Digital Media Buyer, Public Affairs

FTP; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 111,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO

Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

401K plan

$80 monthly phone stipend

Flexible Spending accounts

Job summary

FTP in Washington, DC is seeking a Digital Media Buyer to plan, build, traffic, and optimize paid media campaigns across programmatic, social, and search for advocacy and public affairs clients. You will own campaigns from setup to pacing and reporting, collaborate with account teams, mentor junior analysts, and help shape FTP's growing digital practice.

You will work under fast turnaround demands across healthcare, technology, and defense sectors, ensuring on-time delivery and data-driven

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or equivalent experience.
• 3-5 years of hands-on paid media buying experience, ideally including advocacy, public affairs, political, or issue campaigns
• Hands-on experience with programmatic DSPs, paid social ad managers (Meta, LinkedIn, X, TikTok), and paid search platforms
• Strong command of audience targeting, pixel and conversion tracking, UTM discipline, and campaign measurement
• Comfort building campaign reports and translating performance data into clear PowerPoint deliverables
• Fluency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel for budget pacing and reconciliation
• Demonstrated ability to effectively and independently manage multiple projects
• Demonstrated capacity for teamwork and meeting tight deadlines across teams

Responsibilities

• Plan, build, traffic, and optimize paid media campaigns across programmatic display, video, and connected TV, paid social, and paid search, on time and on budget.
• Manage day-to-day campaign execution including pacing, bid and budget management, audience targeting, creative trafficking, and mid-flight optimization.
• Operate across managed-service and self-serve buying platforms, and bring a point of view on channels and tactics for each client.
• Turn Public Affairs account team objectives into concrete media plans, flighting, and budget recommendations.
• Build and manage campaign reporting, turning performance data into clear PowerPoint deliverables for clients.
• Hold fast turnaround times without sacrificing accuracy; same-day launches are routine.
• Partner with and help develop junior analysts on reporting, data pulls, and campaign support.
• Collaborate with Public Affairs teams across sectors to align paid media with broader client strategy.
• Manage media and data vendor relationships and flag stack limitations.
• Track platform changes and new formats, and bring recommendations back to the team.
• Help define how FTP runs paid media as the practice grows, including process and documentation.

Skills

Paid media buying

Programmatic DSPs

Paid social ads

Campaign measurement

Budget pacing

Excel budgeting

Time management

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Meta Ads Manager

Google Ads

LinkedIn Ads

X Ads

TikTok Ads

Job description

FTP is a full-service public affairs consultancy specializing in bipartisan federal and state government relations, strategic communications, grassroots and grasstops advocacy, issue campaigns, corporate development, and technology strategy.

Our seasoned team works together closely to consistently meet clients’ needs and expectations. At FTP, we have a special focus on executing high-profile, integrated campaigns at the national and local level and a proven record of generating positive results for our clients.

No calls, emails, or faxes please. Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview. FTP is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and diverse work environment.

Position Description:

The Digital Media Buyer is a hands-on execution role on the Digital team, a department within the Public Affairs division at FTP. You will plan, build, traffic, and optimize paid media campaigns across programmatic, paid social, and paid search for the firm’s advocacy and public affairs clients. The work moves fast. Requests often land with same-day turnarounds, and you will own campaigns from setup through pacing, optimization, and reporting. You will operate across both managed-service and self-serve buying platforms, partner closely with Public Affairs account teams to turn client goals into media plans, and work alongside junior analysts on reporting and data pulls during active campaigns. This is a build moment for FTP. As the firm grows its digital practice, you will help shape how paid media is run, measured, and delivered, with real room to show what you can do.

As a Digital Media Buyer, you will:

• Plan, build, and traffic paid media campaigns across programmatic display, video, and connected TV, paid social, and paid search, on time and on budget.
• Manage day-to-day campaign execution including pacing, bid and budget management, audience targeting, creative trafficking, and mid-flight optimization.
• Operate fluently across managed-service and self-serve buying platforms, and bring a point of view on which channels and tactics fit each client’s goals.
• Turn Public Affairs account team objectives into concrete media plans, flighting, and budget recommendations.
• Build and manage campaign reporting, turning performance data into clear PowerPoint deliverables that account teams and clients can act on.
• Hold fast turnaround times without sacrificing accuracy. Same-day launches are routine here, not the exception.
• Partner with and help develop junior analysts on reporting, data pulls, and campaign support, so coverage never depends on a single person.
• Collaborate with Public Affairs account teams across sectors, from healthcare to technology to defense, to align paid media with broader client strategy.
• Manage media and data vendor relationships, and flag where the current stack helps or limits what FTP can deliver.
• Track platform changes, ad policy shifts, and emerging formats including creator and influencer, connected TV, and retail media, and bring recommendations back to the team.
• Help define how FTP runs paid media as the practice grows, including process, documentation, and operating standards.
• Perform other duties as necessary to achieve departmental goals.

To be successful, you will need:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or equivalent experience
• 3-5 years of hands-on paid media buying experience, ideally including advocacy, public affairs, political, or issue campaigns
• Hands-on experience with programmatic DSPs, paid social ad managers (Meta, LinkedIn, X, TikTok), and paid search platforms
• Strong command of audience targeting, pixel and conversion tracking, UTM discipline, and campaign measurement
• Comfort building campaign reports and translating performance data into clear PowerPoint deliverables
• Fluency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel for budget pacing and reconciliation
• Demonstrated ability to effectively and independently manage multiple projects
• Effective interpersonal skills
• Genuine interest in how paid media drives public policy and advocacy outcomes, not just clicks and impressions
• Independent, strategic thinking, and creative problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated capacity for teamwork, including the ability to effectively engage supervisors and subordinates under quick, tight deadlines within and across teams
• Proven ability to operate with integrity and ethics, and maintain the highest standards of confidentiality
• High level of detail and demonstrated work output with little/no errors
• Sense of urgency; willingness and ability to meet and exceed established deadlines
• Organizational agility

We prefer that you have:

• Experience working with managed-service media partners alongside self-serve programmatic platforms
• Experience with connected TV, online video, or creator and influencer campaigns

What We Offer:

• Generous PTO policy of 4 weeks per year
• Competitive coverage for employees and families Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
• 401K plan with traditional and Roth options
• $80 monthly phone stipend
• Opportunities to enroll in Flexible Spending accounts and Commuting accounts
• Company paid basic life insurance of $50,000, long-term disability, and short-term disability coverage
• Company paid access to a wide range of health and well-being resources and services including telephonic counseling, legal advice, and other services

Salary Range:

$110,503-$130,000

Additional Information

While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to sit, walk, and stand; talk or hear, both in person and by telephone; use hands repetitively to handle, feel, or operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; and lift up to 25 pounds.Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

FTP is an equal-opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive culture. FTP does not discriminate based on disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected under federal, state, or local laws.