Account Director, Paid Search

WeDiscover | Performance Marketing & Technology Agency; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in the Business

Significant Career Advancement

Work Flexibility (2–3 days in London)

Job summary

WeDiscover is seeking an experienced Paid Search Account Director to lead one of our largest client relationships and a broader portfolio of Tier 1 accounts in a hybrid London-based role.

You'll set strategic directions, own account performance, and develop Account Managers while staying close to the work to push smarter approaches, data-driven decisions, and better outcomes for clients.

Qualifications

• Advanced Paid Search expertise across diverse client models and commercial objectives.
• Strong knowledge of Shopping, feeds, automation and modern bidding approaches.
• Ability to interrogate performance beyond headline metrics to drive commercial value.

Responsibilities

• Own overall account performance and delivery across Tier 1 clients.
• Set strategic direction and translate objectives into Paid Search strategy.
• Lead senior client meetings and build relationships with stakeholders.
• Develop annual and quarterly roadmaps connecting long-term strategy with goals.
• Identify opportunities to leverage client data, technology and automation.
• Scope and test new initiatives with Data & Product teams.
• Create clear briefs for Data and Product teams.
• Ensure account teams are well organized with clear ownership.
• Run retrospectives and adapt approaches based on learnings.
• Manage scope and out-of-scope requests.

Skills

Paid Search

Shopping & Feeds

Automation & Bidding

Data-driven decisions

Job description

Hybrid working:

Typically 1–2 days per week in the office, with flexibility

We're looking for an experienced Paid Search Account Director to lead one of WeDiscover's largest and most strategically important client relationships, alongside a broader portfolio of Tier 1 clients.

This is a role with genuine ownership. You'll set the strategic direction of accounts, lead senior client relationships and develop the Account Managers working underneath you, while remaining close enough to the work to challenge how things are being done and identify where we can do them better.

One of the major accounts you'll lead is a large omnichannel retailer with a significant ecommerce operation and thousands of products, creating the kind of complexity where great Paid Search goes well beyond campaign optimisation.

Product availability, stock depth, margin, promotions, seasonality and rapidly changing customer demand all affect where investment should go. There is significant scope to improve how product and commercial data inform feeds, bidding, automation and budget allocation, and to challenge whether conventional measures such as revenue and ROAS are telling the full commercial story.

You'll work closely with WeDiscover's Data and Product teams to turn those challenges into practical solutions – from better use of first-party and product data through to new tools, measurement approaches and automation.

We're looking for someone who enjoys that combination: running excellent Paid Search today while continually looking for ways to make it smarter tomorrow.

What you'll be responsible for

Client leadership & strategy

• Owning overall account performance and delivery across Tier 1 clients
• Setting the strategic direction of accounts and translating complex commercial objectives into Paid Search strategy
• Leading strategic client meetings and building strong relationships with senior stakeholders
• Developing annual and quarterly roadmaps that connect long-term strategy with clients' commercial goals
• Understanding the wider commercial context behind performance – not simply what is happening within the platforms
• Identifying opportunities to make better use of client data, technology and automation
• Leading the ideation of new initiatives and working with Data & Product teams to scope and test them
• Creating clear, well-structured briefs for Data and Product teams
• Ensuring account teams are well organised, with clear ownership and expectations
• Running regular retrospectives and adapting approaches based on what we learn
• Understanding client commercials, ensuring delivery remains within scope and managing out-of-scope requests appropriately

People leadership

You'll directly manage 2+ Account Managers, helping them develop both technically and strategically.

That means giving people meaningful ownership rather than simply delegating tasks: understanding their strengths and development areas, creating opportunities for them to progress, having constructive conversations about performance and helping emerging managers develop their own leadership skills.

You'll also support the structured onboarding and probation of new members of the Paid Search team.

Wider impact

Account Directors at WeDiscover are expected to contribute beyond their individual accounts.

That could mean owning an internal project, developing a new way of working, collaborating with Data or other Paid Media teams on a new capability, building a case study, contributing to thought leadership or representing WeDiscover externally.

You’ll have the opportunity to shape how we work as the agency continues to grow.

About WeDiscover

WeDiscover is a performance marketing and technology agency, founded in 2020 by former client-side performance marketers.

We've grown rapidly since then, to a team of around 60 specialists across performance marketing, data science, engineering and analytics.

That combination is an important part of how we work. We don't believe the best answer to a performance problem necessarily sits inside Google or Meta. Our teams work together to understand the underlying commercial problem and, where appropriate, build the data, technology and automation needed to solve it.

That can mean managing performance media directly, working alongside an in-house team, or building bespoke technology and data solutions around their marketing operation.

The model is working. WeDiscover has appeared in the Financial Times FT 1000 list of Europe's fastest-growing companies for two consecutive years, ranking 5th in the UK in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 63%. We're also a Google Premier Partner, placing us among the top 3% of Google Partners in the UK.

The growth creates opportunity internally too. We're still at a size where senior people can have a meaningful influence on how the agency develops, while working on increasingly large and complex client problems.

What we're looking for

You'll already be an experienced Paid Search practitioner. We're less interested in someone who can simply demonstrate that they've managed large budgets than in how they think about complex accounts.

You'll need:

• Advanced Paid Search expertise and experience adapting strategy around different business models and commercial objectives
• Strong knowledge of Shopping, feeds, automation and modern bidding approaches
• An understanding of where first‑party, product and commercial data can improve platform decision‑making
• The ability to interrogate performance beyond headline platform metrics and understand what's actually driving commercial value
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to turn complexity into a clear strategic recommendation
• Credibility with senior client stakeholders and the confidence to challenge constructively
• High standards across communication, presentation and account management
• The ability to lead and develop Account Managers without becoming detached from the work
• Strong project management skills and the ability to maintain momentum when projects encounter setbacks
• Curiosity about how technology, data and automation can improve performance rather than simply accepting the limitations of existing platforms

How success will be measured

Success isn't just about whether your accounts hit their targets.

We'll also look at whether you're making the accounts better: developing stronger strategies, identifying opportunities clients hadn't previously considered, improving how teams work and creating new solutions with Data and Product.

You’ll be expected to build trusted senior client relationships, develop the people around you and contribute to WeDiscover beyond your immediate portfolio.

As you progress, we'd expect you to demonstrate calm, solutions-focused leadership under pressure; build strong relationships across Paid Media, Data and Product; successfully introduce new processes and ways of working; and have an increasingly visible impact on the wider agency.

In return for your work, time and skills, we offer a competitive salary and some additional benefits:

• Equity in the Business: Gain ownership in WeDiscover through our EMI Options Scheme, allowing you to share in the success you help create.
• Significant Career Advancement: Be part of a fast-growing agency where your contributions have a direct impact on our growth and culture. You'll have the opportunity to help shape the direction of the business as we continue to scale.
• Work Flexibility: 2–3 days in our London office, as best suits you.
• Top of the Range Tools: High-spec laptop, screens and access to our bespoke technology.
• Generous Time Off: 28 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays, and the option to take a five-week paid sabbatical after five years of service.
• Wellness & Wellbeing: £40 monthly wellness subscription towards your choice of services such as Calm, Headspace, Huel, Thriva or a gym membership.
• Volunteering & Giving Back: Two volunteering days per year.
• Continuous Learning: £200 annual learning fund for books, courses or subscriptions, alongside ongoing technical and broader business training.
• Inclusive Culture: We're committed to creating an inclusive, positive environment where success is shared and people are supported to do their best work.