Paid Media Specialist

Arrow McLaren IndyCar; Durnford Farm; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading racing team in the UK is looking for a Digital Media Lead who will be responsible for leading the planning and execution of paid media campaigns. The ideal candidate will manage campaigns across platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Google Ads, ensuring that they meet performance targets. This role requires strong analytical skills and experience in media planning. The position offers hybrid working, requiring attendance at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking three days a week.

Benefits

Private healthcare

Car schemes

Life insurance

Generous pension contributions

Gym access

Qualifications

• Strong experience in media planning and execution, ideally from a media agency or in-house digital team.
• Experience managing campaigns across Meta, TikTok, Google Ads, and YouTube.
• Ability to interpret data and translate insights into actionable recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end paid media planning across various channels.
• Execute campaigns directly within platform tools.
• Manage full campaign lifecycle including performance management.

Skills

Media planning

SEO management

Data analysis

Campaign execution

Communication

Attention to detail

Tools

Meta Ads Manager

Google Ads

TikTok For Business

Google Analytics

Job description

Overview

At McLaren Racing, we’re not just here to try to take the chequered flag. We’re here to excite our fans, inspire our people and deliver for our partners. And we’re also committed to evolving our sport, our industry, and our technology, too.

Purpose of the role

The purpose of this role is to lead the planning, execution, and optimisation of paid media activity across McLaren’s digital ecosystem. You will be responsible for shaping full-funnel paid media strategies, managing campaign delivery across social, search, and digital channels, and ensuring our launches throughout the year are supported by best-in-class media execution.

Role dimension

This role will report to the Head Of, Digital Marketing and be a part of McLaren Racing’s wider digital team, working in close collaboration with our social media, content and digital marketing teams.

This role provides hybrid working but requires you to be at the McLaren Technology Centre (Woking, UK) at least three days per week. McLaren operates in a fast-paced, high-performance environment, and the nature of racing on weekends and working in social media means regularly working during unsocial hours and may require occasional travel.

Principal Accountabilities

• Lead end-to-end paid media planning across Meta, TikTok, Google, YouTube, and emerging digital channels.
• Execute campaigns directly within platform tools—Meta Ads Manager, TikTok For Business, Google Ads, Google Analytics, and other relevant platforms.
• Manage full campaign lifecycle including briefing, set-up, optimisation, pacing, targeting, creative implementation, and performance management.
• Optimise budget allocation across channels to maximise ROI and meet campaign KPIs.
• Develop annual and campaign-based media plans that support launches, brand moments, and commercial priorities.
• Work closely with the content and social teams to guide creative development, ensuring assets follow platform best practice and performance insights.
• Own media performance reporting—pulling data, analysing results, and providing insights that inform future planning.
• Support SEO activity by collaborating with content and web teams on technical improvements, keyword strategy, and performance analysis.
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of platform innovations, digital trends, and evolving targeting capabilities.
• Manage relationships with platform reps and external partners, ensuring McLaren leverages best practice, betas, and optimisation opportunities.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to align paid media activity with broader marketing plans and communication strategies.
• Ensure best-in-class workflows, documentation, tracking, and QA processes are implemented for all paid campaigns.

Knowledge, Skills and Experiences

• Strong experience in media planning and hands-on execution, ideally from a media agency or in-house digital team.
• Strong technical understanding and practical experience running campaigns across Meta, TikTok, Google Ads, YouTube, and paid search. Experience in SEO management—keyword planning, performance analysis, and optimisation (technical or content-based).
• Proven track record of delivering full-funnel media plans and measurable campaign outcomes.
• Highly analytical with the ability to interpret data and translate insights into actionable recommendations.
• Comfortable managing multiple campaigns and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with internal teams and external partners.
• High attention to detail, excellent organisational skills, and a proactive approach to problem solving.
• Experience working on global brands or within the sports industry is desirable but not essential.
• Confident, adaptable, and eager to bring best-practice digital thinking into a high-performance team.

What can McLaren offer?

We constantly strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. Our ambition is to be the most pioneering and exhilarating racing team in the world, and our collective task is to set the standards for high performance in sport. We show up every day with energy and enthusiasm, ready to play our part.

We encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion. We will actively promote a culture that values difference and eliminates discrimination in our workplace.

McLaren Racing is based at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) near Woking. Here at McLaren, we offer hybrid working with 3 days a week based in the MTC.

Our state of the art, sustainable campus offers many facilities including a gym, restaurant and indoor and outdoor break-out areas, as well as direct access to park and common land. The MTC is connected to Woking mainline station via regular shuttle buses, from which London Waterloo is a 30 minute train ride.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including private healthcare, car schemes, life insurance and generous pension contributions.