Lead, Performance Media

Valtech

2d • $118,000 - $135,000

About The Position

Valtech is seeking a Lead, Performance Media to own the strategic direction, quality, and growth of performance media across a portfolio of complex client engagements. The role combines deep omnichannel media expertise with people leadership, commercial acumen, and a forward-looking approach to AI-enabled tools, automation, and intelligent workflows. The Lead serves as a senior link between media leadership, clients, and delivery teams, shaping practice strategy and client growth while leading and developing a team of media managers, planners, and buyers. The role is accountable for the performance, profitability, and innovation of media programs across paid digital and broader omnichannel touchpoints, and ensures media delivers measurable business outcomes.

The position reports to the Media Director and works closely with strategy, creative, experience, data and analytics, technology, and client stakeholders. It is a full-time position based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with remote and hybrid work options noted as country-dependent. The offered annual salary range is $118,000 to $135,000, depending on experience and location.

Requirements

• 8 to 10 years of experience in digital and performance media planning and buying, ideally within an omnichannel agency or consultancy.
• Deep expertise across paid digital channels, including paid search, paid social, programmatic, online video, CTV, and retail media, with a working understanding of traditional and offline channels in an integrated mix.
• Proven experience managing, mentoring, and growing media teams, including senior-level direct reports.
• Track record of owning large, multi-channel budgets and delivering measurable business results across multiple clients or brands.
• Exceptional client leadership, presentation, and storytelling skills, with experience advising senior and executive stakeholders.
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining close enough to execution to guide, unblock, and quality-check the team’s work.

Nice To Haves

• Experience integrating AI-powered tools and automation into media workflows, with a clear point of view on improving efficiency, insight, and performance.
• Strong command of measurement approaches, including attribution, incrementality, and media mix modeling, as well as tracking and ad operations fundamentals.
• Commercial acumen, including experience with scoping, resourcing, negotiation, and contributing to new business.
• Experience with Agile methodologies and consulting.

Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction for performance media across client portfolios, including paid search, paid social, programmatic, video, CTV, retail media, emerging platforms, and traditional and offline channels.
• Translate client business and growth objectives into integrated, full-funnel, omnichannel media strategies connecting brand, performance, and customer experience goals.
• Oversee audience-led planning, testing roadmaps, budget allocation frameworks, and AI-supported planning, forecasting, and scenario modeling.
• Review and approve team-developed media plans for strategic rigor, quality, and alignment with client objectives.
• Lead senior-level presentations of media strategy, rationale, and performance to clients and internal leadership.
• Manage strategic relationships with media partners and platforms, including Google, Meta, Amazon, TikTok, DV360, and The Trade Desk, and lead negotiations for value, priority access, and betas.
• Oversee campaign activation, optimization, and budget pacing across accounts, ensuring operational excellence, accuracy, and governance.
• Champion test-and-learn initiatives across channels, formats, partners, and AI-enabled capabilities, and scale successful approaches across clients.
• Guide teams in using platform automation and AI-driven bidding, targeting, and creative optimization with appropriate human oversight and quality controls.
• Establish and evolve activation standards, quality assurance processes, and workflows to improve speed, consistency, and scalability.
• Own performance outcomes across the portfolio and ensure media investment is tied to clear KPIs and business impact.
• Partner with analytics and data leadership to develop measurement frameworks, including attribution, incrementality testing, and media mix modeling.
• Identify, pilot, and integrate AI-powered tools and workflows for planning, reporting, insight generation, and optimization, while promoting responsible adoption.
• Turn complex performance data into clear, executive-ready narratives and recommendations.
• Monitor industry, platform, and privacy changes and advise clients and internal teams on their implications.
• Lead performance media relationships for key clients, building trusted relationships with senior and executive stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to expand client scope and grow relationships; contribute to account planning, new business pitches, and proposals with the Media Director.
• Support scoping, resourcing, and budget management to deliver engagements efficiently and profitably.
• Collaborate with creative, experience, strategy, technology, and data teams on integrated, experience-led solutions.
• Represent the performance media practice in cross-functional and leadership forums.
• Lead, manage, and develop Senior Performance Media Managers and junior planners, buyers, and specialists.
• Set team goals, coach and provide feedback, and lead performance reviews and development planning in line with Valtech processes.
• Allocate work and manage team capacity across accounts while balancing client needs, quality, and team wellbeing.
• Build team capabilities in omnichannel planning, analytics, and AI-enabled work through training, knowledge-sharing, and hands-on guidance.
• Contribute to hiring, onboarding, and retention, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, high-performing team culture.
• Partner with the Media Director to shape practice priorities, best practices, and long-term capability growth.

Benefits

• Remote and hybrid work options, depending on country.
• International mobility and professional development programs.
• Learning and development access to cutting-edge tools, training, and industry experts.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for the employee and family.
• Employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts.

What This Job Offers

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