Director of Product Management in Advertising

This is a Full Time Job

About the Role

The Director, O&O Ad Products is responsible for product management leadership across Hearst Newspapers' owned-and-operated digital advertising products. This role partners closely with the Head of O&O Ad Product (Revenue), while remaining embedded within the Product organization to ensure strong product discovery, delivery discipline, and platform coherence.

This role owns:
• Product definition
• Roadmap execution
• Cross-functional delivery
• Performance learning and iteration

The Director will work closely with Product, Engineering, Data, Ad Operations, and Sales teams to optimize existing products and bring new O&O ad products to market - including first-party data–powered solutions, and emerging products and formats.

Key Responsibilities

O&O Ad Product Management & Execution
• Own product management for O&O advertising products, from discovery and definition through launch, iteration, and sunsetting.
• Translate commercial strategy and market needs (defined in partnership with the Head of O&O Ad Product and Sales teams) into clear product requirements and delivery plans.
• Maintain and evolve the O&O ad product roadmap within the Product organization, ensuring alignment with broader platform and data strategies.

New Product Development
• Lead product discovery and delivery for new O&O ad opportunities, including:
• Self-serve advertising packages
• Sponsorship programs
• First-party data–enabled ad products and targeting capabilities
• Partner with Engineering, Data and Design to scope MVPs, test hypotheses, and iterate based on performance and feedback.

Data & Platform Partnership
• Work closely with the VP of Data and Data teams to:
• Incorporate first-party data products into O&O ad experiences
• Ensure privacy-safe, compliant use of audience data
• Define measurement frameworks and success metrics for ad products
• Collaborate on product requirements related to data infrastructure, reporting, and insights surfaced to advertisers and internal teams.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Serve as the primary Product counterpart to:
• Programmatic
• Local Direct and National Sales
• Ad Operations
• Revenue Operations
• Support go-to-market readiness by partnering with Product Marketing and Revenue teams on product documentation, internal enablement, and launch coordination.
• Ensure consistent product behavior and expectations across markets, while allowing for controlled flexibility where needed.

Performance & Learning
• Define and track product-level KPIs (e.g., adoption, usability, performance indicators), in partnership with Revenue and Data teams.
• Use performance insights to inform backlog prioritization, iteration, and product decisions.
• Document learnings and patterns to improve future product development across the ad portfolio.

What Success Looks Like
• O&O ad products are clearly defined, well-documented, and consistently executed across markets.
• New ad products launch with strong cross-functional alignment and clear ownership.
• Product, Revenue, and Data teams operate with shared clarity on roles, handoffs, and decision-making.
• Engineering teams receive clear, prioritized requirements and can deliver efficiently.
• The Head of O&O Ad Product is supported by strong product execution and insight, enabling faster and more confident commercial decision-making.

Qualifications
• 7–10 years of experience in product management, ad products, or digital media platforms.
• Experience working on advertising or monetization-related products within a publisher, media, or platform environment.
• Strong understanding of digital advertising fundamentals, including direct-sold and programmatic models (depth not required across all areas).
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional product initiatives without direct authority.
• Comfort working with data, metrics, and experimentation to inform product decisions.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Experience
• Exposure to first-party data products, audience segmentation, or privacy-aware ad solutions.
• Experience with self-serve platforms or scaled, repeatable commercial products.
• Familiarity working in complex, multi-market organizations.

This position does not provide sponsorship. All applicants should have the right to work in the U.S. without immigration sponsorship.

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