Associate Director, Paid Search (Feeds & Shopping)

Monks • San Francisco, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

We're looking for an Associate Director of Paid Search who lives and breathes the commerce side of search — someone who sees a product feed not as plumbing but as the single highest-leverage asset in a retail or DTC media program. This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll own the strategy and execution of large Shopping and Performance Max programs, obsess over feed quality and structure, and connect paid search to the broader buying experience — from query to PDP to conversion. You'll lead a small group of search/shopping specialists while staying close enough to the platforms to spot what others miss.

Requirements

• 7+ years in paid search / performance media, with deep, demonstrable experience in Shopping and feed-driven campaigns at meaningful spend.
• Genuine feed fluency — you've worked directly with Merchant Center, feed management tools (e.g., Feedonomics, Versafeed, Productsup, or similar), and know how feed structure drives auction outcomes.
• Strong command of Google Ads (Shopping, Performance Max, search) and ideally Microsoft Advertising and retail media platforms.
• A commerce mindset: comfort with margin, AOV, LTV, and the mechanics of how a feed connects to a storefront.
• Experience leading people and owning client relationships at a senior level, ideally in an agency or managed-service environment.
• Excellent communication and the ability to make complex feed/search strategy legible to non-specialist stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with large catalogs (retail, marketplace, multi-region) and supplemental feed strategies.
• Familiarity with retail media networks (Amazon, Walmart Connect, Instacart) as part of an integrated commerce program.
• Scripting/automation exposure (Google Ads scripts) to scale feed and account management.
• Analytical rigor — comfortable in GA4, BigQuery, Looker Studio, or similar, and able to turn data into a clear point of view.

Responsibilities

• Own paid search strategy across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising for a portfolio of commerce-driven clients, with Shopping, Performance Max, and standard search working as one system.
• Treat feed optimization as a core discipline: audit, restructure, and continuously improve product feeds (titles, attributes, GTINs, custom labels, supplemental feeds) to maximize coverage, relevance, and ROAS.
• Architect campaign and feed segmentation strategies that give buyers control inside increasingly automated, AI-driven products.
• Partner with clients and internal teams on the full shopping experience — landing pages, PDP quality, merchant feed health, promotions, and conversion tracking — so media spend lands on a page that converts.
• Set the measurement frame: ROAS, new-customer acquisition, margin-aware bidding, incrementality, and feed-level performance diagnostics.
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of search and feed specialists; raise the bar on QA, hygiene, and documentation.
• Stay ahead of platform changes — Performance Max evolution, AI Max, retail media adjacencies, and the shift toward signal- and feed-driven buying — and translate it into client roadmaps.
• Act as a senior point of contact for clients: present strategy, defend recommendations with data, and build trust.

Benefits

• Excellent, full coverage medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous PTO and 15 company-wide holidays
• 401k with company contribution
• Paid parental leave
• Work-life balance with an emphasis on personal well-being
• Career growth in a disruptor space & entrepreneurial opportunities within the Monks network
• A globally diverse & inclusive culture with employee resource groups such as S4 Melanin, Pride.Monks, Cultura.Monks, and more!
• Authentic commitment to DEI efforts and sustainable growth.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed