Programme Operator (Ad Operations)

Location: London, Hybrid

Salary: £45,000 - £55,000 + Share Options

Reporting to: Head of Programme Operations

About us

Duel is a SaaS company on a mission to make Brand Advocacy the industry standard philosophy for building brilliant retail brands. It was founded by world record-breaking adventurer and former brand ambassador Paul Archer. We exist to show that companies built for advocacy can change the world. In today's hyper connected world in which social media is now twice the size of all other media channels combined and entirely user-generated, the most successful brands are the ones investing in people and in community, not in ads.

The Duel Brand Advocacy Solution allows enterprise brands to do just that. We have onboarded over 60 influential brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Charlotte Tilbury, Spanx, Victoria's Secret, LUSH and Elemis. The Duel team's global presence includes offices in New York City & London. Our team of 60+ is composed of psychologists, brand experts and community builders, combining cutting-edge brand expertise with seasoned SaaS experience.

Backed by top European VCs, Duel recently announced a $16 million Series A, which will accelerate growth in the US from our base in New York, and bring our entirely AI-driven product vision to life to equip brands with the solution needed to drive growth through thousands of advocates, customers, creators and brand ambassadors.

The Role

Programme Operations is a brand new function at Duel, and you'd be getting in right at the start. We've taken the Ad Operations discipline, the one that runs the backbone of every media agency, and pointed it at something new: brand advocacy programmes. This role doesn't exist anywhere else in the market. We're building it.

Programme Ops exists to bring operational excellence to how we launch, monitor, test and optimise every programme we run.

As a Programme Operator, you'll be hands on with programme execution across our brand portfolio. You'll launch programmes, monitor performance daily, run A/B tests, diagnose problems and implement fixes. You'll work alongside a Senior Programme Operator and the Head of Programme Ops, learning quickly in an environment where the processes are still being written.

This is a role for someone who is sharp with data, thorough in execution and genuinely interested in figuring out why something is or isn't working. If you've been in ad ops or campaign management and you want to apply that skill set to something new, with more ownership and more variety, this is it.

We're Looking for Someone Who Will…

• Implement and launch advocacy programmes across multiple brands, following established frameworks and testing protocols while flagging anything that doesn't look right.

• Monitor programme performance daily, identifying drops in engagement, task completion or advocate activity, and diagnosing causes rather than just reporting symptoms.

• Execute A/B tests on programme mechanics, reward structures, communication timing, task design and engagement triggers according to testing plans set by the Senior Operator or Head of Programme Ops.

• Maintain programme documentation, version control and operational logs so that every change is traceable, every test is clean and nothing gets lost.

• Coordinate programme launches and updates across Brand Partnerships, Managed Services and Product to make sure execution is smooth and nothing falls between teams.

Run Continuous Optimisation

• Analyse programme performance data to spot patterns, bottlenecks and improvement opportunities across the advocate journey.

• Implement optimisation changes based on test results and performance analysis. Scale what works, stop what doesn't, and do it methodically.

• Conduct regular programme audits to make sure programmes are running as designed and that performance tracking is accurate.

• Build and maintain performance dashboards that surface the metrics that matter and flag issues before they become problems.

• Document what is working and what isn't across different programme types, brand contexts and advocate segments, contributing to a growing body of knowledge for the function.

Support Testing Operations

• Set up and manage A/B tests including control group assignment, variant tracking, data collection and results analysis.

• Monitor test integrity by checking for contamination, validating sample sizes and confirming statistical significance before calling winners.

• Track all active tests, their status, expected completion dates and preliminary results, keeping testing operations organised and visible.

• Surface performance anomalies and potential improvement areas from the data, contributing hypotheses that feed into the broader testing roadmap.

• Create clear test summaries and recommendations based on results to inform future programme decisions.

Build Operational Standards

• Help build and refine the operational processes for programme launches, updates, performance monitoring and issue resolution. Much of this is being created for the first time and you'll have a hand in shaping it.

