Director, Paid Media & Search Strategy

Gartner • Stamford, CT

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Paid Media & Search Strategy is Gartner Conference Marketing’s internal authority on paid media strategy, audience development, search strategy, channel planning, measurement, and platform best practices across search, social, video, display, programmatic, and emerging channels. The role connects marketing strategy, agency partnership, and campaign execution by translating business objectives into media strategies, guiding audience and channel decisions, evaluating agency recommendations, driving innovation, and ensuring paid media investments deliver measurable business impact.

The position leads paid media and search strategy to drive audience engagement, registration growth, and business outcomes. It manages and develops the SEO function and collaborates with Sales, Marketing, Marketing Operations, Analytics, CRM, agencies, vendors, and research teams. The role establishes governance and measurement standards, guides optimization and budget allocation, and evaluates emerging platforms and AI-driven search opportunities.

Gartner describes itself as a global provider of objective business and technology insights. The role is offered in a hybrid work environment, with flexibility to work virtually when productive and to meet colleagues in person. The stated base salary range is USD 120,000–167,000, with eligible employees participating in a performance-based annual bonus plan or a role-based uncapped sales incentive plan.

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive experience in paid media, digital marketing, performance marketing, media strategy, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated expertise across search, paid social, video, display, and programmatic advertising channels.
• Experience developing audience strategies and targeting approaches in complex B2B organizations.
• Experience managing agency relationships, influencing senior stakeholders, and evaluating strategic recommendations.
• Strong understanding of measurement methodologies, attribution concepts, and campaign performance evaluation.
• Experience leading or partnering closely with SEO functions.

Nice To Haves

• Experience operating within a Center of Excellence model supporting multiple business units or stakeholder groups.
• Deep expertise across Google Ads, Performance Max, YouTube, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, and programmatic platforms.
• Experience managing significant media investments and budget allocation decisions.
• Experience in B2B marketing, event marketing, demand generation, or information-services environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop paid media strategies aligned with business objectives, marketing goals, and growth priorities.
• Recommend channels across Google Search, Google Display Network, YouTube, Performance Max, Microsoft Ads, LinkedIn, programmatic media, and emerging platforms.
• Guide investment strategy, budget allocation, and optimization priorities across channels, audiences, and campaign objectives.
• Lead test-and-learn initiatives to improve campaign effectiveness and identify opportunities.
• Own audience strategy across paid media programs, translating ideal customer profiles, sales priorities, and marketing objectives into targeting and segmentation approaches.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing leadership to refine audience prioritization across customer, prospect, account, industry, and buying-group segments.
• Serve as the internal subject matter expert across paid media platforms and advertising technologies.
• Establish governance, best practices, measurement standards, and strategic guidance; educate stakeholders on platform capabilities, limitations, and trends.
• Partner with Marketing Operations to align campaign execution with strategic intent, audience strategy, measurement standards, and best practices.
• Evaluate platform capabilities and opportunities that can improve marketing performance and efficiency.
• Provide strategic leadership across organic search, paid search, Answer Engine Optimization, and emerging AI-driven search experiences.
• Partner with SEO resources to develop search visibility strategies aligned with business objectives and audience priorities.
• Align SEO, paid search, content, and audience-targeting strategies, and evaluate the impact of changing search behavior and AI-driven discovery on acquisition strategy.
• Evaluate, challenge, approve, or reject agency and vendor recommendations based on business objectives and industry best practices.
• Hold agencies and partners accountable for strategic quality, innovation, operational excellence, and performance outcomes.
• Manage and develop the SEO function through strategic direction, coaching, and professional development.
• Foster collaboration across Paid Media, SEO, Marketing Operations, Analytics, Sales, and Marketing teams, and build organizational expertise in acquisition strategy and emerging search channels.
• Define measurement frameworks, KPIs, dashboards, and reporting requirements in partnership with Analytics teams.
• Partner with Analytics, CRM, and Marketing Operations to improve attribution, audience targeting, performance visibility, and measurement approaches.
• Analyze performance trends and turn insights into strategic recommendations for audience refinement, channel optimization, and budget allocation.
• Drive continuous testing, optimization, and periodic reviews of campaign structure, targeting, measurement frameworks, and reporting approaches.
• Evaluate emerging platforms, technologies, and acquisition opportunities, including Meta, AEO, AI-driven search experiences, and future advertising innovations.
• Lead testing strategies and adoption of opportunities that improve performance and organizational capability.
• Lead regular reviews with Gartner marketing experts and research teams to assess trends, audience behavior, platform evolution, and opportunities affecting paid media, search, and acquisition strategy.

Benefits

• World-class benefits and highly competitive compensation.
• Generous paid time off.
• 401(k) match up to $7,200 per year.
• Opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount.
• Eligible employees participate in either an annual bonus plan based on company and individual performance or a role-based, uncapped sales incentive plan.
• Hybrid work environment with flexibility to work virtually when productive.

What This Job Offers

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