Senior Paid Media Manager

Receptional; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading digital marketing agency based in Bedford is seeking a Senior Paid Media Manager to lead strategies for high-value clients, focusing on Paid Search and Paid Social campaigns. The ideal candidate will have 3+ years of experience in digital advertising, exceptional client management skills, and a commitment to integrating AI innovations into campaign strategies. This position allows for flexible working arrangements, with great opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Benefits

Profit-related bonuses

25 days' holiday plus extra year

Access to mental health support

Flexible working

Cycling scheme

Qualifications

• 3+ years' experience in paid search and/or social media advertising, preferably agency-side.
• Experience in campaign creation and management on Google or Facebook Ads.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the strategy, execution, and optimisation of Paid Search and Paid Social campaigns.
• Collaborate with internal teams to deliver cohesive, data-led media strategies.
• Contribute to internal team meetings and provide insights and strategic advice to clients.

Skills

Paid search experience

Social media advertising

Client relationship management

Google Ads certified

Campaign planning

Analytical skills

Education

Graduate from the Receptional Academy

Tools

Google Ads

Facebook Ads

ChatGPT

Job description

Senior Paid Media Manager

Department: Paid Search & Social

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Bedford (Hybrid)

Reporting To: Sophie Williams

Compensation: £40,000 - £50,000 / year

Description

Recently Named Winners of the Best Agency to Work for (Medium) at the UK Culture Awards

We are looking for a new Senior Paid Media Manager, due to expansion, to join our award-winning Paid Media Team, based in Bedford. This position can be either fully remote or hybrid (3 days in the office, 2 days working from home), depending on the successful clients location.

However, due to the need to visit the office and meet with clients the successful candidate will need to be based in the UK.

Receptional have been named:

• Employer of the Year for Luton & Bedfordshire at the SME Business Awards 2022.
• SBC Marketing & Services Provider of the Year 2022
• Best Agency Culture (Silver Award) 2022 at the UK Agency Awards
• Best PPC Campaign (Large) at the 2024 UK Search Awards
• Our Head of Paid Media won Rising Star at the 2024 UK Search Awards

About Us:

Are you looking for a role where your colleagues are bright and engaged, the work is rewarding, and there’s plenty of opportunity for progression?

Receptional are an industry leading, multi award-winning team of creative and digital marketers. Specialising within the iGaming space we work with well-known brands across the UK, Europe and North America, providing a range of services from one-off projects to multi-channel campaigns.

A major part of our success are the people that work for us. We hire diverse people with potential and enable them to flourish with training and progression. This is a company where you can build a career, we are long-term focused and reward great performance with clearly defined career progression paths.

We place culture at the centre of our business with an array of annual initiatives ranging from charity to social events. Work / life balance is of utmost importance to us. We believe in providing a supportive and collaborative environment to enable you to reach your full potential.

About the Role:

As a Senior Paid Media Manager, you will take ownership of the strategy, execution, and optimisation of Paid Search and Paid Social campaigns across a portfolio of high-value clients, with a strong focus on the iGaming sector. This role requires a commercially minded performance marketer who can drive results across both channels while identifying opportunities for innovation and growth.

You will collaborate closely with internal teams including SEO, Creative, Content, and Data & Innovation to deliver cohesive, data-led media strategies. A key part of your role will be integrating AI-powered tools and workflows to improve efficiency and campaign effectiveness – from automated creative generation to advanced targeting and performance analysis.

