Paid Social Specialist (Contractor)

About the role

We are seeking a strategic and hands-on Paid Social & Audience Growth Specialist to lead the planning, execution, and optimization of paid social campaigns across our portfolio of owned and operated media properties. This role will report to the VP, Client Services. You will collaborate cross-functionally with Account Management, Ad Operations, Media Planning, Production and Editorial teams to drive audience acquisition, engagement, and revenue growth through paid social channels.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy, planning, execution, and optimization of paid social campaigns to support audience growth and business objectives across multiple media brands and platforms.
• Develop and implement scalable audience acquisition, retention, and engagement strategies across key social platforms, including Meta, TikTok, YouTube and emerging channels.
• Manage campaign setup, targeting, budget allocation, pacing, and performance optimization, while maintaining clear testing roadmaps and measurement frameworks.
• Partner with Creative, Production, and Editorial teams to develop high-performing ad creative, providing strategic direction informed by performance data and audience insights.
• Analyze campaign performance on an ongoing basis, identify optimization opportunities, and translate data into actionable insights and clear reporting for stakeholders.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure paid social efforts align with broader content, marketing, and revenue strategies across all owned and operated properties.
• Monitor industry trends, platform updates, and emerging best practices to continuously improve performance and identify growth opportunities.
• Oversee tracking implementation, including pixel management, troubleshooting, and ensuring data accuracy across platforms and analytics tools.
• Provide leadership and guidance to internal team members and external partners as needed, helping establish best practices, workflows, and scalable processes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on experience managing and scaling paid social campaigns, preferably within a media, publishing, or digital content environment.
• Proven success driving audience growth, engagement, and performance through paid social channels.
• Strong expertise across major paid social platforms, including Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and others.
• Deep understanding of creative strategy and its impact on performance, with experience guiding creative development and testing.
• Strong analytical skills and experience with performance reporting, attribution, and optimization.
• Experience managing budgets, forecasting performance, and scaling campaigns efficiently.
• Familiarity with tracking infrastructure, including pixels, conversion events, and troubleshooting discrepancies.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a remote, cross-functional environment.
• Self-starter who is highly organized, proactive, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving media landscape.
• Deep passion for culture, community, and purpose-driven brand work
• Advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion both internally and externally.

The Impact You’ll Make

In this role, you will drive measurable audience growth and engagement through high-performing paid social campaigns across our portfolio of owned and operated media brands. By combining creative strategy with data-driven optimization, you will help expand our reach, strengthen audience connection to our content, and improve campaign efficiency. Your work will play a key role in scaling our audience growth engine while supporting broader business and revenue objectives.

Pay

The anticipated bill rate for this role is $34–$55 per hour and reflects the scope of work, required experience, specialized skills, and current market conditions. Final rates are determined based on a holistic evaluation of the contractor's qualifications and the needs of the engagement.