Managing Director, Data Strategy, Audience Intelligence & Paid Media

Ankura Consulting Group • Washington DC, DC

1d

About The Position

Ankura is looking for a senior data and audience intelligence leader to build out its audience strategy capability within the Public Affairs and Strategic Communications practice. This is not a role for just a digital operator. We want someone who thinks in data first, someone who understands how third-party datasets are built, modeled, licensed, and evaluated, and who has used that knowledge to run major campaigns across paid media, advocacy, and public affairs. The right person will be both a practitioner and a builder. They will run high-stakes campaigns while also helping shape the data infrastructure, vendor relationships, and methodological standards that will set Ankura apart. They will also play a real role in evaluating potential acquisitions as we grow this practice. Data & Audience Intelligence This is the core of what makes this role different. We need someone who does not just use data products but understands how they are made. That understanding is what leads to better client decisions and smarter investments in the tools and partnerships Ankura builds on. Third-Party Data Evaluation and Construction Deep familiarity with how third-party consumer datasets are sourced, modeled, and maintained, including panel design, sample weighting, statistical projection methodologies, and decay modeling. Experience evaluating syndicated audience research platforms such as MRI-Simmons, GfK MRI, and Comscore, including the ability to assess panel quality, coverage gaps, and appropriate use cases. Working knowledge of voter file ecosystems including L2 and TargetSmart, and a clear understanding of how political and issue advocacy data differs from commercial consumer data in both construction and application. Hands-on experience licensing, negotiating, and integrating third-party data assets into campaign workflows, including data due diligence and contractual data rights review. Familiarity with data co-ops, data brokers, and the broader sell-side data landscape, with the judgment to know when building, buying, or licensing is the right call. Identity Resolution and Audience Architecture Solid grounding in identity resolution frameworks, including deterministic versus probabilistic matching, ID graphs, and what signal deprecation (cookie, MAIDS) means for audience continuity in practice. Experience designing and executing audience segmentation strategies at a technical level, including lookalike modeling, propensity scoring, and cohort construction. Proficiency working in or alongside clean room environments such as LiveRamp Data Collaboration or Habu, including scoping use cases, defining match key strategies, and making sense of outputs. Familiarity with first-party data onboarding and enrichment workflows, including PII hashing, match rate optimization, and data hygiene practices. Insights and Analytics Ecosystem Fluency Strong working knowledge of the audience insights and analytics vendor landscape, including measurement providers, data marketplaces, and emerging data intelligence platforms. Ability to assess new data products, tools, and potential acquisitions on both their technical merit and their strategic fit for the practice. Experience taking audience data, reach, frequency, index values, behavioral signals, and turning it into clear and defensible recommendations for senior client stakeholders. Comfort with attribution and measurement frameworks including Nielsen ONE, Comscore Campaign Ratings, iSpot, and cross-channel measurement approaches. Campaign Strategy and Paid Media This person will own targeting and addressable strategy for large-scale campaigns across political, regulatory, issue advocacy, and policy-driven programs. Media execution here is the applied expression of the data work. The expectation is that audience strategy drives channel decisions, not the other way around. Lead targeting and addressable strategy across linear TV, CTV/OTT, digital, out-of-home, and audio, with audience architecture that is grounded in data and can be defended to sophisticated clients. Design multi-touch, cross-channel contact strategies that optimize for reach, frequency, and message sequencing against hard-to-reach audiences including regulators, policymakers, investors, and institutional stakeholders. Evaluate and recommend DSP and programmatic infrastructure including The Trade Desk, DV360, and Xandr/Microsoft, based on inventory access, data marketplace capabilities, and measurement support. Define KPIs and measurement frameworks that tie media performance to real client outcomes such as awareness shift, opinion change, or regulatory engagement. Build reporting that holds up technically but can be understood by non-technical decision makers, including C-suite and senior government affairs stakeholders. Leverages deep political acumen to translate demographic and behavioral insights into high-impact targeting strategies, identifying how key voter segments engage across the electoral landscape Leadership and Practice Building This is a builder role. The person who takes it will have a genuine opportunity to shape what this practice becomes, not just execute within a structure that already exists. Grow and lead the audience strategy and data intelligence team, including hiring, mentorship, and professional development. Serve as the internal authority on audience data, analytics platforms, and targeting methodology, advising across practice areas and client engagements. Contribute to the acquisition evaluation process by assessing data assets, tools, and companies for strategic fit and how well they can be integrated into the practice. Work with senior leadership on new business development through proposals, capabilities presentations, and thought leadership that makes the case for Ankura's data practice in the market.

