Paid Media Director-Programmatic

Acadia.io•Atlanta, GA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Acadia is looking for a highly proficient collaborator, motivator, and thought leader to serve as the senior leader of the Paid Media department. Reporting directly to the Head of Paid Media, this position plays a pivotal role in shaping the broader agency offering, working alongside various departments including Integrated Media, Influencer Marketing, Organic Social, SEO, CRO, Analytics, Account Management, and Retail Media. You will lead the execution of the paid media department’s strategic direction across all accounts and verticals, own the department’s budget and operational structure, manage and develop the Associate Director and Sr Manager leadership team, and represent the agency’s paid media expertise in new business pitches and senior client engagements. The ideal candidate is comfortable owning paid search, social, and programmatic strategy and execution end-to-end, excels at optimizing internal operational efficiency, and is skilled at developing senior talent.

Requirements

12-15 years of experience in paid media advertising
8+ years of team management experience, including leading managers or team leads overseeing onshore and offshore employees
Proven track record of driving performance results and leading teams through complex challenges
Track record of building and developing high-performing paid media teams
Highly persuasive presenter, comfortable in C-level client environments and new business pitches
Deep hands-on experience buying programmatically through Google Marketing Platform (DV360, CM360) and other DSPs, and managing DSP or trading partner relationships
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Expert Microsoft Excel skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUPS/XLOOKUPS, SUMIFS, and chart building
Experience in Google Suite
Strong executive communication skills; comfortable presenting to C-suite client stakeholders
Skilled at translating leadership vision into team structure, process, and accountability
Demonstrated track record of developing senior talent and building department-level capabilities

Nice To Haves

Broader knowledge of the media buying landscape and adjacent platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead execution of the paid media department’s strategic direction across all accounts and verticals, ensuring account strategies ladder up to agency positioning
Partner with BU leadership to pressure-test strategic direction and flag emerging opportunities and risks
Own the department’s budget allocation across teams, tools, and resources, and report financial performance and resource utilization to BU leadership
Own optimization outcomes and performance standards across the department, setting portfolio benchmarks and holding teams accountable to them
Oversee rollout of approved optimization platforms, AI tools, and automation, and manage the associated vendor relationships
Own targeting and audience strategy outcomes department-wide, including data partnerships, vendor relationships, and privacy compliance
Own creative asset management standards and creative technology partnerships, and drive leadership-level alignment across Performance Creative, Integrated Media, Account Management, Ad Ops, and Analytics
Own reporting standards and BI infrastructure across the department, and drive adoption of advanced analytics techniques such as MMM and incrementality
Lead senior client conversations on measurement strategy, and mentor Associate Directors and Sr Managers on executive-level data storytelling
Own the department’s platform expertise strategy and make final adoption decisions on emerging platforms and technology
Manage strategic platform relationships, including access decisions, betas, and escalation pathways
Own competitive intelligence standards department-wide and synthesize portfolio signals into vertical and industry insight for BU leadership
Manage and develop all Associate Director and Sr Manager direct reports, and execute the departmental people strategy set by BU leadership
Conduct and calibrate performance reviews across the leadership team, and ensure clear ownership and accountability at every level
Serve as the senior paid media contact for the portfolio’s largest accounts, build VP and C-level relationships, and own department-level escalation resolution
Lead the media component of major new business pitches in partnership with BU leadership
Own the operational structure and day-to-day workflow of the paid media department, and resolve cross-departmental friction points
Own AI adoption outcomes and cultural accountability across the department, and embed AI skill criteria into hiring and performance reviews
Own programmatic strategy and buying across Google Marketing Platform (DV360, CM360) and other DSPs including The Trade Desk and Amazon DSP, spanning CTV, online video, audio, and display
Direct the balance of managed-service and in-house buying, and own DSP and trading partner relationships (e.g., MIQ, Zeta) to secure preferred rates, beta access, and premium inventory
Protect client working media by managing the programmatic supply chain (platform and tech fees, audience data costs, and DSP and trading margins), and hold partners to transparent, no-markup pass-through of data costs
Own deal structure and inventory strategy across private marketplaces, programmatic guaranteed, and open exchange, and approve insertion orders before they commit client budget
Set the standard for how the team briefs Ad Ops: accurate tactical and traffic sheets, correct naming taxonomy, and QA completed before trafficking begins
Maintain working fluency in the CM360 ad server, including campaign hierarchy, placements, Floodlight configuration, UTMs, and third-party verification tags, sufficient to diagnose discrepancies and arbitrate tracking issues
Decide when an engagement warrants ad serving at all, weighing ad serving and ad ops fees against the measurement value returned
Keep the workflow connected end-to-end across Ad Ops, Analytics, Creative, and Dashboarding, ensuring Ad Ops runs as a defined process rather than a catch-all for cross-team logistics
Represent Acadia’s programmatic capability and supply-chain transparency in new business pitches and senior client conversations