Director, Video Monetization Products

VERSANT (Nasdaq: VSNT) is an industry-changing media and entertainment business and home to trusted brands that shape culture, inform audiences, and build lasting connections. It operates across four core markets: political news and opinion, business news and personal finance, golf, and sports and genre entertainment. These markets are served through a powerful portfolio of iconic and innovative brands, including CNBC, MS NOW, USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Versant's sports division USA Sports, along with complementary digital assets including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and GolfPass. The Director, Video Monetization is responsible for leading the strategy, roadmap, and execution of the company's video advertising technology ecosystem, with a primary focus on FreeWheel as the enterprise video ad server. This role serves as the business and product owner for video monetization capabilities, ensuring the ad technology stack supports scalable revenue growth, operational efficiency, and best-in-class advertiser and viewer experiences. The Director partners closely with Ad Sales, Revenue Operations, Yield Management, Product, Engineering, Data & Analytics, Finance, and external technology partners to define and deliver the capabilities required to optimize the end-to-end video advertising lifecycle. This individual will lead platform strategy, integrations, data initiatives, and process transformation while driving innovation across direct, programmatic, and streaming monetization. RESPONSIBILITIES Define and execute the long-term vision and roadmap for the enterprise video monetization platform across linear, digital, OTT, CTV, FAST, and emerging distribution channels. Serve as the business owner for the FreeWheel platform, overseeing governance, configuration, roadmap prioritization, lifecycle management, and platform performance. Lead the integration strategy across FreeWheel, CRM, order management, yield, SSPs/DSPs, audience platforms, analytics, billing, measurement, and other enterprise systems. Partner with Revenue Operations and Yield teams to maximize inventory value, improve campaign execution, reduce revenue leakage, and increase monetization performance. Establish the strategy for operational and monetization data, including FreeWheel log-level data, to enable advanced reporting, forecasting, reconciliation, and audience insights. Direct cross-functional product initiatives from strategy through implementation, including roadmap development, requirements, KPIs, Agile execution, and vendor management. Define standards, best practices, and operating models that ensure platform stability, scalability, compliance, and operational excellence. Identify and implement new technologies, AI-driven capabilities, and workflow automation to improve operational efficiency and enhance monetization. Collaborate with Ad Sales, Product, Engineering, Finance, Analytics, Marketing, Operations, and external partners to align technology investments with business objectives. Develop business cases, investment recommendations, and executive communications while leading governance forums and steering committees to support strategic decision-making. Qualifications 7+ years of leadership experience in advertising technology, digital media, streaming, or video monetization, with deep expertise administering and optimizing FreeWheel as a publisher ad server. Proven experience leading enterprise ad tech platforms and complex system integrations, including APIs, data pipelines, CRM, order management, analytics, identity, and programmatic ecosystems. Strong knowledge of video advertising and monetization across linear, CTV, OTT, FAST, AVOD, and digital channels, including ad decisioning, inventory management, campaign trafficking, DAI/SSAI, and revenue optimization. Hands-on expertise with industry standards and technologies , including Programmatic Guaranteed, PMP, OpenRTB, VAST/VMAP, audience targeting, measurement and attribution, log-level advertising data, and revenue reconciliation. Demonstrated product and program leadership , with experience driving Agile delivery, cross-functional collaboration, vendor management, and strategic technology roadmaps. 7+ years of leadership experience in advertising technology, digital media, streaming, or video monetization, with deep expertise administering and optimizing FreeWheel as a publisher ad server. Proven experience leading enterprise ad tech platforms and complex system integrations, including APIs, data pipelines, CRM, order management, analytics, identity, and programmatic ecosystems. Strong knowledge of video advertising and monetization across linear, CTV, OTT, FAST, AVOD, and digital channels, including ad decisioning, inventory management, campaign trafficking, DAI/SSAI, and revenue optimization. Hands-on expertise with industry standards and technologies , including Programmatic Guaranteed, PMP, OpenRTB, VAST/VMAP, audience targeting, measurement and attribution, log-level advertising data, and revenue reconciliation. Demonstrated product and program leadership , with experience driving Agile delivery, cross-functional collaboration, vendor management, and strategic technology roadmaps. As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to candidateaccessibility@versantmedia.com . VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc. VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.