Associate Director, Paid Social

Publicis Groupe Holdings B.V; Burbank (CA); On-site; USD 97,000 - 149,000; Full time

Job summary

Zenith is seeking an Associate Media Director, Paid Social (Performance) to lead performance-driven paid social strategies and own day-to-day operations. You will manage client relationships at the highest levels and mentor junior staff, with no creative content or organic posting in this role.

You’ll guide planning and buying across major platforms, optimize campaigns, and communicate insights to stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of social media experience in performance media.
• 1+ years of leadership and team management experience.
• Experience managing lower funnel campaigns on paid social platforms.
• Strong ability to optimize campaigns toward business outcomes.
• Solid understanding of bid strategies, attribution, and measurement.

Responsibilities

• Serve as main point of contact for day-to-day client relationships.
• Develop performance-focused paid social strategies to hit client goals.
• Oversee campaign execution, optimization, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Lead strategy and optimization across Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, X and more.
• Analyze performance data and translate insights into client recommendations.
• Monitor campaigns against CPA, ROAS, revenue and profitability metrics.
• Lead meetings, present results and strategic recommendations to clients.
• Mentor junior team members and drive onboarding/training.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure high-quality execution.

Skills

Social media ads

Team leadership

Data analysis

Client relations

Campaign optimization

Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications or equivalent

Tools

Excel

Job description

Company description

Zenith is one of Publicis Groupe’s largest media agencies, spanning 95 markets globally with US offices in New York, Burbank, Chicago, Atlanta and Detroit. For more than 30 years, we have been at the forefront of media, helping to evolve and reshape the industry. We are highly regarded as a true agency partner by many high-profile brands for our expertise across numerous categories and wide range of capabilities that are unparalleled in the industry. Clients hire us for our track record of excellence in strategic planning, investment, and measurement. We also have specialist offerings, including content, commerce, multicultural and future-proofed data capabilities.

Overview

The Associate Media Director, Paid Social (Performance) is responsible for developing performance-driven paid social strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes. You’ll play a leadership role in shaping the strategic direction of the performance program and own its day-to-day operation. You’ll also manage client relationships at the highest levels and work to foster long-term relationships with those clients. You’ll also supervise and mentor junior members of the internal team.

This position oversees PAID SOCIAL MEDIA PLANNING AND BUYING and is the point of connection to the client. PLEASE NOTE THERE IS NO CREATIVE CONTENT OR ORGANIC POSTING IN THIS ROLE.

Responsibilities

• Main point of contact for day-to-day clients, cultivating strong relationships and serving as a trusted strategic partner.
• Develop performance marketing strategies across paid social channels designed to achieve client acquisition, revenue, profitability, and efficiency goals.
• Oversee campaign execution, performance optimization, budget allocation, and forecasting across assigned accounts.
• Guide strategy and optimization across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Pinterest and other emerging social media platforms, leveraging platform capabilities to maximize performance against business KPIs.
• Analyze campaign, platform, and business performance data to identify opportunities for growth, efficiency, and scale. Translate findings into actionable recommendations for clients and internal stakeholders.
• Monitor and optimize campaigns against full-funnel performance metrics including CPA, CPL, ROAS, revenue, profitability, customer acquisition, and other client-defined business outcomes.
• Lead client meetings and presentations, clearly communicating performance results, key insights, test learnings, and strategic recommendations to external stakeholders.
• Maintain expertise in social platform innovations, bidding strategies, measurement methodologies, attribution approaches, and emerging industry trends, providing strategic POVs to clients and internal teams.
• Mentor and develop junior team members by providing guidance on performance analysis, campaign optimization, client communication, and strategic thinking. Lead onboarding and training initiatives that support ongoing growth across the team.
• Collaborate with various integrated departments (Account, Project Management, Strategy, Investment, Analytics, Creative)
• Work with social platform partners to leverage new product features, platform betas, and added-value opportunities, developing strategic relationships that drive client performance.
• Collaborate with VP and Director to drive account growth, support strategic planning, and ensure high-quality execution across client programs and teams.
• Facilitate the development and documentation of paid social best practices related to performance optimization, testing methodologies, measurement, reporting, and operational excellence.
• Identify growth opportunities through performance insights, strategic recommendations, testing roadmaps, and proactive client partnership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications or equivalent field of study.
• 4+ years of social media experience in performance media; client side or agency preferred.
• 1+ years of demonstrated success in managing and leading a team of performance media specialists.
• Extensive experience managing lower funnel campaigns within Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, or other paid social advertising platforms.
• Proven track record in performance marketing and optimizing campaigns toward business outcomes such as revenue, ROAS, profitability, customer acquisition, or other down-funnel conversion goals.
• Robust understanding of bid strategies, conversion optimization, attribution methodologies, incrementality concepts, and measurement frameworks.
• Exceptional attention to detail with a strong commitment to quality assurance, accuracy, and operational excellence across campaign execution, reporting, and client deliverables.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; the ability to think on your feet, to be creative and talk knowledgeably about social media and its implications on business results.
• History of managing cross-functional teams and client relationships while influencing senior stakeholders through data-driven recommendations.
• Ability to move fast, be bold and thrive in a dynamic, quickly changing environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to synthesize large datasets, identify performance trends, and develop actionable recommendations that drive measurable business outcomes.
• Advanced skills in Excel (pivot tables and macros).

Additional information

Our Publicis Groupe motto “Viva La Différence” means we’re better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.

Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.

If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact [e-mail].

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Veterans Encouraged to Apply.

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Compensation Range: USD $97,375.00 - USD $149,296.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 10/27/2026.