How to hire an activations manager

How to hire an activations manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step activations manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an activations manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new activations manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an activations manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The activations manager hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect activations manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of activations managers.

   Type of Activations Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Activations Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$19-51
   Manager, Field Marketing	A field marketing manager oversees a company's field marketing operations, aiming to improve brand awareness and reach sales goals. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around devising marketing strategies, participating in organizing campaigns and trade shows, setting objectives for the team, and monitoring the progress of marketing programs, ensuring they are functioning effectively and efficiently... Show more	$32-61
   Manager, Strategy	A strategy manager is a professional who reviews a company's objectives for growth and works with executives to formulate actionable plans to achieve these objectives. To make comprehensive recommendations, strategy managers must conduct data analysis of the organization as well as the overall industry... Show more	$37-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Digital Marketing
   • Project Management
   • Brand Activation
   • PowerPoint
   • POS
   • Wine
   • Brand Marketing
   • Federal Regulations
   • MDS
   • Social Events
   • Account Management
   • Performance Evaluations
   • Event Planning

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage activities calendar and campaign results reporting findings to upper executives and salesforce.
   • Include all contract negotiation, budget management, ROI tracking, social media strategies, digital content, and activation planning.
   • Perform administrative and management duties such as reports, presentations, scheduling, budget management, KPI tracking forms, etc.
   • Complete general kennel operations, pet health checks, assist supervisors with daily tasks.
   • Develop strategic, creative and effective ideas to top sponsors leveraging their relationship to create a positive ROI.
   • Create and maintain appealing and exciting Facebook and Instagram page, activations and products are promoted through social media.

   More activations manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the activations manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. An activations manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an activations manager in Louisiana may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level activations manager. Additionally, an activations manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average activations manager salary

   $65,837yearly

   $31.65 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level activations manager salary

   $40,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 12, 2025

   Average activations manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$81,930	$39
   2	New York	$80,055	$38
   3	Virginia	$76,167	$37
   4	Washington	$75,106	$36
   5	California	$73,542	$35
   6	Massachusetts	$72,417	$35
   7	Nevada	$68,660	$33
   8	Pennsylvania	$68,448	$33
   9	New Hampshire	$68,140	$33
   10	West Virginia	$67,965	$33
   11	Maryland	$67,679	$33
   12	Michigan	$67,521	$32
   13	Illinois	$66,759	$32
   14	Wisconsin	$66,219	$32
   15	North Carolina	$63,639	$31
   16	South Carolina	$61,674	$30
   17	District of Columbia	$60,763	$29
   18	Arizona	$60,552	$29
   19	Ohio	$59,739	$29
   20	Iowa	$59,722	$29

   Average activations manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$126,074	$60.61	556
   2	Google	$123,530	$59.39	133
   3	Waters	$101,419	$48.76	7
   4	Bayer	$99,297	$47.74	18
   5	Appian	$91,876	$44.17	1
   6	Sun Communities	$90,185	$43.36
   7	CVS Health	$89,177	$42.87	100
   8	Reckitt Benckiser	$88,909	$42.74	2
   9	Electronic Arts	$86,796	$41.73
   10	SYSMIND	$85,066	$40.90
   11	The Juilliard School	$84,693	$40.72	6
   12	Amazon	$84,371	$40.56	254
   13	Mars	$84,061	$40.41	3
   14	Energizer Holdings	$82,514	$39.67
   15	The Walt Disney Company	$82,304	$39.57	31
   16	Sanofi US	$82,133	$39.49	10
   17	Maxus Belgium	$81,790	$39.32
   18	Southern Healthcare	$80,718	$38.81
   19	Jackson Spalding	$80,446	$38.68
   20	Berkshire Healthcare	$79,715	$38.32

4. Writing an activations manager job description

   A good activations manager job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an activations manager job description:

   Activations manager job description example

   At Samba TV, we are on a mission to fundamentally change television viewing for everyone. We are doing this by leveraging our data to enable advertisers to engage and measure TV viewers across all their devices. We have an amazing story with a unique perspective formed by innovative technology.
   
   Samba TV is looking for the best and the brightest to join our team. The Audience Activation Manager position will be an exciting opportunity to work in a cross-functional role at an exciting and fast-growing startup. You will own configuration, execution, and monitoring for Samba TV's Audience Targeting suite of products and campaigns. We move fast, and the ideal candidate must be willing to constantly adapt to new situations and challenges. We also have a lot of fun in doing what we do.
   
   Responsibilities:Manage a portfolio of campaigns to ensure a timely launch, successful performance and full delivery.Analyze campaign performance to make on-going optimizations Anticipate and identify issues with campaigns and creative.Debug and troubleshoot issues with campaign delivery and performance across multiple DSPs and third-party reporting vendors.Forecasting for strategic guidance on campaign planning and targeting during pre-sales. Work closely with Account Management to ensure client KPI attainment and full delivery.Partner with product and engineering on various team projects.Identify process inefficiencies and ways to improve operations workflow.Assist training sessions for Associate team members and new hires.
   
   Requirements:2+ years of ad operations/programmatic experience DSP experience is a must (TTD, DV360 preferred) Experience building data segments and PMPs is highly preferred Familiarity with ad servers, rich media vendors, web debugging tools (Firebug, HTTPFox, Fiddler, etc.). HTML/JS/SQL a big plus Experience activating data sets in DSPs or SSPs Ability to troubleshoot campaign setup, including trafficking publisher tags Ability to optimize for performance KPIs and scale Proficient in Excel (pivot tables, vlookups a plus) Problem solver at heart with strong project and time management skills Willingness to work in a fast-paced, high growth, and technical environment Demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills Strong, independent individual contributor that thrives in a team environment BA/BS with industry emphasis or related experience
   Salary: $60 - 86,000
   
   Samba TV is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We strive to empower connection with one another, reflect the communities we serve, and tackle meaningful projects that make a real impact.
   
   Samba TV may collect personal information directly from you, as a job applicant, Samba TV may also receive personal information from third parties, for example, in connection with a background, employment or reference check, in accordance with the applicable law. For further details, please see Samba's Applicant Privacy Policy. For residents of the EU , Samba Inc. is the data controller.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find activations managers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any activations managers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level activations managers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your activations manager job on Zippia to find and attract quality activations manager candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with activations manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new activations manager

   Once you've selected the best activations manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new activations manager. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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