Paid Search Business Director

Zenith UK; Greater London; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Life Assurance

Private Medical cover

Reflection Days

Shared Parental Leave

Job summary

Zenith UK, part of Publicis Media, seeks a Paid Search Business Director to shape performance marketing for UK grocery and retail brands. You will lead a high-impact team, craft paid search strategies, and drive growth while expanding our Paid Search offering.

Working with data, technology and media specialists, you’ll influence client outcomes and develop next-generation talent. You’ll advise senior clients with data-driven insights, create executive-level recommendations and lead strategic

Qualifications

• Experience in a digital agency with Paid Search focus.
• Expertise across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and Apple Search Ads.
• Proven leadership and people development skills.
• Ability to guide large advertisers with strategic recommendations.
• Strong commercial awareness for growth opportunities.
• Proficiency with data, measurement frameworks, and governance.
• Excellent proposal and executive presentation abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Paid Search specialists, creating an environment where people can develop, collaborate and deliver outstanding client results.
• Shape and deliver paid search strategies across a portfolio of major client accounts, ensuring long-term growth and strong client retention.
• Identify and unlock commercial opportunities by expanding services, increasing product adoption and building strategic client partnerships.
• Act as a trusted adviser to senior client stakeholders, translating complex performance data into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Champion the agency's Paid Search proposition, supporting new business pitches and representing the business across the wider industry.
• Drive innovation through the adoption of new technologies, tools and data-led approaches that improve performance and efficiency.
• Develop strategic roadmaps that bring together data, technology and media, helping clients evolve their marketing maturity and achieve measurable business outcomes.

Skills

Google Ads

Microsoft Ads

Apple Search Ads

SA360

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decisions

Executive communication

Job description

Company Description

Zenith is the ROI agency. We help brands make Bold Moves in communications to drive profitable, measurable growth.

At Zenith, Bold Moves are big, brave shifts to strategy, data, audience or activation. They’re grounded in evidence, backed by rigorous forecasting and designed to deliver stronger returns for clients and better experiences for consumers. We work as empathetic partners, taking the time to understand our clients’ businesses and tying our success to theirs.

Part of Publicis Media, Zenith has over 5,000 specialists across 90 markets. In the UK, we work with leading organisations including The Very Group, Macmillan and Morrisons – helping them make smarter, more impactful choices to unlock growth. We believe an inclusive culture strengthens our business, enabling greater idea exchange, innovation and creativity, and we actively encourage our people to drive positive change.

Overview

Paid Search Business Director

We are hiring a Paid Search Business Director to help shape the future of performance marketing for some of the UK's most recognised grocery and retail brands. This is a high-impact leadership role where you'll combine strategic thinking, commercial acumen and people leadership to drive exceptional client outcomes while advancing our Paid Search offering. Working alongside talented specialists across data, technology and media, you'll influence client growth, develop innovative solutions and help create the next generation of Paid Search talent.

Responsibilities

What you'll be doing

• Lead a team of Paid Search specialists, creating an environment where people can develop, collaborate and deliver outstanding client results.
• Shape and deliver paid search strategies across a portfolio of major client accounts, ensuring long-term growth and strong client retention.
• Identify and unlock commercial opportunities by expanding services, increasing product adoption and building strategic client partnerships.
• Act as a trusted adviser to senior client stakeholders, translating complex performance data into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Champion the agency's Paid Search proposition, supporting new business pitches and representing the business across the wider industry.
• Drive innovation through the adoption of new technologies, tools and data-led approaches that improve performance and efficiency.
• Develop strategic roadmaps that bring together data, technology and media, helping clients evolve their marketing maturity and achieve measurable business outcomes.

Qualifications

Skills we're looking for

• Significant experience within a digital agency environment, with strong expertise across Paid Search platforms including Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and Apple Search Ads.
• Strong knowledge of search campaign management and bidding technologies, particularly SA360.
• Experience leading and developing teams, with a people-first approach to coaching, performance development and talent growth.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and provide strategic, consultative guidance to large-scale advertisers.
• Commercial awareness with a track record of identifying growth opportunities and translating strategy into measurable business results.
• Confidence working with data, measurement frameworks and governance practices, using insights to inform decisions and tell compelling client stories.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience creating proposals, strategic recommendations and executive-level presentations.

Additional Information

Zenith UK offers a wide range of benefits to support our employees. Full details are shared when you join, but highlights include core benefits such as Pension, Life Assurance, and Private Medical cover, alongside enhanced policies like Reflection Days and Shared Parental Leave. You’ll also have access to a range of additional initiatives, including:

Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).

Publicis Groupe works primarily from the office or our clients' office four days per week.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.

We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition - please let us know. We’ll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application.

Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.