Description

The Lead Operations is responsible for the end-to-end operational delivery of South Africa’s official TV audience measurement currency, ensuring robust, timely, and accredited reporting across linear broadcast, time-shift, and streaming/OTT platforms. This role oversees panel health, data ingestion and processing, quality assurance, vendor performance, and client service operations, ensuring compliance with local governance (BRC) and international best practices.

Key Responsibilities

1) Currency Operations: Deliver daily audience data to market on time (T+1) as per GfK standards and agreed with client; define and enforce SOPs, SLAs, and runbooks; chair Change Control Board.

2) Panel & Field Operations: Oversee panel recruitment, installation, maintenance, and retention; manage meter technology; ensure POPIA compliance.

3) Data Ingestion & Integration: Operationalize ingestion from broadcast logs, RPD, ACR signals, and streaming census feeds; maintain metadata structures.

4) Processing & QA: Run production processes for weighting, imputation, deduplication, co-viewing; implement multi-layer QA.

5) Accreditation & Compliance: Drive readiness for BRC audits and accreditation; ensure POPIA compliance.

6) Vendor & Partner Management: Manage SLAs with fieldwork agencies, data suppliers, and technology vendors.

7) Client Operations & Governance: Lead client support and incident communication; represent Operations in industry committees.

8) People & Performance: Build and lead a high-performing operations team; own operations budget and resource planning.

Qualifications & Experience

10+ years in audience measurement, broadcast operations, or data platform operations; 5+ years in senior leadership. Experience with South African TV ecosystem and client governance. Familiarity with panel methodologies, RPD data, and cross-platform measurement. Strong knowledge of cloud data platforms, ETL pipelines, and QA frameworks. Compliance expertise in POPIA and international security standards.

Key Competencies

Operational excellence in mission-critical environments; strong stakeholder management; risk and incident management under pressure.

Success Metrics

On-time daily releases (T+1; T+28); panel health and representativeness; system reliability and uptime; audit readiness and compliance. Monitor and manage costs against budgets.

What We Offer

Opportunity to shape South Africa’s TV audience currency for the future; high-impact role with visibility across the media industry.

Qualifications

Additional Info

NIQ may utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools at various stages of the recruitment process, including résumé screening, candidate assessments, interview scheduling, job matching, communication support, and certain administrative tasks that help streamline workflows. These tools are intended to improve efficiency and support fair and consistent evaluation based on job-related criteria. All use of AI is governed by NIQ’s principles of fairness, transparency, human oversight, and inclusion. Final hiring decisions are made exclusively by humans. NIQ regularly reviews its AI tools to help mitigate bias and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. If you have questions, require accommodations, or wish to request human review were permitted by law, please contact your local HR representative. For more information, please visit NIQ’s AI Safety Policies and Guiding Principles: https://www.nielseniq.com/global/en/ai-safety-policies.

Our Benefits

• Flexible working environment
• Volunteer time off
• LinkedIn Learning
• Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP)

About NIQ

NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. NIQ is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world’s population.

For more information, visit NIQ.com

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Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At NIQ, we are steadfast in our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace that mirrors the rich diversity of the communities and markets we serve. We believe that embracing a wide range of perspectives drives innovation and excellence.  All employment decisions at NIQ are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We invite individuals who share our dedication to inclusivity and equity to join us in making a meaningful impact. To learn more about our ongoing efforts in diversity and inclusion, please visit the https://nielseniq.com/global/en/news-center/diversity-inclusion