Senior Paid Social Executive

River Island; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff discount 50%

Retail Trust benefits

Onsite gym

Onsite restaurant & cafe

Flexible working

Giver Island donation matching

25 days annual leave

Job summary

River Island is seeking an experienced Senior Paid Social Executive to join our Paid Media team on a 6-month fixed term contract. You will shape the creative direction of paid social campaigns across Meta, TikTok and beyond, turning audience insights into ads that work.

Based at our West London head office, you will manage multi-million-pound budgets, monitor performance against KPIs, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver integrated campaigns.

Qualifications

• 2+ years’ experience in Paid Social, ideally in a fast-paced B2C, retail or ecommerce environment.
• Strong creative instinct — you understand what makes an ad stop the scroll and can brief it clearly.
• Experience briefing creative teams and providing performance-based creative feedback.
• In-depth knowledge of Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, with experience across additional platforms considered a plus.
• Strong understanding of GA4 and web analytics tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead the creative strategy end-to-end - briefing, testing, analysing and scaling formats, hooks and messages.
• Work closely with creative teams to brief in and develop Paid Social assets aligned with campaign goals.
• Provide data-led creative insights to optimise messaging and visuals from numbers to concepts.
• Run structured creative testing across formats, placements and hooks to identify top performers.
• Manage Paid Social campaigns across Meta, TikTok and other platforms, delivering against core KPIs.

Skills

Paid Social

Meta Ads Manager

TikTok Ads Manager

Budget management

Data interpretation

Creative briefing

Campaign optimization

Communication

Tools

GA4

Web analytics

Job description

We are seeking an experienced and results-driven Senior Paid Social Executive to join our Paid Media team on a 6-month fixed term contract.

Reporting to the Paid Social Manager, you will play a pivotal role in our approach to channel management, measurement, and driving content excellence across our platforms.

This is a creative-first paid social role where your instinct for scroll-stopping content is as valued as your performance data. You will shape the creative direction of paid social campaigns across Meta, TikTok, and beyond — turning audience insights into ads that work.

You will bring platform expertise, a test-and-learn mindset, and genuine creative problem-solving skills to drive strong results from our Paid Social investment.

• Support the development and execution of paid social strategy across UK and Ireland
• Manage day to day campaign budgets within a multi-million-pound media investment, ensuring spend is delivered against performance KPIs
• Build strong relationships with platform reps and external partners to stay ahead of best practice and opportunities

Responsiblities:

CREATIVE AND CONTENT

• Lead the creative strategy end-to-end - briefing, testing, analysing and scaling the formats, hooks and messages that drive results
• Work closely with creative teams to brief in and develop Paid Social assets that align with campaign goals, providing clear direction on format, hook, message and personas
• Provide data-led creative insights to optimise messaging and visuals translating what the numbers tell you into concepts that stop thumbs and drive action
• Run structured creative testing across different formats, placements and hooks to identify and scale top-performing creative approaches
• Stay informed on social content trends, native formats, emerging placements and creative best practices on TikTok and Meta to guide ad design and messaging

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

• Manage Paid Social campaigns across Meta, TikTok and other emerging platforms, delivering against core KPIs including traffic, conversions, revenue and ROI
• Support testing across new placements, formats and bidding strategies, scaling successful initiatives
• Champion experimentation and innovation within the Paid Social channel

BUDGET MANAGEMENT

• Monitor and manage campaign budgets daily to maximise performance
• Ensure accurate forecasting and pacing of spend

COLLABORATION

• Work with Paid Media, Brand, CRM, E-com Ops, and Trading teams to deliver integrated campaigns and support trade priorities
• Share learnings and insights with wider marketing teams to influence strategy
• Collaborate with platform partners and creative teams to deliver innovative campaign activity

INDUSTRY

• Stay up to date with Paid Social trends, platform changes and new tools

MEASUREMENT & REPORTING

• Build and maintain reports using platform dashboards and internal reporting tools including GA4
• Analyse campaign performance, providing actionable insights and recommendations
• Communicate results clearly to Paid Social Manager and senior stakeholders

Skills & Abilities:

• 2+ years’ experience in Paid Social, ideally in a fast-paced B2C, retail or ecommerce environment
• Strong creative instinct — you understand what makes an ad stop the scroll and can brief it clearly
• Experience briefing creative teams and providing performance-based creative feedback
• In-depth knowledge of Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, with experience across additional platforms considered a plus
• Strong understanding of GA4 and web analytics tools
• Comfortable managing large budgets and driving measurable results
• Strong analytical and numerical skills — you can interpret data and turn it into creative direction
• Excellent communication and reporting skills, with ability to translate complex performance data into clear, actionable insights
• A test-and-learn mindset with genuine curiosity about what’s working in social
• Ability to manage multiple priorities effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment

About Us

We’re a much-loved brand with an exciting future. Our Islanders are a diverse bunch of bright, talented people who love working together – and are proud of the work they do. Progression here can take you in all kinds of directions. This is what a career at River Island is like. And this is where yours starts.

This role is based at our Head Office in West London. Check us out here on a map.

What we can offer you:

• Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site!
• Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through the Retail Trust.
• A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill you needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year.
• Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for all our Islanders!
• Flexible working, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays.
• Give as you earn scheme, a ‘Giver Island’ day each year and receive matched funding.
• Support with upskilling through on the job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress.
• 25 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!

Keeping You Safe

At River Island we are committed to the safeguarding of all of our employees regardless of age or job role. We will fulfil our obligation under the Prevent duty which seeks to stop extremism and extremist views from materialising in our business. We promote and encourage the belief in British Values- including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. To find out more, please visit www.gov.uk.

Our Island is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise. To find out more about this interview process, check out our hiring process below.