Digital Performance Manager (Johannesburg)

Job description

Role summary: This role owns the day-to-day operational health of the agency's digital performance function. It is responsible for monitoring account health across channels, identifying risks early, protecting budget efficiency, coordinating corrective action with channel leads, and giving leadership reliable visibility into account performance before issues escalate.

 Role information:

• Job title -Digital Performance Manager
• Department -Digital Operations
• Reports to -Digital Operations Manager
• Works closely with -Head of Digital Operations, Head of Paid Social, Head of Paid Search, Head of Community Management, Data Specialist, Report Writer
• Role type -Senior, client-facing operational management role
• Direct reports -None at inception; strong matrix accountability across channel and support teams

Role purpose:
The Digital Performance Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operational control of the agency's digital performance environment. The role exists to ensure that account issues are spotted early, budget pacing remains under control, client goals remain the reference point for performance assessment, and channel teams are supported to act quickly when performance, reporting, tracking or delivery standards begin to slip.

This role is a key operational layer below the Digital Operations Manager. While the Head of Digital Operations and the Digital Operations Manager spend more time on strategic client growth, client stickiness, innovation and business development, the Digital Performance Manager provides the stability and oversight needed to keep the day-to-day delivery engine running effectively.

Key responsibilities:

1. Day-to-day account health oversight

• Monitor the health of all active paid media accounts and related digital performance activity across the agency portfolio on a daily basis.
• Judge account performance in the context of each client's commercial goals, campaign objectives, current priorities and agreed success metrics.
• Identify early signs of performance decline, inefficient spend, delivery issues, reporting inconsistencies or platform anomalies before they become client escalations.
• Maintain a clear view of which accounts are stable, which require closer observation, and which need immediate intervention.
• Track budget pacing across platforms and flag risks related to overspend, underspend, weak allocation or wasted spend.
• Assess spend performance against campaign goals and phase, rather than reviewing budgets in isolation.
• Work with channel leads to ensure budget is being used effectively and adjusted when performance or business priorities shift.
• Raise red flags quickly and clearly when accounts show signs of underperformance, delivery risk, tracking concern or reporting failure.
• Coordinate with the Head of Paid Social, Head of Paid Search and Head of Community Management to ensure the right corrective action is taken.
• Support the Digital Operations Manager with weekly risk visibility across the client portfolio, highlighting what is happening, why it matters and what needs to change.
• Act as a central operational bridge between channel leads and the wider support layer.
• Help maintain accountability, follow-through and prioritisation across performance-related issues.
• Provide a stabilising support layer for day-to-day digital operations so that senior leadership can focus more on strategic growth and commercial opportunity.

2. Budget pacing and spend control

3. Risk detection, escalation and corrective action

4. Cross-functional operational coordination

5. Reporting and dashboard oversight:

• Ensure reporting views are practical, accurate and useful for early issue detection and account visibility.
• Work closely with the Report Writer to improve the clarity, consistency and usefulness of reporting outputs.
• Flag issues relating to data accuracy, conversion tracking, attribution visibility, dashboard reliability or measurement gaps that may affect optimisation and reporting quality.
• Work closely with the Data Specialist to validate issues, improve data confidence and strengthen the integrity of performance reporting.
• Understand the basics of GA4, GTM, pixels, tags, UTMs and platform conversion tracking well enough to identify when something appears incorrect or incomplete.
• Collaborate with the Head of Community Management from a reporting and performance perspective.
• Identify when content, engagement, response quality or community trends may be influencing paid media outcomes or broader client performance.
• Help create a more connected view of performance across paid, community and reporting environments.

6. Data, tracking and measurement quality support

7. Community and broader digital performance alignment
 Role Boundaries

• This role does not sit as the primary day-to-day campaign builder or optimiser on every account.
• This role does not replace the Head of Paid Social, Head of Paid Search or Head of Community Management as channel owners.
• This role is not intended to own executive-level monthly summaries or senior strategic presentations.
• This role does, however, hold strong day-to-day accountability for performance oversight, risk visibility, operational coordination and quality control across the digital performance environment.
• At least 5 years of experience in digital performance marketing, paid media, account oversight or a closely related role.
• Strong agency-side experience managing or reviewing multiple client accounts across different industries and objectives.
• Proven ability to interpret cross-platform performance data, identify patterns early and separate normal fluctuation from meaningful risk.
• Experience engaging with clients in a confident, commercially aware and solutions-oriented manner.

Required Experience Technical Skills and Platform Knowledge
Advertising platforms

Broad working knowledge across Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Ads and other platforms relevant to the agency mix.

Reporting tools

Strong capability in Looker Studio. Power BI experience is advantageous.

Performance analysis

Comfortable assessing platform performance, pacing, efficiency, lead quality indicators, delivery trends and KPI achievement.

Data tools

Strong Excel or Google Sheets capability, including the ability to work with structured reporting data.

Measurement awareness

Good practical understanding of GA4, GTM, pixels, tags, UTMs, attribution basics and platform conversion actions.

Qualifications and Certifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification in marketing, digital marketing, analytics, communications, business or a related field is preferred.
• Current or recent certifications in major advertising platforms are strongly preferred, particularly Google Ads and Meta.
• Additional certifications in LinkedIn, TikTok, analytics or dashboard/reporting tools would be beneficial.
• Commercial judgement - able to assess performance in the context of client business goals rather than platform metrics alone.
• Proactive ownership - spots issues early, follows through and does not wait for a crisis before escalating.
• Cross-team influence - able to challenge constructively and work well with specialists, managers and support roles.
• Analytical thinking - comfortable moving from raw data or dashboard signals to practical business conclusions.
• Communication - able to explain issues, risks and actions clearly to both internal stakeholders and clients.
• Attention to detail - maintains a high standard in pacing, reporting, tracking and account-health review without losing sight of the bigger picture.
• Calm under pressure - able to prioritise risk and respond sensibly when multiple accounts require intervention at the same time.
• Daily account-health monitoring across the active client portfolio.
• Weekly red-flag and account-risk reporting for the Digital Operations Manager and relevant channel leads.
• Ongoing pacing alerts, performance observations and account-health commentary as needed.
• Practical dashboard updates and reporting improvements that strengthen visibility and decision-making.
• Clear issue logs, escalation notes and corrective-action follow-through where required.
• Fewer client escalations caused by performance, pacing, reporting or tracking issues not being detected in time.
• Earlier identification of account risks and faster intervention by the relevant channel teams.
• Improved budget efficiency and better pacing control across the portfolio.
• Stronger day-to-day operational control across paid social, paid search and community-linked performance reporting.
• Reduced dependence on senior leadership for day-to-day firefighting.
• Improved reporting visibility and more consistent performance standards across the department.

Core Competencies and Behavioural Profile Key Outputs and Working Rhythm Success Measures Ideal Candidate Summary
The ideal candidate is a senior digital performance professional who combines cross-platform knowledge, strong commercial judgement and operational discipline. They are comfortable working across teams, confident in front of clients, and able to act as the early-warning and stabilising layer that keeps digital delivery under control while leadership focuses on growth and strategic client value.