Senior Direct Investment Manager

At Jellyfish we believe that our individual differences are our greatest assets. We are passionate about empowering every employee to reach their full potential and contribute their unique perspectives to our collaborative environment. We are an equal opportunity employer and firmly believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce drives innovation and leads to better solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other personal characteristics that make them who they are.

Jellyfish is a global digital marketing agency; a unique fusion of tech enthusiasts, creative minds, and media and data experts all united to empower our clients along their digital journey. Our commitment to embracing diverse perspectives fuels our innovation and strategies that challenge the status quo, reinvent media activation, and craft influential stories for our global clients and their customers. Join us in shaping a future where business growth and personal fulfilment go hand in hand.

Job Description

The Senior Direct Investment Manager is a hands-on, strategic role responsible for the execution, performance, and growth of Direct Buys and Affiliate Partnerships for Gerber Life. Acting as both operator and integrator, this individual ensures campaigns are effectively planned, executed, and optimized to drive measurable business outcomes in a highly regulated financial services environment.

This role plays a critical part in building and managing relationships with premium publishers, (d)OOH vendors, and a diverse network of affiliate partners (such as NerdWallet and Forbes). Working seamlessly across a dual-stack tracking ecosystem (Impact and Everflow) and in close partnership with internal strategy, planning, and paid media teams, this person ensures cohesive execution and strong performance across all direct investment channels.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, understands the technical nuances of long-cycle lead generation, acts as a strict gatekeeper for audience quality, and brings a proactive, ownership-driven mindset.

Core Responsibilities

1. Leadership & Accountability

• Own performance across direct media and affiliate partnerships, serving as the primary point of accountability.

• Translate complex strategies into clear, actionable plans for clients and internal teams.

• Define KPIs and measurement frameworks to track and improve performance across a delayed underwriting/conversion cycle.

• Operate independently, making informed decisions and driving outcomes with minimal oversight.

2. Partner Strategy, Vetting & Growth

• Manage and grow key affiliate and publisher partnerships (e.g., NerdWallet, Forbes), leveraging both Impact (for content creators) and Everflow (for lead aggregators).

• Act as a strategic audience gatekeeper, ensuring all onboarded partners align strictly with our core demographic profiles (e.g., middle-class households, family decision-makers, and grandmothers) rather than generic traffic.

• Proactively source, evaluate, and onboard new partners to unlock incremental growth while maintaining strict brand safety.

• Lead or support partner negotiations, contracting, and commercial structuring to protect media efficiency.

• Stay ahead of industry trends and bring forward new ideas across Premium Publishers (including CTV) and (d)OOH.

3. Campaign Execution, Compliance & Optimization

• Own end-to-end campaign execution, from setup through ongoing optimization.

• Oversee complex tracking infrastructure, ensuring accurate tracking of delayed offline conversions, Server-to-Server (S2S) routing, and postback mechanics.

• Enforce strict regulatory compliance, auditing partner content to ensure adherence to approved life insurance claims, disclosures, and pricing.

• Monitor performance closely, identifying opportunities to improve lead quality (CPQL) and scale.

• Manage budget pacing and ensure alignment with client goals.

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with media strategy, planning, paid media, and analytics teams to share insights on publisher quality and backend lead validity.

• Ensure alignment across teams to drive cohesive execution and maximize impact.

5. Client Leadership

• Serve as a senior, client-facing lead for direct investment and partnership strategies.

• Lead client meetings, clearly communicating performance, technical stack recommendations, and insights.

• Deliver clear, data-driven reporting with actionable insights, translating complex affiliate data into executive summaries.

Success Measures

• Performance Efficiency: Achieve or exceed client spend and performance targets across direct buys and affiliate networks, ensuring budget pacing aligns with client objectives.

• Operational & Technical Excellence: Maintain clean tracking and reporting across the Everflow and Impact platforms, successfully managing the integration of offline/delayed conversion data.

• Compliance & Brand Safety: Ensure zero regulatory breaches by maintaining strict oversight of publisher messaging and audience alignment.

• Client Satisfaction & Retention: Drive proactive performance insights, ensuring high client confidence in direct media strategies.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in media strategy, planning, and execution, particularly in large-scale, multi-market campaigns.

• Proven track record of managing enterprise affiliate partnerships (such as NerdWallet and Forbes).

• Hands-on experience navigating complex or dual-stack partnership platforms (specifically Impact and Everflow).

• Deep expertise in the technical affiliate ecosystem, including Server-to-Server (S2S) tracking, delayed offline conversion windows, publisher models, and commission structures.

• Experience in regulated industries (e.g., financial services, insurance, education) with longer sales cycles is highly preferred.

• A data-focused mindset with a sharp ability to vet publishers based on specific audience demographic criteria.

• Ability to operate both strategically and tactically, balancing big-picture thinking with hands-on technical execution.

Reporting Structure

• Collaborates with: Media Strategy, Planning, Paid Media, Analytics, and Client Teams.

Note: We emphasize skills, expertise and behavioral attributes over years of experience and traditional degrees. If you want to join our collaborative team, we invite you to apply today with your resume in English.

Additional Information

Join Jellyfish and experience a workplace where we prioritize your growth, celebrate your contributions, and empower you to tailor your work environment to suit your needs

💰Reward: You'll be eligible to join our discretionary annual bonus scheme and 401k retirement plan.

🏥 Healthcare plans: Have peace of mind with our healthcare, vision and dental insurance, plus short and long-term disability and life cover.

💫 Custom Work Environment: Work remotely for up to 60% of your days and shape your day between 8am. and 6:30pm with flexible working hours.

👪 Family Support: Enjoy 14 weeks of paid leave for primary caregivers and 4 weeks of paid leave for secondary caregivers.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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