You’ll bring deep channel expertise while also working to continuously evolve best practices and contribute to wider team development. The role offers the chance to shape cross-channel performance and elevate how we deliver paid media across the agency.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and optimise paid campaign efficiency and increase conversions
• Manage the day-to-day communication with clients, building and maintain good working relationships
• Ensure best practices are implemented throughout all managed campaigns and for direct line reports
• Use AI-powered tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Google Ads’ Performance Max AI features, or proprietary automation tools) to streamline campaign creation, testing, and optimisation.
• Ensure that spend and performance are closely monitored against KPIs
• Conduct daily checks on accounts to identify issues / opportunities
• Apply machine learning insights and automated processes to improve ad relevance and reduce manual workload.
• Maintain professional certifications (e.g., Google ads Certification).
• Stay up to date with industry trends and developments
• Contribute to internal team meetings, and other groups e.g., Focus Groups and culture initiatives.
• Provide clients with campaign insights and strategic advice.
• Provide campaign reporting, as per agreed client plans.
• Work with a Paid Media Account Director to develop strategy plans for your clients.
• Liaise with Platform partners e.g., Google, Facebook and/or LinkedIn strategists, as required
• Stay informed about the latest advancements in generative AI and automation and identify how these can improve team efficiency and campaign performance.
• Contribute to refining internal processes that incorporate AI tools to improve accuracy, speed, and scalability.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

Essential Skills:

• At least 3+ years’ experience in paid search and/or social media advertising, preferably agency-side.
• Have plenty of experience in campaign creation and management on Google or Facebook Ads
• Be able to manage client relationships, and be capable of preparing client presentations
• Be Google Ads certified / Facebook Ads certified (either)
• Have good campaign planning capabilities i.e., budgeting and forecasting
• Be willing to contributes to Paid Media Audits & new business proposals
• Be able to work independently / autonomously
• Be numerate and analytical, with strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Attend and contribute to internal team meetings and external client meetings.
• Graduate from the Receptional Academy within six months (running in tandem with our probationary period) to improve knowledge of all our services areas.
• Contributes to team (sharing info and helping others) and share our agency values
• Be willing to manage a Paid Media Exec / Consultant to support team & company growth

Non-Essential Skills

• Able to train others internally.
• Maintain the agency relationships with partners e.g., Google, Facebook, Spotify, Pinterest, etc. as the main POC.
• Contributes to award entries and client case studies.
• B2B sector experience as we have a strong pipeline of B2B iGaming opportunities.
• Experience using AI for creative development (e.g. generating ad copy or landing page variants).
• Able to mentor junior team members on best practices for using AI in paid search.

Our Values and Benefits

The Benefits You Actually Care About

We know every agency says “free fruit and beer.” (We’ve got that too, by the way.)

But at Receptional, our benefits are built around something more meaningful: our five core values. These guide everything we do – from how we support each other, to how we grow as individuals and as a team.

Transparent:

We believe in honesty, clarity, and sharing the bigger picture.

• Weekly all-agency meetings to keep you in the loop
• Company-wide quarterly business reviews
• A clear pay framework and role progression through our skills matrix
• Yearly appraisals and weekly 1-2-1s
• Profit-related bonuses paid twice a year, split equally across the team

Forward-Thinking:

We invest in what matters – your health, your future, and new ways of working.

• Access to Mental Health first aiders
• 6 paid-for counselling sessions per year
• Annual health checks and flu jabs
• Enhanced maternity & paternity pay
• Work abroad policy
• Strong employer pension contributions
• Generous employer pension contributions, with enhanced rates for senior staff

Dynamic:

We’re flexible, fast-moving and always evolving.

• Hybrid working (3 days in the office, 2 days from home)
• 25 days' holiday, plus an extra day each year of service (up to 30 days)
• A modern Bedford HQ with table tennis, darts, and space to think
• Your Birthday off
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Monthly rewards recognising those going above and beyond

Collaborative:

We value diverse perspectives, shared wins, and making time to connect.

• Quarterly focus groups – your voice shapes how we work
• Whole-team away days (think axe throwing, canoeing, falconry…)
• Team fundraising for our charity of the year
• Volunteering policy with 2 paid days off a year to support causes you care about
• Celebrations and cultural activities

Curious:

We ask questions, try new things, and never stop learning.

• A dedicated Training Academy with 40+ hours of learning a year
• Access to Industry events
• Peer mentoring, knowledge-sharing and personal development planning
• A culture that encourages “why?” and “what if?”