Associate Media Director, Paid Search & Social

About the role

We are seeking a strategic, performance-driven Associate Media Director to lead the development and execution of paid search and paid social programs. This role blends high-level strategic leadership with deep channel expertise, driving measurable business outcomes while fostering innovation and team growth. The ideal candidate is both a forward-thinking strategist and a hands-on expert, with a strong command of performance marketing platforms and a passion for translating data into impactful media strategies. Experience across industries such as retail, CPG, travel, pet, and sports & entertainment is highly valued, though not required.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Planning
  • Lead the development of integrated paid search and paid social strategies aligned to client business goals and KPIs
  • Translate marketing objectives into full-funnel media approaches, including audience strategy, channel mix, and investment allocation
  • Identify opportunities for growth through testing roadmaps, emerging platforms, and innovative activation strategies
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with analytics, creative, SEO, and broader media teams to deliver cohesive, insight-driven strategies
• Campaign Execution & Performance Optimization
  • Oversee the execution, management, and optimization of campaigns across platforms including Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and others
  • Ensure campaigns are structured for scalability, efficiency, and sustained performance
  • Provide guidance on bidding strategies, audience segmentation, creative testing, and conversion tracking best practices
  • Maintain a strong focus on performance metrics such as ROAS, CPA, CTR, and conversion rate
• Team Leadership & Development
  • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of media managers and specialists, fostering a high-performance culture
  • Provide clear direction, constructive feedback, and ongoing coaching to support career growth
  • Establish and uphold best practices, ensuring consistency and quality across all accounts
• Client Partnership & Communication
  • Serve as a senior strategic partner to clients, building trusted, long-term relationships
  • Present strategies, performance insights, and recommendations with clarity and confidence
  • Translate complex data into actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Proactively identify opportunities to drive incremental growth and innovation
• Data, Measurement & Insights
  • Oversee reporting frameworks to ensure accuracy, transparency, and actionable insights
  • Analyze performance data to inform optimizations and future strategy
  • Partner with analytics teams on attribution models, tracking infrastructure, and measurement solutions
  • Leverage insights to guide budget allocation and forecasting
• Innovation & Thought Leadership
  • Stay ahead of industry trends, platform updates, and emerging technologies
  • Champion the adoption of new tools, automation, and beta opportunities
  • Contribute to internal knowledge sharing and continuous process improvement

Qualifications

• 6–10+ years of experience in digital media, with deep expertise in paid search and paid social
• Proven success managing large-scale, multi-channel campaigns and budgets
• Strong platform expertise
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing high-performing teams
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills
• Strong communication and presentation abilities, with client-facing experience preferred
• Agency experience strongly preferred
• Experience across industries such as retail, CPG, travel, pet, and sports & entertainment is highly valued, but not required
• Familiarity with advanced attribution models, measurement frameworks and Looker Studio
• Understanding of the broader digital ecosystem, including GEO, SEO and CRO

Skills

• Embrace our company values by seeing challenges as opportunities, welcoming diverse ideas and perspectives, creating new futures, and celebrating our successes.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with clients and colleagues.
• Accept direction openly and demonstrate a willingness to grow and learn.
• Take pride in our work by meeting deadlines and holding ourselves accountable.
• Bring a positive, solution-oriented attitude to the office each day.
• Mentor and support the growth of teammates who can benefit from our experience and perspective.
• Show interest in and contribute to the financial success of the agency, including understanding how our individual roles support Rise and Shine’s overall financial health.