Position Summary
For more than 30 years, Apex Media Partners has partnered with ministry and nonprofit organizations to maximize the impact of every media investment. We are known throughout the industry for trusted relationships, disciplined negotiation, strategic media execution, and a commitment to stewarding our clients' resources with excellence.
Apex's reputation has been built through decades of trusted relationships with broadcasters, station groups, and industry partners. This role is expected to strengthen those relationships while continually expanding Apex's influence within the media marketplace.
The Media Strategist plays a key role in identifying, evaluating, negotiating, and managing media opportunities for Apex and its clients across traditional and emerging channels. The role is grounded in traditional media buying—broadcast, radio, cable, and outdoor—and contributes directly to the continued expansion of Apex's digital practice across streaming, CTV, podcasts, audio, and social media.
Success in this role requires exceptional relationship-building, disciplined negotiation, analytical thinking, sound business judgment, and a genuine curiosity about the evolving media landscape. The ideal candidate is someone who is looking to uncover opportunities others overlook, negotiate from a position of knowledge, and build lasting relationships throughout the media industry.
This position works primarily with faith-based ministries and mission-driven nonprofit organizations that depend on thoughtful, strategic media investments to reach their audiences. You'll cultivate long-term relationships with media partners, negotiate favorable media investments, uncover strategic opportunities, and ensure campaigns consistently perform against expectations.
The role reports to the VP of Media and works closely alongside the Senior Media Strategists.
1. Opportunity Sourcing, Negotiation & Buying Support
The primary focus of the role.
- Identifies strategic media opportunities that deliver measurable value for clients, with an emphasis on underutilized inventory, emerging channels, and differentiated placements
- Builds and maintains direct relationships with TV, radio, outdoor, and digital media representatives, positioning Apex as the first call when fitting inventory opens up.
- Negotiates terms and rates to fair market value, using Comscore, pricing benchmarks, and a working read of the market.
- Provides hands-on buying support — contacting stations for avails and rates, negotiating spot pricing, and placing, revising, or canceling orders.
- As Apex's digital offerings continue to expand, sources and evaluates opportunities across streaming, CTV, podcasts, audio, and social media—applying the same disciplined negotiation, sourcing expertise, and strategic thinking that define Apex's traditional media practice. Digital responsibilities will continue to grow alongside the business.
- Maintains an active pipeline of media contacts, marketplace intelligence, and qualified opportunities, providing leadership with ongoing visibility into emerging opportunities.
2. Performance Analysis & Campaign Stewardship
The Strategist stewards results across the portfolio and the buys they support — keeping investments performing and acting quickly when they don’t.
- Monitors performance against expectations using internal reporting and third-party tools.
- Acts on underperformance, renegotiating terms or reallocating to better inventory.
- Expands successful strategies by increasing investment in high-performing outlets, dayparts, markets, and platforms while maintaining disciplined stewardship of client budgets.
- Maintains the active media roster by adding strategic tests, expanding successful investments, eliminating underperforming placements, and keeping client spending aligned with approved parameters.
- Provides clear written recommendations on the placements under their purview.
3. Marketplace Awareness & Strategic Alignment
Apex’s ability to secure favorable inventory depends on reading marketplace shifts as they develop.
- Tracks developments that affect inventory and pricing — consolidation, format and ratings shifts, ownership changes, economic conditions, and seasonal demand.
- Translates those shifts into adjustments in sourcing, negotiation, and outlet priority.
- Tracks digital and streaming growth — cord-cutting, connected TV adoption, podcast expansion, and platform and audience shifts.
- Develops informed recommendations on how emerging digital channels—including streaming, connected TV, podcasts, audio, and social media—can advance client objectives and strengthen Apex's media strategies.
- Flags relevant changes to leadership promptly, accompanied by a recommended course of action rather than information alone.
4. Research & Recommendation
- Conducts research for client campaigns: market analysis, outlet and station profiling, audience composition, and competitive review.
- Evaluates competing options against client objectives and summarizes them with a clear point of view.
- As digital opportunities emerge, identifies where integrated traditional and digital strategies can deliver stronger client outcomes than a single-channel approach and recommends the appropriate media mix.
- Presents clear, actionable recommendations that distinguish the preferred strategy from viable alternatives, enabling leadership and clients to make confident, informed decisions.