• Contribute to programme playbooks and SOPs that enable consistent execution across brands and programme types.

• Identify operational inefficiencies and bottlenecks, proposing and implementing solutions that improve both speed and quality.

• Ensure data accuracy and cleanliness across all programme tracking, reporting and analysis. If the data looks wrong, you're the person who notices and fixes it.

• Act as the operational link between Product, Brand Partnerships, Managed Services and the wider team on programme performance and day to day issues.

We'd Love to Hear from You If You Have…

• 2 to 4 years in ad operations, campaign management or performance marketing with hands on responsibility for campaign execution and optimisation.

• Direct experience in social ad ops (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest or similar) managing campaign setup, monitoring and performance tracking.

• Proven experience running A/B tests. You can explain clearly how you've set them up, monitored them and determined winners.

• A track record of improving campaign or programme performance through systematic testing and optimisation, not just gut feel.

• Comfortable working with performance data, building reports and extracting insight from metrics without needing someone else to interpret them for you.

• Strong understanding of A/B testing fundamentals including control groups, sample sizes, statistical significance and common pitfalls.

• Analytical skills with proficiency in tools like Google Analytics, Looker, Excel/Sheets or similar platforms for data analysis and reporting.

• Comfortable using AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT or similar) to analyse data, automate repetitive tasks and speed up operational work. You already use these as part of how you work, not as a novelty.

• Operational rigour and attention to detail. You naturally build clean processes, maintain accurate documentation and spot discrepancies in data that others miss.

• Systems thinking. You understand how different programme elements connect and that changing one thing has consequences elsewhere.

• Ability to work independently on day to day execution while knowing when to escalate or ask for input on decisions above your level.

The Person

• You are execution focused. You get things done methodically without needing constant direction, and you take pride in the quality of your operational work.

• You are comfortable with the reality of operational work. Launching programmes, monitoring dashboards, running tests, analysing results, implementing changes and doing it again. You find satisfaction in making things run well.

• You are curious about why things work or don't. You investigate performance changes rather than just accepting them, and you instinctively think in terms of tests rather than guesses.

• You communicate proactively. You keep stakeholders informed, flag issues early and ask questions when something is unclear rather than assuming.

• You adapt when priorities shift without letting the things already in flight fall over.

• This function is brand new. You'll be one of the first people in it. If the idea of helping build something from the ground up, with more ownership and faster development than you'd get in an established team, sounds like the right next step, we'd like to hear from you.

Bonus Points For

• Experience with brand advocacy, influencer marketing, creator programmes or community driven marketing.

• Familiarity with gamification mechanics, reward systems or engagement programme design.

• Background working with enterprise retail or beauty brands.

• SQL or basic scripting skills for data extraction and analysis.

• A track record of building automation or using AI to eliminate manual work in previous roles.

The Dueligan Culture

• We're building a remarkable company with remarkable people and a remarkable culture. Advocacy is our north star, for customers and employees.

• A High Trust, Tight Ship, full of Bloody Brilliant & Utterly Lovely People doing their best work together.

• We value trust and freedom above all else, combined with deep ownership, execution, and candour.

• Dueligans are the largest shareholders in Duel. We take ownership seriously.

In-Person and Remote Working Balance

We do much of our best work together in person, which is why we're hiring people within commuting distance of our London or New York offices. But we also recognise the value of deep work at home. Our hybrid philosophy gives you freedom and flexibility, you do you, as long as it's not at the expense of others.

Duel Perks and Package

• Flexible working hours - if you need to fit around childcare or need to work around your life, we understand.

• Around 32 days of Annual Leave (28 excluding bank holidays and an extended break between Christmas and New Year, when we close the office).

• On-going training where required.

• Options scheme for all full-time employees - it's important to us that everybody owns a part of the company and shares in the benefits of what we build.

• Company MacBook to work from

• £350 WFH Set-Up

• Headspace Contributions

• Personal Development budget and support

• 2 additional days leave for volunteering