Sr. Associate, Performance Marketing

Viral Nation; Toronto; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Viral Nation is seeking a Sr. Associate to lead execution in our performance marketing pod, focusing on paid social, campaign build, trafficking, optimization, pacing, and QA. You will become fluent in the overarching media plan to articulate strategy and results to clients.

You will collaborate across teams, manage day-to-day optimization, and participate in platform calls to translate insights into actions that drive client objectives and growth.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of media buying experience within paid social.
• Strong command of qualitative and quantitative aspects of paid media.
• Proficiency in Google/Microsoft Suite and project management tools (monday.com, Asana, or ClickUp).
• Strong collaboration, communication, and organizational skills.
• Keen eye for creative content and current marketing trends.
• Working understanding of marketing analytics, QA, and optimization best practices.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled platform features and automation (Advantage+, Performance Max, smart bidding).

Responsibilities

• Launch, monitor, optimize, and report on media campaigns across paid social channels.
• Own daily optimization, budget pacing, and in-platform troubleshooting.
• Build and traffic campaigns accurately, self-QA before launches.
• Analyze performance data and surface insights to Manager.
• Support media planning with actuals, reallocations, and audience execution.
• Run campaign experimentation across audiences, creative, and bidding.
• Evaluate creative and adjust to platform best practices and client objectives.
• Join internal and external calls with tactical detail on campaigns.
• Contribute in performance platform calls and implement recommendations.

Skills

Media buying

Paid social

Analytics

Campaign optimization

Communication

Project management

Tools

Google Workspace

Microsoft 365

monday.com

Asana

ClickUp

Job description

At Viral Nation, we specialize in building social-first ecosystems for brands to connect with the modern consumer journey. Our integrated solutions align strategy, talent, media, and technology with culturally relevant creativity to scale the world’s fastest-growing digital brands. Viral Nation offers a fluid, creative, and growth-oriented environment that will support your ambitions to apply your talents in an open, collaborative, and fast-paced culture. Our ability to stay at the forefront of the industry has fuelled our success and will guide us in paving the path forward. We’re driven to push boundaries and think beyond today to deliver strategies, and we’re just getting started.

While we continuously exceed our goals, we need your help – our success is only as great as our people. Strong performance leads to high expectations, and we must keep raising the bar!

The Sr. Associate brings the execution lens to an integrated Performance Marketing pod. Working closely with your Manager, you own campaign build, trafficking, daily optimization, pacing, and QA across performance marketing channels, with an emphasis on paid social, while building fluency in the overarching media plan and strategy so you can speak to both sides of the work.

What You’ll Do Here:

• Launch, monitor, optimize, and report on media campaigns across paid social channels, with the potential to manage paid search and programmatic campaigns where clients require.
• Own daily optimization, budget pacing, and in-platform troubleshooting to keep campaigns on plan and on target.
• Build and traffic campaigns accurately, owning self-QA before every launch.
• Analyze performance data to refine tactics, and surface in-platform signals, risks, and opportunities to your Manager.
• Support media planning with actuals, reallocations, and audience execution against the strategic media plan.
• Run campaign experimentation across audiences, creative, and bidding to identify what drives performance.
• Evaluate creative and recommend adjustments aligned to platform best practices and client objectives.
• Join internal and external calls, speaking directly to tactical detail and in-platform campaign structure.
• Be a key contributor in performance platform calls, clearly articulating active and upcoming campaign plans and implementing platform provided recommendations where applicable.

What You Need To Have:

• 3+ years of media buying experience within paid social. Strong working knowledge of paid search; programmatic experience a strong asset.
• Strong command of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of paid media.
• Proficiency in the Google / Microsoft Suite and project management tools (monday.com, Asana, or ClickUp).
• Strong collaboration, communication, and organizational skills.
• A keen eye for creative content and current marketing trends.
• Working understanding of marketing analytics, QA, and optimization best practices.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled platform features and automation (Advantage+, Performance Max, smart bidding) is a plus.

This role has an annual salary range of $70,000 to $85,000. This range reflects the full scope and progression of the role, from building capability to operating with sustained impact at a higher level. In addition to base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits and total rewards package designed to support our team as they grow with us.

Where an offer falls within this range is determined through the interview process. Candidates are benchmarked by the hiring team based on role scope, relevant experience, skill alignment, and expected impact, using consistent and objective criteria.

Compensation Philosophy:

At Viral Nation, compensation is structured, performance-led, and market-aligned. Pay decisions are intentional, based on role requirements, performance, and market alignment by country, and are set to maintain internal pay equity across comparable roles and levels.

Compensation progression is tied to demonstrated performance, expanded scope, and sustained contribution over time, not tenure alone. Employee compensation is reviewed regularly through formal performance reviews and check-ins to ensure alignment with role expectations and impact.

AI in Recruitment:

Viral Nation does not use AI-enabled tools to screen, assess, rank, or select candidates – our hiring teams make all hiring decisions. AI note-taking tools may be used during interviews.

DEI Commitment:

Viral Nation is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in our agency. Viral Nation welcomes applications from people with visible and non-visible disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruiting and selection process.