Associate Director, Paid Media

Associate Director, Paid Media

This role is to be based near one of our offices in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Chicago or Oakland.

About us: 

We turn customer challenges into growth opportunities.   

Material is a global strategy partner to the world’s most recognizable brands and innovative companies. Our people around the globe thrive by helping organizations design and deliver rewarding customer experiences.  

We use deep human insights, design innovation and data to create experiences powered by modern technology. Our approaches speed engagement and growth for the companies we work with and transform relationships between businesses and the people they serve.  

About the Associate Director, Paid Media

We are looking for an experienced and strategic Associate Director of Paid Media to lead paid media strategy, execution, and optimization for our clients. This role will oversee a Paid Media Manager, ensuring the successful management of day-to-day campaign strategy and execution. The Associate Director will own the account, acting as the key point of contact for the client while working closely with the Director, who oversees multiple accounts.
​​The Associate Director is a master of lock-tight strategy and planning, they are able to execute at the highest level and teach others to do the same with poise and ease. They are able to motivate and inspire resources and team members to do great work and output strong, detailed, concise deliverables. They are the epitome of a problem solver and opportunist, identifying gaps and solutions that extend and enhance client and team relationships. They understand more than just channels and strategy—they understand how they impact the client's business and are keen and savvy when it comes to their recommendations. They know how our agency operates and have an understanding of our revenue and financial structures. They are attentive to profitability and growth of their accounts or the accounts of their direct reports. They support the Director and Group director in business development. They are integral in tracking the pulse and health of the team, play well with others and have proactive and can-do attitudes.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and lead the paid media strategy for the client, ensuring alignment with business objectives and driving measurable results.

• Oversee the full paid media team, including a Paid Media Manager (direct report), Senior Associate, and Associate, providing mentorship, strategic direction, and career development support. This position would report into the Director role.

• Partner with the Director to contribute to broader account strategy, new business opportunities, and process improvements.

• Manage day-to-day operations of paid media campaigns, ensuring flawless execution, budget pacing, and performance optimization across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic channels.

• Serve as the primary client contact, fostering strong relationships through regular communication, strategic recommendations, and proactive problem-solving.

• Lead client presentations, reporting, and strategic discussions, translating data into actionable insights and strategic opportunities.

• Work with ad operations specialists to ensure accurate tracking, tagging, and data integrity through Google Tag Manager and other tracking tools.

• Work cross-functionally with creative, analytics, account management, and other internal teams to ensure an integrated approach to media planning and execution.

• Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging platform capabilities to continuously enhance campaign performance.

About You

• 5+ years of experience planning and managing digital media campaigns across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic channels.

• Strong expertise in digital analytics and reporting to support data-driven decision-making.

• Excellent client communication and presentation skills with the ability to lead discussions and provide strategic recommendations.

• A collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams.

• Experience within the following platforms is preferred: Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, Google Analytics.

• Experience leveraging planning tools, such as: MRI Simmons, Helixa, Nielsen Commspoint, and Pathmatics.

This is an exciting opportunity for a strategic thinker and hands-on leader who thrives in a fast-paced, results-driven environment. If you’re passionate about driving paid media success and leading high-performing teams, we’d love to hear from you!

Why work for Material? 

In addition to fulfilling, high-impact work, company culture and benefits are integral to determining if a job is a right fit for you. Here’s a bit about who we are and highlights around what we offer. 

Who we are & what we care about:

• Material is a global company and we work with best-of-class brands worldwide.  We also create and launch new brands and products, putting innovation and value creation at the center of our practice. Our clients are in the top of their class, across industry sectors from technology to retail, transportation, finance and healthcare. 

• Material employees join a peer group of exceptionally talented colleagues across the company, the country, and even the world. We develop capabilities, craft and leading-edge market offerings across seven global practices including strategy and insights, design, data & analytics, technology and tracking. Our engagement management team makes it all hum for clients.  

• We prize inclusion and interconnectedness. We amplify our impact through the people, perspectives, and expertise we engage in our work. Our commitment to deep human understanding combined with a science & systems approach uniquely equips us to bring a rich frame of reference to our work. 

• A community focused on learning and making an impact. Material is an outcomes focused company. We create experiences that matter, create new value and make a difference in people's lives.  
   

What we offer: 

In addition to Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability and FSA, Material offers: 

• Flexible & synchronous time off. We trust our colleagues to take responsibility for and manage their workloads. That’s why we offer Flexible Time Off along with synchronous companywide closures and 11 company holidays.

• 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Every parent deserves to spend the first few months of their new child’s life with them. 

• Help planning for your future. We offer 401K match, as well as periodic financial wellness and planning sessions throughout the year.  

Pay Range: $72,100.00 – 105,000.00

The range shown represents a grouping of relevant ranges currently in use at Material. Actual range for this position may differ, depending on location and specific skillset required for the work itself. 

Equal Employment Opportunity                           

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.

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