Associate Media Director, Paid Search & Social

Job Description

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Job Type: Exempt

Reports to: Director of Media & Communications Strategy

Overview

We are seeking a strategic, performance-driven Associate Media Director to lead the development and execution of paid search and paid social programs. This role blends high-level strategic leadership with deep channel expertise, driving measurable business outcomes while fostering innovation and team growth.

The ideal candidate is both a forward-thinking strategist and a hands-on expert, with a strong command of performance marketing platforms and a passion for translating data into impactful media strategies. Experience across industries such as retail, CPG, travel, pet, and sports & entertainment is highly valued, though not required.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Planning

Lead the development of integrated paid search and paid social strategies aligned to client business goals and KPIs

Translate marketing objectives into full-funnel media approaches, including audience strategy, channel mix, and investment allocation

Identify opportunities for growth through testing roadmaps, emerging platforms, and innovative activation strategies

Collaborate cross-functionally with analytics, creative, SEO, and broader media teams to deliver cohesive, insight-driven strategies

Campaign Execution & Performance Optimization

Oversee the execution, management, and optimization of campaigns across platforms including Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and others

Ensure campaigns are structured for scalability, efficiency, and sustained performance

Provide guidance on bidding strategies, audience segmentation, creative testing, and conversion tracking best practices

Maintain a strong focus on performance metrics such as ROAS, CPA, CTR, and conversion rate

Team Leadership & Development

Lead, mentor, and develop a team of media managers and specialists, fostering a high-performance culture

Provide clear direction, constructive feedback, and ongoing coaching to support career growth

Establish and uphold best practices, ensuring consistency and quality across all accounts

Client Partnership & Communication

Serve as a senior strategic partner to clients, building trusted, long-term relationships

Present strategies, performance insights, and recommendations with clarity and confidence

Translate complex data into actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Proactively identify opportunities to drive incremental growth and innovation

Data, Measurement & Insights

Oversee reporting frameworks to ensure accuracy, transparency, and actionable insights

Analyze performance data to inform optimizations and future strategy

Partner with analytics teams on attribution models, tracking infrastructure, and measurement solutions

Leverage insights to guide budget allocation and forecasting

Innovation & Thought Leadership

Stay ahead of industry trends, platform updates, and emerging technologies

Champion the adoption of new tools, automation, and beta opportunities

Contribute to internal knowledge sharing and continuous process improvement

Qualifications

6–10+ years of experience in digital media, with deep expertise in paid search and paid social

Proven success managing large-scale, multi-channel campaigns and budgets

Strong platform expertise

Demonstrated experience leading and developing high-performing teams

Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills

Strong communication and presentation abilities, with client-facing experience preferred

Agency experience strongly preferred

Experience across industries such as retail, CPG, travel, pet, and sports & entertainment is highly valued, but not required

Familiarity with advanced attribution models, measurement frameworks and Looker Studio

Understanding of the broader digital ecosystem, including GEO, SEO and CRO

What we expect of each other

Embrace our company values by seeing challenges as opportunities, welcoming diverse ideas and perspectives, creating new futures, and celebrating our successes.

Build and maintain positive relationships with clients and colleagues.

Accept direction openly and demonstrate a willingness to grow and learn.

Take pride in our work by meeting deadlines and holding ourselves accountable.

Bring a positive, solution-oriented attitude to the office each day.

Mentor and support the growth of teammates who can benefit from our experience and perspective.

Associate Media Director - Paid Search & Soci

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