Retail Media Manager

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.