Associate Director, Paid Media

Northern•Toronto, ON

1d•CA$80,000 - CA$110,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Northern is seeking an experienced Associate Director, Paid Media to join their expanding paid media team. This role involves complete ownership of strategy and end-to-end execution for key client accounts, leading high-performing, cross-channel paid advertising campaigns that deliver measurable business results. The position requires a blend of deep technical expertise and strategic vision, managing the entire campaign lifecycle from research and planning to implementation, optimization, and reporting. The Associate Director will also serve as a senior client partner, responsible for optimizing team capacity, workload planning, and integrating paid media strategy with other marketing functions.

Requirements

7+ years of hands-on experience managing paid digital advertising (search, social, display, video, and multi-channel campaigns)
Proven track record leading client accounts and managing cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment
Deep expertise in major advertising platforms: Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Snap, and LinkedIn
Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into strategic insights and actionable recommendations
Excellent client management and communication skills, with ability to influence stakeholders at all levels
Demonstrated success mentoring and developing junior team members
Experience managing budgets and optimizing spend allocation across multiple platforms
Proficiency with marketing automation, analytics tools, and reporting platforms

Responsibilities

Lead paid media strategy and execution across Google, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Snap, and LinkedIn, owning campaign planning, setup, optimization, and reporting end-to-end.
Develop data-driven campaigns aligned with client goals and KPIs, leveraging research, audience targeting, and performance insights to drive measurable results.
Monitor and optimize campaign performance, making strategic adjustments, troubleshooting issues, and proactively identifying improvement opportunities.
Own media pacing and budget management, ensuring campaigns remain on track with planned spend and performance targets.
Act as the senior client partner and primary escalation point, leading strategic conversations, quarterly business reviews, and resolving complex issues.
Create and present detailed performance reports, clearly communicating results, trends, and actionable recommendations to clients and stakeholders.
Provide strategic direction during client calls and touchpoints, ensuring alignment between campaign execution and business objectives.
Connect paid media strategy to broader marketing initiatives, partnering with creative, email, SEO, and UX teams to ensure campaigns reinforce overall business and brand goals.
Oversee campaign quality and performance, optimizing ad copy, landing pages, creative assets, and campaign structures in collaboration with internal teams.
Support business growth initiatives, contributing to audits, proposals, and identifying opportunities for platform expansion and campaign scaling within existing accounts.
Own capacity and workload planning, ensuring account coverage matches account complexity and team bandwidth.
Mentor and develop junior team members, reviewing work, providing constructive feedback, and sharing best practices to strengthen team expertise.
Stay current on digital marketing trends and platform updates, sharing insights with the team and applying emerging tactics to drive performance.