Jr. Media Buyer / Media Buyer

Position Summary

The Jr. Media Buyer / Media Buyer supports the planning, buying, execution, optimization, and reporting of media campaigns across traditional and digital channels. This role is responsible for helping turn client goals into effective media plans, coordinating with vendors and internal teams, maintaining accurate campaign details, and supporting campaign performance analysis.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, organized, curious, and strategic. This person should be comfortable managing the operational side of media buying while also looking for smarter ways to improve workflows, reduce repetitive tasks, and use AI tools responsibly to streamline department processes.

This role is a strong fit for someone who enjoys media strategy, vendor communication, campaign coordination, data analysis, and process improvement.

Key ResponsibilitiesMedia Planning & Buying

• Develop media plans based on client goals, target audiences, budgets, markets, and campaign objectives.
• Research available media opportunities across channels such as TV, radio, streaming audio, podcast, out-of-home, print, digital, social, search, programmatic, and emerging platforms.
• Help evaluate media vendors, shows, talent, stations, markets, placements, sponsorships, and new media offerings to determine strategic fit and value.
• Request, review, and analyze vendor proposals.
• Negotiate with advertising sales representatives to secure cost-efficient, budget-conscious media placements.
• Purchase media on behalf of clients under the direction of senior media team members.
• Support media deals across multiple clients as needed.
• Ensure media recommendations align with approved strategy, budget, audience, geography, timing, and client objectives.

Campaign Fulfillment & Execution

• Input media schedules into approved media planning systems.
• Send insertion orders and media orders to vendors.
• Confirm vendor contracts match internal IOs, approved schedules, rates, placements, and flight dates.
• Request financial information from new vendors so accounting can complete vendor setup.
• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure media plans, creative assets, trafficking details, deadlines, and campaign requirements are aligned.
• Monitor trafficked creative and confirm campaigns are running as ordered.
• Gather recorded copy, screenshots, live air-checks, post logs, screenshots, proof of performance, and other verification materials as needed.
• Review pre-logs and post-logs to identify discrepancies.
• Manage makegood requests when media does not run according to plan.
• Assist with overflow tasks within the media department as needed.

Campaign Analysis & Optimization

• Monitor campaign performance across relevant platforms and vendor reports.
• Analyze delivery, pacing, impressions, clicks, conversions, calls, leads, cost efficiency, audience fit, placement quality, and other campaign KPIs.
• Help identify underperforming placements, vendors, audiences, or channels.
• Provide clear campaign analysis and recommendations to internal teams.
• Participate in internal results meetings before client presentations.
• Support reporting by summarizing what happened, what it means, and what action should be taken next.
• Help connect media metrics to client business objectives whenever data is available.
• Identify trends, opportunities, risks, and campaign learnings that can improve future plans.

AI, Automation & Process Improvement

• Use approved AI tools responsibly to improve research, planning, organization, analysis, reporting, and workflow efficiency.
• Identify repetitive tasks, manual processes, reporting bottlenecks, and recurring department needs that could be streamlined.
• Help develop AI-assisted tools, templates, prompts, checklists, trackers, summaries, and workflows to improve team efficiency.
• Use AI to support first-draft research, proposal analysis, competitive summaries, audience insights, vendor comparisons, reporting narratives, and internal documentation.
• Maintain human oversight and accuracy checks on any AI-assisted work.
• Protect client confidentiality and follow all agency AI governance, privacy, and data-security standards.
• Look for ways to turn repeated media department tasks into repeatable systems.
• Bring forward ideas for improving media operations, documentation, vendor evaluation, campaign QA, and reporting.
• Stay informed on emerging AI tools, media technologies, measurement methods, and workflow improvements that could benefit the department.

Vendor & Internal Communication

• Communicate professionally with media vendors, sales representatives, and internal teams.
• Ask clear questions to confirm rates, inventory, deadlines, added value, audience delivery, specs, billing, and performance expectations.
• Work with Client Partners, Account Directors, Media Managers, and senior media team members to support client goals and media strategy.
• Help prepare media recommendations, vendor comparisons, reporting notes, and client-facing materials.
• Flag issues early when media delivery, pricing, creative, timing, or documentation does not align with the approved plan.

Required Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience in media buying, media planning, marketing, advertising, campaign coordination, digital marketing, or a related role.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Ability to organize complex information across vendors, campaigns, channels, budgets, and timelines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable working with spreadsheets, reports, media plans, and campaign data.
• Basic understanding of media channels such as TV, radio, digital, social, streaming audio, podcast, out-of-home, print, paid search, or programmatic.
• Ability to review data and identify practical recommendations.
• Curiosity about AI, automation, media technology, and process improvement.
• Willingness to learn new platforms, tools, and workflows.
• Ability to follow established processes while also identifying ways to improve them.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a marketing agency or media department.
• Familiarity with media planning, media buying, campaign trafficking, vendor coordination, and proof-of-performance collection.
• Experience with reporting tools, dashboards, or campaign analytics platforms.
• Experience with AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Zapier, Make, Google Workspace AI tools, Microsoft Copilot, or other workflow automation tools.
• Experience building templates, trackers, SOPs, dashboards, prompts, or simple automation workflows.
• Understanding of basic measurement concepts such as CPM, CPC, CPA, CPL, CTR, reach, frequency, pacing, conversion rate, ROAS, and lead quality.
• Ability to translate campaign data into plain-language insights.