Growth Marketing Manager: Paid Search and Display

ThirdLove•San Francisco, CA

3h•$95,000 - $120,000

About The Position

Thirdlove is seeking a Growth Marketing Manager specializing in Paid Search and Display. This role is central to customer acquisition across the full funnel. The ideal candidate will set strategy, manage platforms and partners, direct AI tools for execution, and apply analytical rigor to paid search and display channels. Collaboration with cross-functional teams to improve performance beyond the ad itself and connect channel signals to the full customer journey is key. The role requires deep comfort in search and programmatic environments, understanding that owning a channel involves owning strategy, partners, data, and outcomes.

Requirements

5–7 years of hands-on experience in paid search and display at scale (six-figure monthly budgets or above)
Deep working knowledge of Google Ads — campaign structure, Smart Bidding, Performance Max, search term management, Quality Score, and attribution settings
Strong analytical fluency: you can build a performance narrative from raw data, not just pull a report
Experience with or working knowledge of programmatic channels — DSP mechanics, deal types (PMP, open auction), brand safety, and audience targeting
Experience managing or coordinating external agency or vendor relationships, with accountability for their performance outcomes
Cross-functional instincts: you have worked with creative teams, data teams, site teams, and external partners and found ways to move forward even when priorities differ
An evaluative relationship with AI and automation tools — genuinely interested in their potential and willing to champion them, but equally willing to question the output, stress-test the logic, and push back when the results do not add up

Nice To Haves

CTV channel experience — MNTN or other CTV/OTT platforms
Experience managing or directing AI execution tools for paid channel execution
Familiarity with MMM, MTA, or incrementality testing methodologies
In-house DTC or e-commerce experience where you owned your channels with direct business accountability

Responsibilities

Own strategy across Google, Display, and CTV
Set the channel strategy for all these platforms including account and campaign architecture, funnel coverage, and budget allocation across each platform
Own budget pacing across all channels; make real-time reallocation decisions based on performance signals
Lead incrementality test design for search, display, and CTV channels in coordination with our measurement stack
Contribute channel-level commentary to weekly cross-channel performance reporting
Stay ahead of platform and product changes across all four channels — Smart Bidding updates, search evolution, DSP feature releases, and measurement developments
Serve as the primary point of contact for all platform and agency relationships
Manage day-to-day communication and performance accountability with external partners on your channels
Evaluate partner and vendor performance against clear outcomes; own the relationship and the decisions that come with it
Consolidate institutional knowledge internally so that performance insights and channel history live with the team, not outside it
Oversee and direct AI execution tools for bid management, audience optimization, pacing, and creative performance with curiosity about what they can do and healthy skepticism about when they are not working
Interrogate automated optimization outputs: understand what the tool is doing, why it is making those decisions, and whether the logic actually serves the strategy
Push back when AI-recommended actions do not hold up to scrutiny; override confidently and document what you learned
Set guardrails, test protocols, and performance benchmarks that hold AI tools accountable to real outcomes, not just internal optimization metrics
Lead AI tool evaluation with an analytical eye; you define the test and interpret the results
Work closely with key stakeholders on creative brief direction — bring the performance signal and channel hypothesis to inform what gets made and why
Contribute channel-informed hypotheses to our landing page and site testing process — your performance data is a key input into how we optimize the post-click experience
Collaborate on landing page testing by providing performance data and hypotheses on where the post-click experience is limiting paid efficiency
Participate in creative QA before launch and contribute to post-launch performance interpretation