Director, Paid Media

dentsu

8d•$94,000 - $137,000•Remote

About The Position

The Director, Paid Media is responsible for owning Merkle Americas’ paid media strategy and performance end-to-end. This is a hands-on role that balances strategic leadership with day-to-day execution across primarily Paid Social and Google Ads. The Director will manage two direct reports while remaining deeply involved in campaign planning, optimization, testing, and performance reporting. This role will partner internally with digital, content, and creative teams to deliver integrated, data-driven B2B paid media programs that drive awareness, engagement, lead generation, and measurable pipeline impact.

Requirements

8+ years of hands-on paid media experience, with a strong focus on B2B demand generation
Deep expertise managing campaigns in Google Ads (Search, Video, Display) and LinkedIn Ads
Proven experience operating in a player–coach role, balancing strategy, execution, and people management
Strong analytical and reporting skills, with ability to optimize in real-time and clearly communicate insights
Experience managing paid media budgets and forecasting against performance goals
Experience managing small teams (1-3 people) strongly preferred
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including presenting results to senior stakeholders
Highly organized, adaptable, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Responsibilities

Strategy & Planning Define and own the paid media strategy across Google Ads (Search, Display, Video) and Paid Social (LinkedIn Ads), aligned to business objectives, GTM initiatives, and funnel goals Establish audience strategies, channel mix, investment approach, and KPI frameworks to support awareness, demand generation, and conversion Develop and evolve testing roadmaps that account for platform changes, algorithm shifts, and performance insights
Campaign Execution & Optimization Actively participate in campaign planning, setup, build, and optimization alongside direct reports, serving as a hands-on expert across platforms Monitor performance daily and implement real-time optimizations related to bidding, targeting, creative, and budget allocation Partner with creative and content teams to help write, review, and test ad copy and creative direction tailored to different stages of the B2B buyer journey and aligned to platform best practices
Budget Ownership & Performance Management Own the paid media budget, including forecasting, pacing, and channel-level allocation to ensure efficient spend and goal attainment Evaluate performance against KPIs and business goals, translating data into actionable recommendations that inform strategy, creative, and investment decisions
Reporting, Insights, & Measurement Own reporting and analysis across all paid media efforts, from weekly performance updates to monthly and quarterly deep-dive readouts Build and maintain dashboards that communicate results, trends, and ROI to senior stakeholders Connect paid media performance to broader funnel and lead outcomes, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and scale
Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnerships Lead collaboration with digital, content, creative, and marketing operations teams to ensure paid media efforts are integrated with broader campaigns, GTM initiatives, and business priorities Manage relationships with key paid media platform partners (Google, LinkedIn, and others) to stay ahead of product updates, best practices, and optimization opportunities. Build and lead a high-performing paid media team by setting clear goals, providing ongoing coaching and feedback, and fostering a culture of accountability, experimentation, and continuous improvement