Director, Paid Media Planning

Bully Pulpit International; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance (100% company-paid)

Dental insurance (100% company-paid)

Vision insurance (100% company-paid)

401(k) with employer match up to 4%

Paid time off

Phone stipend

Job summary

Bully Pulpit International is seeking a Director of Paid Media to lead strategy, execution, and client leadership across multiple campaigns. You will manage end-to-end advertising initiatives, deliver data-backed plans, and present insights to clients with accountability and strategic impact.

The role requires 8–11 years in digital media strategy and hands-on experience with analytics tools, Excel, and BI dashboards.

Qualifications

• 8–11 years of relevant work experience in digital media strategy, planning, and direct-IO buying.
• Proven track record independently running campaigns for corporate reputation, public affairs, and/or political clients.
• Advanced analytical thinking with hands-on experience using media tools and BI dashboards.

Responsibilities

• Manage clients and end-to-end advertising campaigns with high accountability and results.
• Develop data-backed media plans aligned with client goals and lead paid media POVs.
• Present sophisticated media strategies, reporting, and insights to clients.
• Oversee campaign execution across digital and traditional platforms and negotiate contracts.
• Collaborate with internal teams to set measurement goals and improve workflows.
• Lead and mentor team members, scaling leadership across the department.

Skills

Digital media strategy

Media planning

Direct IO buying

Analytical thinking

Data analysis

Excel

Google Sheets

Google Analytics

Tableau

Datorama

GWI

Comscore

Leadership

Communication

Tools

GWI

Comscore

Datorama

Google Analytics

Tableau

Excel

Google Sheets

Job description

Bully Pulpit International is an outcomes agency made up of strategists, data scientists, and artists. We come from politics, brands, and government and we communicate without barriers and measure what matters. We have more than 400 team members in six countries and thirteen offices - Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, D.C., London, Los Angeles, New York, Oslo, San Francisco, and Zürich. We apply our unique expertise across strategic communications, public affairs, research, and digital marketing to create sophisticated and customized strategies that make change possible for both American and European clients.

The Impact You Will Make In this position as Director, you will support the execution and management of paid media campaigns across numerous clients on the Paid Media team.

Starting Salary Range: $120,000 - $135,000 (+ annual bonus)

Expectation to work from one of our offices (Chicago, DC, NYC, SF, LA) at least 3 days a week (Fully Remote candidates will also be considered)

What the Day-to-Day Looks Like

Media Strategy & Execution

Independently manage clients and end-to-end advertising campaigns from inception through completion with high accountability, quality, and results. Develop comprehensive, data-backed media plans aligned with client goals; take the lead on paid media POVs for clients or internal teams with limited paid experience. Regularly present sophisticated media strategies, reporting, and performance insights directly to clients, while providing off-the-cuff POVs and proactively anticipating issues or feedback. Oversee how campaigns are executed, optimized, and analyzed across digital and traditional platforms, including partner negotiation and contracting.

Collaboration & Workflow Management

Foster strong working relationships across all client and internal specialty teams (Media Buying, Marketing Analytics, Insights, and Client Services) to set strategic goals around measurement, testing, and seamless execution. Proactively identify areas for team-wide workflow and operational process improvements, partnering with senior leadership to implement scalable solutions.

POV & Industry Leadership

Bring new ideas to advance the agency's media offering to senior leadership, drive team priorities, and operationalize new processes across the broader team. Serve as a senior agency contact for key partners, evaluate new vendor technologies, manage yearly vendor endeavors, and negotiate rate discounts to ensure planning utilization. Conduct deep-dive media, industry, and competitor research to stay abreast of market trends, inform strategic advertising plans, and evangelize the agency's media vision. Contribute to agency growth through budgeting exercises, pitch deck development, and participation in new business pitches as needed.

Team Management & Mentorship

Attract, retain, and elevate talent across the team through effective management, structured training, and empathetic mentorship. Lead team pods and scale impact beyond immediate reports to the broader planning department, acting as a role model to elevate the work product of junior and mid-level planners. Embody agency values and ensure all client work reflects the standards, perspective, and quality of the agency at large.

What You Bring

• 8-11 years of relevant work experience in digital media strategy, planning, and direct-IO buying (agency experience preferred).
• Proven track record of independently running campaigns for corporate reputation, public affairs, and/or political clients.
• Excitement to work on large corporate reputation accounts in addition to support of Democratic politics, non-profit, and advocacy opportunities as they arise.
• Advanced analytical thinking capabilities, with strong hands-on experience utilizing media consumption tools (e.g. GWI, Comscore) and business intelligence/dashboard software (e.g. Datorama, Google Analytics, or Tableau).
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and navigate new digital systems, emerging media tech, and specialized proprietary tools with minimal downtime.
• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets for budget tracking, performance analysis, and data manipulation.
• Exceptional organizational skills, rigorous attention to detail, and a demonstrated ability to manage multiple high-stakes projects simultaneously.
• A readiness to work independently, think big, solve complex problems creatively, and scale leadership capabilities rapidly within a fast-paced environment.

Expectation to work from one of our physical offices (DC, NYC, SF, CHI, LA) at least 3 days a week (unless hiring under a fully remote arrangement).

BPI offers a wide range of benefits to U.S.-based employees, including 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) program with employer match up to 4%, generous time off for vacation, $50 monthly phone