, fast-paced environment
• Self-starter with a positive attitude
• Comfortable working with projects that always have new challenges