Associate Director, Paid Social

About the role

The ideal candidate is a recognized expert in Meta direct response advertising with a proven track record of scaling ad accounts well beyond $1M USD per month, building and mentoring high-performing teams, and serving as a trusted strategic advisor to senior client stakeholders. This is not a tactical execution role; it demands the ability to architect full-funnel paid social strategies, lead a team of practitioners, and drive measurable revenue outcomes across a portfolio of high-growth brands.

What you'll do

• Own and drive the overarching paid social strategy across a portfolio of high-growth U.S. brands, ensuring alignment between media investment, creative output, and business objectives.

• Serve as the executive point of contact for senior client stakeholders — presenting quarterly business reviews, growth roadmaps, and performance forecasts to CMOs and marketing leadership.

• Partner with the Managing Director to define team OKRs, capacity planning, and service delivery standards across the Paid Social practice.

• Champion Darkroom's paid social point of view, staying ahead of platform changes, algorithmic shifts, and emerging formats to inform both client strategy and internal best practices.

• Lead the development of annual and quarterly paid media plans, including budget allocation, channel mix, audience strategy, and creative roadmaps.

• Oversee campaign architecture, optimization frameworks, and testing methodologies across 8–15 paid media accounts with aggregate monthly spends ranging from $500K–$5M+

• Drive best-in-class performance across Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Axon, and CTV, with deep mastery of direct response principles and short-form video creative strategy.

• Establish and enforce rigorous KPI frameworks — CPA, CAC, iROAS, nCAC, MER, aMER, CTR, TSR, and Hold Rate — ensuring data-driven decision-making at every level.

• Architect and pressure-test attribution models in partnership with Analytics, ensuring clients have a clear and accurate view of cross-channel performance.

• Proactively identify growth opportunities through competitive intelligence, audience expansion, and creative iteration — translating insights into actionable channel strategies.

• Serve as the senior creative strategist on accounts, guiding clients and internal creative teams on hook construction, format selection, messaging hierarchy, and creative testing frameworks.

• Develop scalable creative testing systems that connect production investment directly to performance outcomes.

• Advise clients on creative budget allocation across UGC, motion, static, and short-form video to maximize return at each funnel stage.

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Paid Social Managers and Specialists, setting clear performance expectations and fostering a culture of accountability and craft.

• Conduct structured performance reviews and build individualized growth plans for direct reports.

• Establish internal quality standards for campaign builds, reporting, and client deliverables — and ensure consistent adherence across the team.

• Act as an escalation point for complex performance challenges and client issues, providing senior-level guidance and resolution.

What you'll need to be successful

• 10+ years of paid media advertising experience, with at least 7+ years specializing in Paid Social and Meta in particular.
• 7+ years managing paid social advertising for high-growth consumer brands with aggregate monthly spends of $1M+ across a portfolio.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing a team of 3+ paid media practitioners in a fast-paced agency or in-house environment.
• Proven track record of scaling Meta ad accounts beyond $1M USD/month while maintaining or improving efficiency metrics.
• Executive-level client management skills — ability to build trust with CMOs and senior marketing leaders, present strategic recommendations with confidence, and navigate complex stakeholder dynamics.
• Expert-level command of Meta Ads Manager and deep familiarity with TikTok Ads, Pinterest, and emerging social commerce platforms.
• Mastery of e-commerce performance metrics (CPA, CAC, iROAS, nCAC, MER, aMER, CTR, TSR, Hold Rate) and the ability to translate these into clear client-facing narratives.
• Expertise in full-funnel creative strategy — from concept briefing to performance analysis — with a sharp eye for what converts.
• Strong background in data-derived decision-making, budget forecasting, and spend projection modeling.
• Comfort engaging with e-commerce P&Ls and financial performance metrics at the business level.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; able to distill complex data into compelling insights for both internal teams and senior client stakeholders.