Director, Paid Media Planning

Bully Pulpit International•Washington, DC

1d•$120,000 - $135,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Bully Pulpit International (BPI) is seeking a Director, Paid Media Planning to support the execution and management of paid media campaigns across numerous clients. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, can work independently, and manage multiple projects. This role involves developing media plans, overseeing campaign execution, optimization, and analysis across digital and traditional platforms, and fostering strong relationships with internal teams and external partners. The position also includes team management and mentorship, contributing to agency growth, and staying abreast of industry trends.

Requirements

8-11 years of relevant work experience in digital media strategy, planning, and direct-IO buying (agency experience preferred).
Proven track record of independently running campaigns for corporate reputation, public affairs, and/or political clients.
Advanced analytical thinking capabilities, with strong hands-on experience utilizing media consumption tools (e.g. GWI, Comscore) and business intelligence/dashboard software (e.g. Datorama, Google Analytics, or Tableau).
Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and navigate new digital systems, emerging media tech, and specialized proprietary tools with minimal downtime.
Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets for budget tracking, performance analysis, and data manipulation.
Exceptional organizational skills, rigorous attention to detail, and a demonstrated ability to manage multiple high-stakes projects simultaneously.
A readiness to work independently, think big, solve complex problems creatively, and scale leadership capabilities rapidly within a fast-paced environment.
Expectation to work from one of our physical offices (DC, NYC, SF, CHI, LA) at least 3 days a week (unless hiring under a fully remote arrangement).

Nice To Haves

Excitement to work on large corporate reputation accounts in addition to support of Democratic politics, non-profit, and advocacy opportunities as they arise.

Responsibilities

Independently manage clients and end-to-end advertising campaigns from inception through completion with high accountability, quality, and results.
Develop comprehensive, data-backed media plans aligned with client goals; take the lead on paid media POVs for clients or internal teams with limited paid experience.
Regularly present sophisticated media strategies, reporting, and performance insights directly to clients, while providing off-the-cuff POVs and proactively anticipating issues or feedback.
Oversee how campaigns are executed, optimized, and analyzed across digital and traditional platforms, including partner negotiation and contracting.
Foster strong working relationships across all client and internal specialty teams (Media Buying, Marketing Analytics, Insights, and Client Services) to set strategic goals around measurement, testing, and seamless execution.
Proactively identify areas for team-wide workflow and operational process improvements, partnering with senior leadership to implement scalable solutions.
Bring new ideas to advance the agency’s media offering to senior leadership, drive team priorities, and operationalize new processes across the broader team.
Serve as a senior agency contact for key partners, evaluate new vendor technologies, manage yearly vendor endeavors, and negotiate rate discounts to ensure planning utilization.
Conduct deep-dive media, industry, and competitor research to stay abreast of market trends, inform strategic advertising plans, and evangelize the agency’s media vision.
Contribute to agency growth through budgeting exercises, pitch deck development, and participation in new business pitches as needed.
Attract, retain, and elevate talent across the team through effective management, structured training, and empathetic mentorship.
Lead team pods and scale impact beyond immediate reports to the broader planning department, acting as a role model to elevate the work product of junior and mid-level planners.
Embody agency values and ensure all client work reflects the standards, perspective, and quality of the agency at large.