Paid Media Manager

The Paid Media Manager is responsible for the strategic planning, activation, optimization, and management of social programmatic media campaigns. This role translates client communication strategies, customer journeys, audience insights, and business objectives into effective media activation plans.

The ideal candidate has strong experience managing performance-focused social campaigns, particularly through programmatic buying environments. Experience supporting commerce, retail media, direct-response, or growth-focused clients is required. Paid search experience is helpful but not required.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Media Activation:

• Plan, activate, optimize, and manage social programmatic media campaigns aligned with client objectives, audience insights, and customer journeys.
• Develop campaign structures, audience strategies, investment plans, bidding approaches, placement strategies, and testing frameworks.
• Execute and optimize campaigns across social and programmatic platforms, including relevant DSPs, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, and other emerging platforms.
• Make activation and investment decisions based on business goals, audience behavior, campaign performance, and available client or proprietary data.
• Manage performance against metrics such as reach, frequency, CTR, conversion rate, CPL, CPA, CAC, ROAS, and other client-specific KPIs.
• Apply a test-and-learn approach across audiences, creative, placements, bidding strategies, inventory, frequency, and campaign structure.
• Oversee the full campaign lifecycle, including setup, trafficking, QA, optimization, troubleshooting, reporting, forecasting, and billing.
• Ensure brand safety, fraud prevention, viewability, tracking accuracy, and data-quality transparency across campaigns.
• Support audits of prospective and existing client social and programmatic accounts.
• Identify opportunities to expand campaigns, test new buying strategies, and improve efficiency and scale.

Client Service:

• Develop comprehensive social programmatic activation plans aligned with each client’s business goals and customer journey.
• Translate media objectives and strategic recommendations into clear social and programmatic campaign plans.
• Anticipate client needs and provide proactive, data-informed recommendations.
• Present campaign performance, analysis, and insights to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Explain platform strategies, investment decisions, results, and optimization recommendations in clear business terms.
• Build trusted client relationships through responsive communication, reliable execution, and strategic guidance.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Collaborate with strategy, planning, analytics, creative, CX, investment, and account teams to deliver a cohesive consumer experience.
• Work closely with media planning teams to manage campaign delivery and provide ongoing optimization recommendations.
• Coordinate creative requirements, tracking needs, reporting expectations, and campaign timelines across internal and client teams.
• Contribute social programmatic expertise to broader media planning discussions, business reviews, and client presentations.
• Support and mentor junior team members by sharing platform knowledge, activation standards, and optimization best practices.

Thought-Leadership:

• Help establish and refine social programmatic activation standards, processes, and best practices.
• Stay current on platform changes, privacy developments, measurement capabilities, inventory quality, emerging technologies, and industry trends.
• Identify new buying strategies, platform capabilities, audience solutions, and testing opportunities that may improve client outcomes.
• Contribute to team learning, professional development, and subject-matter expertise.

What You Bring:

• A Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, business, or a related field is preferred.
• Three to five years of experience in social media activation, programmatic media, performance marketing, or a related discipline.
• Hands-on experience planning, activating, optimizing, and reporting on social programmatic campaigns.
• Experience working with commerce, retail media, direct-response, or growth-focused clients is required.
• Experience with one or more DSPs and social advertising platforms such as Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, or X.
• Strong understanding of audience strategy, campaign structure, bidding, budget allocation, inventory selection, forecasting, testing, optimization, reporting, troubleshooting, and billing.
• Knowledge of pixels, conversion tracking, attribution, brand safety, fraud prevention, viewability, and data-quality standards.
• Experience analyzing campaign data using tools such as Google Analytics, Looker Studio, Tableau, Skai, or similar platforms. SQL experience is a plus.
• Paid search experience, including Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising, is helpful but not required.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate performance data into clear recommendations.
• Excellent client communication and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple campaigns, platforms, priorities, and deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior team members and contribute to activation standards.
• Collaborative approach and experience working effectively across strategy, planning, analytics, creative, CX, and investment teams.
• Strong knowledge of social programmatic trends, buying practices, measurement approaches, and emerging technologies.

Important Note

This is a paid media activation role. It is not an organic social media, community management, or content publishing position. Candidates should have hands-on experience buying and optimizing paid social or social programmatic media.