How To Become An Advertising Operations Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is an advertising operations manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Ben Littlepage

Administrative/design assistants work for established designers, providing them with much-needed administrative support. They are there to perform clerical tasks to keep the work of the design team rolling. They are educated in design areas as well and are able to fill quality control functions as well. They assist in closing deals and make sure that operations run as smoothly as possible.

It will be your job to greet and keep in contact with clients and host them in the showroom. You will schedule appointments, make sure deliveries run on time, keep up with correspondence, and answer the phone, informing clients about products and services. You will gather data about prospective and existing clients, keep track of invoices and other documents, and perform data entry for various purposes.

There is much more to it, of course, the list is far from inclusive. You will take part in meetings to stay up to speed about tasks and operations. A degree in design or business administration might be necessary to take on this role. Experience in design will be expected as well, or at least a sensitivity and taste for design matters. Salaries for this position average around $56,971 per year.

What general advice would you give to an advertising operations manager?

Dr. Ben Littlepage

Professor, Murray State University

I believe skills associated with organizational systems (e.g. procedures, processes) and hybridized management are essential for the field. Organizations (e.g. schools, institutions) will continue to be lean for a variety of reasons. The ability to achieve results by refining systems and maximizing resources cannot be understated. Hybrid work schedules and communication are not leaving education. Leaders that embrace hybridized technologies for assessment, employee satisfaction and development, and content delivery will remain competitive in the face of a private market looking to capitalize on laggard leaders.

ScoreAdvertising Operations ManagerUS Average

Salary

6.4

Avg. Salary $82,222

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.40%

Black or African American 6.22%

Hispanic or Latino 15.31%

Unknown 4.34%

White 67.26%

Gender

female 49.35%

male 50.65%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an advertising operations manager

Explore advertising operations manager education requirements

Most common advertising operations manager degrees

Bachelor's

78.6 %

Master's

9.3 %

Associate

8.9 %

Start to develop specific advertising operations manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Ad Operations	17.00%
HTML	14.51%
DFP	12.62%
Campaign Management	4.51%
Campaign Performance	3.61%

Complete relevant advertising operations manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New advertising operations managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an advertising operations manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real advertising operations manager resumes.

Research advertising operations manager duties and responsibilities

Manage newsletter remnant CPC program to help meet advertisers back-end goals and monetize for publishers.
Manage client's campaigns both pre and post-sale to ensure proper delivery against client's KPI metrics.
Work internally to project manage custom creatives with multiple departments from sales, account management, design, QA and editorial.
Manage advertising operations management and revenue development via multiple advertising verticals including CPM, CPA, PPCall, CPI and CPC.

Apply for advertising operations manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an advertising operations manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average advertising operations manager salary

The average advertising operations manager salary in the United States is $82,222 per year or $40 per hour. Advertising operations manager salaries range between $57,000 and $117,000 per year.

Average advertising operations manager salary

$82,222 Yearly

$39.53 hourly

What is an advertising operations manager and how to become one

What general advice would you give to an advertising operations manager?

Advertising operations manager career paths

Key steps to become an advertising operations manager

Explore advertising operations manager education requirements

Most common advertising operations manager degrees

Start to develop specific advertising operations manager skills

Complete relevant advertising operations manager training and internships

Research advertising operations manager duties and responsibilities

Apply for advertising operations manager jobs

How did you land your first advertising operations manager job

Average advertising operations manager salary

How do advertising operations managers rate their job?