EMEA Paid Media Director

We Are Social; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A global creative agency is seeking an experienced EMEA Paid Media Director to join their London office. In this role, you will lead a multi-market media team across key EMEA markets including the UK and Dubai. You are expected to develop and execute a paid media strategy across various channels and act as a strategic advisor to clients. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in paid media and managing significant budgets, along with a deep understanding of social platforms. Competitive benefits include 25 days holiday and a Work From Anywhere scheme.

Benefits

25 days holiday

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Work From Anywhere scheme

Qualifications

• Must have extensive EMEA experience.
• Experience in leading high-performance media teams.
• Proficiency in brand building and direct-response campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Lead paid media strategy across various channels.
• Act as a strategic advisor to clients.
• Oversee campaign excellence and participate in pitches.

Skills

Extensive experience within paid media

Managing media teams of varying sizes

Planning and executing multi-channel media

Managing multi-million dollar budgets

Expertise across social platforms

Knowledge of AI tools and digital analytics

Understanding the synergy of media and creative

Job description

Who We Are

We are a global socially‑led creative agency, with unrivalled social media and influencer marketing expertise. With over 1,200 people in four continents, we deliver a global perspective to our clients in a time when social media is shaping culture.

We’re proud to be a multi award‑winning agency, with Cannes Lions, One Show, Webby and Shorty Awards, to name but a few. Our most recent work has seen us help Amazon Music, Activision and Adidas deliver some of their biggest and most innovative campaigns to date.

As well as creating for clients, we help educate the wider industry. Our Instagram publication The Feed tracks culture at the speed of social. 6,500 people registered or tuned into our events last year, and our reports garnered more than 20 million views.

The Opportunity

Are you a full‑funnel media leader with extensive EMEA experience? Do you want to elevate the strategic role of media within a world‑class creative agency? Are you ready to lead, develop and coach a high‑performance, multi‑market media team?

We are looking for an EMEA Paid Media Director to join our growing media department across key EMEA markets. You will lead within the UK and Dubai, while providing senior strategic guidance across Italy, France & Spain. This role will take ownership of paid media strategy across channels, primarily on social, but also paid search, video, display and other forms of online and offline media. You will act as a trusted strategic advisor to clients, consult with internal departments, oversee campaign excellence and participate in new business development and pitch presentations, all while owning thought‑leadership for your markets.

This role is based in our London office. Applicants must already have the legal right to work in the UK.

What You’ll Have Delivered Elsewhere

• Improved team performance through implementing a new management, development, training and coaching framework.
• Generated a continued uplift in client business outcomes by developing full‑funnel, integrated creative & media strategies and cross‑channel media campaigns.
• Drove an increase in the adoption of new platforms, technologies and media channels across client campaigns by fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation.
• Ensured 100% compliance with industry best practices across all media campaign implementations, as evidenced by strong audit scores.
• Increased inter‑departmental efficiency by implementing and standardising new effective ways of working.
• Secured early access to new ad products/services for clients by building and nurturing strong publisher and vendor relationships.
• Successfully contributed to growth in the paid media service offering.
• Maintained a high budget accuracy across all media activities by owning budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting in collaboration with the finance team within relevant markets.

What Else Are We Looking For?

• Extensive experience within paid media, with strong knowledge of the paid media landscape across channels, objectives and trends.
• Extensive experience managing media teams of varied sizes.
• Extensive, hands‑on experience planning and executing multi‑objective, multi‑channel media, with proficiency in both brand building and direct‑response campaigns.
• Extensive experience managing and optimising multi‑million dollar budgets towards business goals like brand lift, ROI and more.
• Deep expertise across social platforms, including Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Reddit.
• Advanced knowledge of AI tools, digital measurement and analytics, with a proven competency in leveraging data and the latest technologies to inform strategy.
• Excellent understanding of how media and creative work together to drive business growth.

Our Culture and the Nice Stuff

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion runs in the water here at We Are Social. We are transparent about the changes that are needed, we are focused on making real strides, both internally and within the industry and we strive to truly be a workplace that represents, supports and advocates for ALL. Our Charter for Change in the UK can be found here which details our focus areas across People, Work and Culture in 2025.

Inclusion at every level is crucial to creative innovation and success, and we want to create a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We welcome and encourage talent from ALL backgrounds and are committed to creating a representative team that can deliver creative excellence. If you require any support, adjustments or accommodations for any reason whatsoever during the recruitment process, please let us know via [e-mail].

So let’s get to the good stuff – we offer all those things you would naturally expect: 25 days holiday, pension scheme and life assurance. But what we love most is connection, so we have our WAS Passport and Work From Anywhere schemes which allow you to truly connect to colleagues all over the world!