Social Strategy & Planning Manager (UAE National )

Etihad Airways; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 661,000 - 955,000; Full time

Job summary

Etihad Airways is looking for a Social Strategy & Planning Manager to lead their digital performance across paid channels from Abu Dhabi. You will drive an integrated acquisition strategy, mentor channel leads, and collaborate with analytics, finance, and brand teams to maximise ROI and customer value.

The role requires shaping annual plans, managing multi-million budgets, and delivering data-driven insights while maintaining strict adherence to privacy and brand guidelines.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in digital/performance marketing with 3+ years in leadership.
• Proven multi-channel campaign management with USD 20M+ annual budgets.
• Experience in airline, travel, or ecommerce sectors preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in marketing/Business; master's is an advantage.
• Commercial understanding of Paid Social, Programmatic, PPC, SEO and Affiliate ecosystems.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy, planning, and execution of always-on paid digital channels.
• Manage and mentor a team of channel leads and specialists.
• Set annual and quarterly performance targets aligned with commercial goals.
• Oversee multi-million-dollar digital budgets with optimal allocation and pacing.
• Collaborate with analytics, data, and finance for forecasting and attribution.
• Coordinate with brand, CRM, and ecommerce teams for consistent messaging.
• Evaluate new tools and partners to advance automation and targeting.
• Establish a rigorous A/B testing roadmap to improve performance.
• Present insights to senior leadership to influence strategy.
• Ensure campaigns comply with data privacy, brand standards, governance.
• Maintain close working relationship with media agencies and vendors (Google, TikTok).
• Work with agency to create annual joint business plans per channel.

Skills

Leadership

Multichannel marketing

Budget management

Paid social

Programmatic

Analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing or Business

Master's degree (advantage)

Tools

Adobe Analytics

GA4

SA360

DV360

BigQuery

LookerStudio/Power BI

Meta Ads Manager

Job description

Social Strategy & Planning Manager (UAE National )

• Full-time
• Division: Revenue & Commercial Division

The Performance Marketing Lead will be responsible for leading Etihad's digital performance strategy across all paid channels to drive measurable business growth and efficiency. This role is responsible for developing an integrated acquisition and conversion strategy across always on Paid Social, Display, Programmatic, and Affiliate channels, ensuring all activities align with commercial priorities and brand objectives. Acting as a bridge between data, creative, and media, the Performance Marketing Lead will combine analytical rigor with creative problem-solving to maximize ROI, revenue, and long-term customer value. The ideal candidate is both a strategist and an operator - comfortable defining vision, managing budgets, and empowering a cross-functional team to deliver excellence on a scale.

• Lead the strategy, planning, and execution of always on paid digital channels to drive revenue growth and cost efficiency.
• Manage and mentor a team of channel leads and specialists, fostering a high-performance, data-driven culture.
• Define annual and quarterly performance marketing targets in alignment with commercial goals and global campaign plans.
• Oversee multi-million-dollar digital budgets, ensuring optimal allocation and pacing to deliver maximum ROI.
• Collaborate closely with analytics, data, and finance teams to build accurate forecasting, attribution, and reporting models.
• Partner with brand, Marketing, CRM, and e-commerce teams to ensure consistent messaging and seamless customer journeys across channels.
• Evaluate and onboard new tools, technologies, and partners to advance automation, audience targeting, and creative optimization.
• Establish a rigorous A/B testing and experimentation roadmap to continuously improve performance metrics and customer acquisition efficiency.
• Analyze performance data and present actionable insights to senior leadership, influencing future strategy and investment.
• Ensure all campaigns adhere to data privacy regulations, brand standards, and internal governance processes.
• Foster and maintain a close and collaborative working relationship with our media buying agency, and digital vendors such as google and Tik Tok.
• Work with the agency to create annual joint business plans for each channel and report on their effectiveness on a quarterly basis.

• Minimum 7 years of experience in digital or performance marketing, with at least 3 years in a managerial or leadership role.
• Proven track record of managing multi-channel campaigns and large digital media budgets (USD 20M+ annually).
• Experience in airline, travel, or e-commerce sectors preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, Business, or a related field; master's degree is an advantage.
• Commercial understanding of Paid Social, Programmatic, PPC, SEO and Affiliate ecosystems, with hands-on experience in at least two channels.
• Strong command of analytics and data tools such as Adobe Analytics, GA4, SA360, Meta Ads Manager, DV360, BigQuery, and LookerStudio/Power BI.
• Exceptional leadership, collaboration, and communication skills - able to align teams around a shared vision and deliver results under pressure.
• Highly analytical mindset with a passion for innovation, testing, and continuous improvement.

Etihad Airways is more than the UAE's national airline - we're shaping the future of global aviation. From our hub in Abu Dhabi, we connect people across continents and cultures, while driving our "Journey 2030" ambition to double our fleet, expand our network and grow our people for a new era of excellence. Join us and become part of a vision where the world is your workplace and extraordinary experiences take flight.