Associate Director, Paid Social

Summary Are you passionate about shaping the future of health and wellness? Do you dream of making a difference in this space? If so, we want to hear from you! Come join us at AbelsonTaylor Group, where you'll find more than just a job, you'll find a mission. We propel brands that enhance health and well-being to new heights. Here, you'll experience a work environment designed to be as fulfilling as our values. We value creativity, foster teamwork, and champion inclusiveness. We dream big and bold, always eager to learn, listen, and stay curious. Together, we drive positive change in the world. We are seeking an Associate Director, Paid Social to join our Performance Media team. This role serves as the agency's paid social expert, providing strategic leadership, channel expertise, and client guidance across a diverse portfolio of healthcare and pharmaceutical brands. The Associate Director, Paid Social is responsible for developing and overseeing integrated paid social strategies that drive business outcomes while ensuring alignment with broader media, marketing, and customer experience objectives. This individual will serve as a trusted advisor to clients, collaborate closely with paid search and programmatic leaders, and help advance the agency's paid social capabilities through innovation, thought leadership, and team development. We are looking for a strategic thinker, strong communicator, and experienced leader who is passionate about the evolving social landscape and thrives in a collaborative, fast-paced environment. What You’ll Do Paid Social Leadership & Strategy Serve as the agency's paid social subject matter expert across client engagements and internal teamsLead paid social strategy development for multiple clients, ensuring recommendations align with business objectives, audience needs, and performance goalsOversee channel planning, activation, optimization, measurement, and reporting across paid social programsDevelop platform-specific strategies and tactical recommendations across Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, X, and emerging social platformsTranslate industry trends, platform updates, privacy changes, and beta opportunities into actionable recommendations for clients and agency teamsEstablish and maintain paid social best practices, testing frameworks, operational standards, and measurement approachesRemain hands-on in campaign setup, trafficking, optimization, and troubleshooting while providing strategic oversight and direction to the teamOversee pharmaceutical platform requirements, including account verification, prescription drug advertising authorization, and resolution of ad disapprovals in partnership with platform representatives Integrated Performance Media Leadership Partner closely with Paid Search, Programmatic, Analytics, Strategy, and Client Services teams to develop integrated, full-funnel media strategiesEnsure paid social recommendations complement broader channel strategies and customer journeysCollaborate with channel leads to identify cross-channel optimization opportunities and unified measurement approachesContribute to annual planning, audience strategy, media investment allocation, and campaign architecture discussions Client Leadership Serve as a senior client-facing leader across assigned accountsPresent strategic recommendations, performance insights, testing roadmaps, and investment opportunities to client stakeholdersLead social media planning discussions, business reviews, and performance meetingsAct as a trusted consultant by providing thought leadership and strategic guidance on the evolving paid social landscapeIdentify opportunities to expand client engagement and grow paid social and performance media services Performance & Measurement Use multiple data sources and platform insights to evaluate campaign effectiveness and identify growth opportunitiesLead audience, creative, placement, bidding, and conversion optimization strategiesDevelop testing frameworks and measurement approaches that support continuous improvementTranslate campaign performance into meaningful business insights and actionable recommendationsManage budget allocation, pacing, forecasting, and billing reconciliation across paid social programs, including third-party vendor budgets and coordination with FinanceOversee UTMs, trafficking processes, and pre-launch quality assurance checks in partnership with Analytics to ensure accurate implementation, tracking, and measurement Team Leadership & Development Mentor, coach, and develop junior team members across the Performance Media and paid social disciplinesProvide strategic guidance and quality assurance throughout campaign planning and activation processesSupport onboarding, training, and career development initiativesFoster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning Agency Growth & Innovation Maintain strong relationships with key platform and publisher partnersSupport new business pitches, agency marketing efforts, and thought leadership initiativesIdentify innovative opportunities to advance the agency's paid social capabilities and client offeringsStay current on evolving healthcare, pharmaceutical, social media, privacy, and measurement trends What Makes You A Great Fit 6+ years of paid social planning, activation, and management experience, including significant experience within pharmaceutical and healthcare marketingDeep expertise in Meta and LinkedIn, with experience across other relevant platforms such as TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, X, and emerging social platformsDemonstrated ability to act as a strategic consultant and subject matter expert for both clients and internal stakeholdersStrong understanding of audience strategy, targeting methodologies, first-party data applications, privacy considerations, and measurement approachesExperience developing integrated strategies alongside paid search, programmatic, and analytics teamsProven success managing complex, multi-brand, and multi-channel paid media programsStrong client leadership, presentation, and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex platform dynamics into clear business recommendationsExperience leading and developing teams through coaching, mentorship, and performance managementAbility to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment while balancing multiple priorities and stakeholdersExperience with pharmaceutical regulatory considerations, medical/legal review processes, and healthcare marketing best practices strongly preferred Benefits and Perks: Medical, Dental and Vision coverage401k with Company match of 50% on the first 6%Adoption Assistance – Up to $2,500 of financial assistanceCompany Paid Life Insurance, Short-Term and Long-Term DisabilityShort-Term Disability providing 100% of salary coveragePaid Parental Leave for birth and non-birth parents (4 weeks)Summer FridaysFlexible Time Off (FTO)11 Holidays and End of Year Office ClosureCompany provided Learning and Development opportunitiesFree lunch WednesdaysWellness Program Compensation Range: $115,000 - $130,000. The starting salary offer will depend on the candidate’s skills, qualifications, and experience. The company reserves the right to adjust this pay range at any time. At AbelsonTaylor Group (ATG), we love science, art, and data. Since our beginnings in 1981, ATG has been singularly focused on health, wellness, and pharma products – not sneakers, beer, or cars (though we like those things, too). Besides being passionate about our purpose, we are dedicated to our people and their professional growth and fulfillment. We value a diverse and inclusive workforce and strive to bring together people with unique skills and varied backgrounds to work toward common goals. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. This position follows a hybrid schedule, requiring employees to be onsite Tuesday-Thursday each week in our Chicago office. We make reasonable accommodations for employees and applicants with disabilities who require schedule accommodations. We are an E-Verify employer https://www.abelsontaylorgroup.com/pdfs/IER_RightToWorkPoster_Eng_Es.pdf https://www.abelsontaylorgroup.com/pdfs/E-Verify_Participation_Poster_Eng_Es.pdf