Assistant Director, Advertising

Temple University•Philadelphia, PA

4h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Director of Advertising reports to the Director of Advertising within Temple University’s Enrollment Marketing team. The role supports the development and refinement of paid media strategy and recommendations across channels, ensuring alignment with division-wide marketing priorities and institutional brand standards. The Assistant Director independently manages complex, integrated paid media programs from planning through completion and translates marketing goals into actionable guidance for the university’s media buying agency and internal stakeholders. The role applies reporting knowledge and data-informed insights to improve campaign outcomes, working closely with Strategic Marketing and Communications colleagues, campus partners, and the external media buying agency to support effective planning, continuous optimization, and consistent execution quality. Other job-related duties may be assigned.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
Three years of directly related experience in advertising, paid media activation, marketing operations, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
Knowledge of advertising best practices and the operational function of paid media tactics.
Working knowledge of advertising campaign performance metrics and reporting dashboards, and ability to translate insights into execution improvements.
Working expertise in digital marketing and paid media, including SEM/search and paid social, and related measurement fundamentals such as tracking, UTMs, and conversion events.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite products.
Proactive, self-starting approach to project management.
Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment while maintaining accuracy, prioritizing effectively, and meeting deadlines.
Ability to adapt quickly to different environments and openness to new processes and technologies.
Self-directed, solutions-oriented approach and commitment to a positive work environment.
Ability to work in a continuous improvement environment, receive feedback positively, and demonstrate personal accountability.
Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills, including the ability to collaborate with colleagues and campus partners.
Diplomacy, collegiality, and willingness to address and collaboratively resolve challenges.
Strong attention to detail and ability to use data and insights to inform decisions.
Ability to work well under pressure, independently, and efficiently.
Demonstrated cross-functional teamwork and excellent organizational and time-management skills.
Ability to attend staff events as needed, including occasional nights and weekends.
Successful completion of a pre-employment physical is required.

Nice To Haves

Previous work in higher education marketing or advertising.

Responsibilities

Lead multiple complex, integrated paid media programs from planning through completion, coordinating cross-functional delivery, setting expectations, monitoring milestones, ensuring schedules and channel specifications are met, and escalating risks early.
Serve as the primary day-to-day problem-solver for stakeholder and agency issues by managing expectations, resolving conflicts, and removing roadblocks; escalate matters requiring Director-level strategy, budget tradeoffs, or institutional alignment decisions.
Manage performance reporting for assigned programs, identify trends and performance drivers, recommend optimization and testing, and guide agency follow-through.
Apply paid media operational expertise and best practices, including platform constraints, creative requirements, optimization levers, and measurement limitations, to prevent execution issues and improve campaign effectiveness.
Establish and improve paid media planning and execution standards and processes, including templates, SOPs, quality assurance practices, and documentation norms, and drive adoption across internal partners and the agency.
Monitor budget pacing for assigned programs, reconcile planned and actual spend, identify variances, and recommend reallocations or timing shifts for Director review.
Partner with the Advertising Specialist to cover operational needs such as campaign documentation, reporting compilation, asset handoffs, and tracking, while maintaining clear responsibilities and efficient administrative and financial workflows.
Ensure creative and messaging are routed through appropriate review channels and adhere to institutional brand standards and guidelines.
Perform other job-related duties as assigned.