5. Support of the Media Sales Team
- Surfaces opportunities suited to Apex’s direct-response and infomercial sales business, alongside ministry buying.
- Coordinates with the Media Sales Team so opportunities match current sales priorities and inventory needs.
6. Cross-Functional Coordination
- Works with the Media Buying Team to turn opportunities into executable buys, supplying the context needed to decide.
- Works with Media Services so new buys, schedule changes, and ongoing maintenance are processed on time — including the legwork of high-volume radio periods, when large flights span many stations.
- Identifies and flags timing, availability, or outlet-side risks early, enabling downstream teams to respond promptly.
7. Systems, Tools & Reporting
- Maintains proficiency with Apex’s internal systems, including our proprietary inventory management software, third-party platforms, including Comscore, project management software, and all Microsoft products.
- Pulls data and reporting for performance reviews, client conversations, and planning.
- Learns new tools and platforms independently and applies them quickly — including digital campaign and analytics tools as Apex adopts them.
8. Digital Channel Growth
- Plays an integral role in expanding Apex's digital buying practice by building platform relationships, evaluating emerging opportunities, and identifying innovative approaches that create value for our clients.
- Continuously expands expertise across YouTube, streaming/CTV, podcasts, audio, and social platforms as Apex's digital practice continues to evolve.
9. Professional Conduct
- Represents Apex professionally with reps, vendors, and industry contacts — conduct directly shapes Apex’s standing in the marketplace.
- Handles confidential rates, client data, and competitive intelligence with discretion.
- Demonstrates integrity, professionalism, responsiveness, and sound judgment in every interaction, reinforcing Apex's reputation as a trusted media partner.
Required Qualifications
- 2–4 years of media buying experience, with primary focus on traditional channels (broadcast, radio, cable, outdoor).
- Strong negotiation skills with the confidence to advocate on behalf of clients and secure favorable media investments.
- Demonstrated ability to negotiate and source media opportunities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Proficiency with media buying platforms and reporting tools.
- Familiarity with audience research and media metrics.
- Working knowledge of how digital channels (streaming, CTV, podcast, social) operate alongside traditional media.
Preferred Qualifications
- Hands-on experience with digital channels — YouTube, streaming/CTV, podcasts, audio, or paid social.
- Comfort with both traditional reach/frequency metrics and digital performance metrics such as click-through rate, conversions, and engagement.
- Exposure to programmatic or connected TV buying (DSP, PMP) — a plus, not a requirement.
- Direct response or nonprofit media buying background.
- Experience with high-volume, multi-market buying.
- Comscore or similar research platform fluency; comfort with digital analytics tools a plus.
Who Thrives at Apex Media
The people who thrive at Apex are proactive, resourceful, relationship-driven professionals who take ownership of their work and consistently look beyond today's assignment to identify tomorrow's opportunity. We value initiative, accountability, continuous learning, and sound judgment. Success here comes from bringing thoughtful recommendations, building trusted industry relationships, and continually seeking better ways to serve our clients and strengthen our business.
We don't simply execute media buys—we think strategically, steward every client investment as if it were our own, and continually look for opportunities that create greater impact. We expect every member of our team to do the same.
We value professionals who anticipate needs, solve problems before they become obstacles, and consistently elevate the quality of our work through initiative and sound judgment.
Why Apex
At Apex, relationships matter. For more than three decades, we've built our reputation by serving ministries and nonprofit organizations with integrity, strategic thinking, and disciplined media execution. We believe media buying is more than placing schedules—it's about stewarding resources wisely, cultivating long-term partnerships, and identifying opportunities others overlook.
You'll join a collaborative team that values initiative, continuous learning, innovation, and accountability while contributing to the future of media buying for organizations making a meaningful impact around the world.
About Apex Media Partners
For more than 30 years, Apex Media Partners has been a trusted media strategy and buying partner for ministries and nonprofit organizations throughout North America and internationally. Our reputation has been built on enduring relationships, disciplined negotiation, strategic insight, and delivering measurable value through every client investment.
If you're energized by strategy, negotiation, building industry relationships, and expanding the reach of purpose-driven organizations, we'd love to meet you.
Pay: $65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Cell phone reimbursement
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
- Work from home
Work Location: Remote