Requirements

• A degree or advanced degree in statistics, data science, economics, political science with quantitative methods, or a related analytical field.
• A career that started in data, analytics, or research and has grown to include media strategy, campaign planning, and client-facing advisory work.
• A clear, informed point of view on the audience data and insights vendor landscape, who the credible players are, where the market is heading, and what separates real methodology from marketing spin.
• Experience leading or contributing to significant campaigns across multiple channels and geographies.
• Comfort advising senior stakeholders, including executives, government affairs leads, and political clients, on data strategy and campaign direction.
• Strong grasp of the political landscape and understanding of voter demographics and behaviors
• Deep familiarity with how third-party consumer datasets are sourced, modeled, and maintained, including panel design, sample weighting, statistical projection methodologies, and decay modeling.
• Experience evaluating syndicated audience research platforms such as MRI-Simmons, GfK MRI, and Comscore, including the ability to assess panel quality, coverage gaps, and appropriate use cases.
• Working knowledge of voter file ecosystems including L2 and TargetSmart, and a clear understanding of how political and issue advocacy data differs from commercial consumer data in both construction and application.
• Hands-on experience licensing, negotiating, and integrating third-party data assets into campaign workflows, including data due diligence and contractual data rights review.
• Familiarity with data co-ops, data brokers, and the broader sell-side data landscape, with the judgment to know when building, buying, or licensing is the right call.
• Solid grounding in identity resolution frameworks, including deterministic versus probabilistic matching, ID graphs, and what signal deprecation (cookie, MAIDS) means for audience continuity in practice.
• Experience designing and executing audience segmentation strategies at a technical level, including lookalike modeling, propensity scoring, and cohort construction.
• Proficiency working in or alongside clean room environments such as LiveRamp Data Collaboration or Habu, including scoping use cases, defining match key strategies, and making sense of outputs.
• Familiarity with first-party data onboarding and enrichment workflows, including PII hashing, match rate optimization, and data hygiene practices.
• Strong working knowledge of the audience insights and analytics vendor landscape, including measurement providers, data marketplaces, and emerging data intelligence platforms.
• Ability to assess new data products, tools, and potential acquisitions on both their technical merit and their strategic fit for the practice.
• Experience taking audience data, reach, frequency, index values, behavioral signals, and turning it into clear and defensible recommendations for senior client stakeholders.
• Comfort with attribution and measurement frameworks including Nielsen ONE, Comscore Campaign Ratings, iSpot, and cross-channel measurement approaches.

Responsibilities

• Lead targeting and addressable strategy across linear TV, CTV/OTT, digital, out-of-home, and audio, with audience architecture that is grounded in data and can be defended to sophisticated clients.
• Design multi-touch, cross-channel contact strategies that optimize for reach, frequency, and message sequencing against hard-to-reach audiences including regulators, policymakers, investors, and institutional stakeholders.
• Evaluate and recommend DSP and programmatic infrastructure including The Trade Desk, DV360, and Xandr/Microsoft, based on inventory access, data marketplace capabilities, and measurement support.
• Define KPIs and measurement frameworks that tie media performance to real client outcomes such as awareness shift, opinion change, or regulatory engagement.
• Build reporting that holds up technically but can be understood by non-technical decision makers, including C-suite and senior government affairs stakeholders.
• Grow and lead the audience strategy and data intelligence team, including hiring, mentorship, and professional development.
• Serve as the internal authority on audience data, analytics platforms, and targeting methodology, advising across practice areas and client engagements.
• Contribute to the acquisition evaluation process by assessing data assets, tools, and companies for strategic fit and how well they can be integrated into the practice.
• Work with senior leadership on new business development through proposals, capabilities presentations, and thought leadership that makes the case for Ankura's data practice in the market.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level