Associate Director, Paid Search

Digital Matter • New York, NY

2d • $180,000 - $260,000

About The Position

Digital Matter is a next-generation growth and transformation partner built for the realities of today’s market. We combine the pace and precision of a startup with the discipline and rigor of a global advisory firm. We help consumer brands manage media as a strategic asset class, with the same intentionality and governance applied to capital allocation. By connecting data, technology, and creative, we turn media investment into measurable enterprise value: accelerating growth, improving efficiency, and building durable capabilities. Over the past seven years, we’ve guided organizations through IPOs, digital turnarounds, and successful exits. Our point of view is simple: when media is managed as capital, it becomes a catalyst for transformation at scale.

We're looking for an Associate Director of Paid Search to lead search strategy, execution, and growth across our client portfolio. This is a senior, client-facing leadership role for someone who has deep, hands-on paid search expertise built over a decade of experience and who has seen the business from both sides of the table, having worked agency-side and platform/vendor-side (Google or Microsoft). This person will own paid search performance and strategy for a book of business and be accountable for the revenue tied to that book and play an active role in growing it through client retention, upsell, and new business support.

Requirements

• Tenure in hands-on, consistent paid search management experience.
• Required: experience on both the agency side and the vendor/platform side at either Google (Google Ads) or Microsoft (Microsoft Advertising).
• Proven track record managing multi-million-dollar search budgets across complex, multi-brand or multi-client portfolios.
• Deep expertise across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads platforms; familiarity with Google Analytics, Search Ads 360, or similar bid management/reporting tools.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing a team.
• Proven accountability for revenue goals within a book of business, not just campaign performance.
• Strong track record of growing client relationships and revenue, not just managing performance.
• Excellent client-facing communication and presentation skills, with experience presenting to senior stakeholders.
• Strategic thinker who can also go deep into platform execution when needed

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve paid search strategy across assigned client accounts, ensuring alignment with each client's broader marketing and business objectives.
• Serve as the senior search point of contact for clients, presenting strategy, performance, and recommendations directly to client stakeholders, including senior marketing leadership.
• Translate platform-level trends (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and emerging AI-driven search products) into actionable strategic recommendations for clients.
• Partner cross-functionally with integrated, paid social, programmatic and product to ensure integrated, full-funnel media strategies.
• In partnership with the integrated media team, lead paid search campaign planning, budget allocation, and channel strategy across search accounts, ensuring efficient and effective use of client media investment.
• Oversee campaign build, QA, and activation, ensuring accuracy and adherence to best practices at scale.
• Stay ahead of platform betas, product releases, and policy changes across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, and proactively bring relevant opportunities to clients.
• Direct ongoing campaign optimization, including bidding strategy, audience/keyword strategy, and creative/ad copy testing.
• Own performance reporting and analysis, delivering clear, insight-driven readouts that go beyond metrics to explain the “so what†and “what's next.â€
• Lead test-and-learn agendas (incrementality testing, brand lift, channel mix testing) to continuously improve performance and prove impact.
• Ensure measurement infrastructure (conversion tracking, attribution, tagging) is set up correctly and audited regularly for accuracy.
• Build scalable processes, playbooks, and best practices to standardize search execution across the team and client roster.
• Own growth of your book of business, proactively identifying opportunities to expand scope, budget, and services within existing client relationships.
• Be accountable for revenue goals tied to your book of business, tracking performance against targets and taking ownership of the outcome.
• Support new business efforts, including contributing search strategy and POVs to pitches and RFPs.
• Build strong, trust-based client relationships that lead to renewals, referrals, and organic growth.
• Track and report on book-of-business health, including revenue, retention, and growth metrics.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Full coverage health insurance including Medical, Dental, and Vision
• 401K with company contribution
• Generous vacation days in addition to company holidays, sick days, and summer Fridays
• Pre-taxed commuter benefits
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave

What This Job Offers

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