Director, Paid Media Strategy & Growth

BPI Group; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company-paid health insurance

401(k) with employer match

Generous vacation

Phone reimbursement

Unlimited sick time

Paid parental leave (16 weeks)

Job summary

BPI Group in Chicago seeks a Director of Paid Media to lead end-to-end digital advertising campaigns for a diverse client portfolio. You will set strategy, oversee execution, and drive results with accountability and high-quality output.

The role requires strong leadership, data-driven planning, vendor negotiation, and mentoring of junior planners. On-site three days weekly preferred, with fully remote options for exceptional candidates.

Qualifications

• 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).

Responsibilities

• Independently manage clients and end-to-end advertising campaigns from inception through completion with high accountability, quality, and results.
• Develop data-backed media plans aligned with client goals; lead paid media POVs for clients or internal teams with limited paid experience.
• Regularly present sophisticated media strategies, reporting, and performance insights directly to clients.
• Oversee how campaigns are executed, optimized, and analyzed across digital and traditional platforms, including partner negotiation and contracting.
• Foster strong working relationships across client and internal specialty teams 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills

8-11 years of experience

Campaign management

Excel

Google Sheets

Analytics

Budget tracking

Leadership

Independent working

Tools

GWI

Comscore

Datorama

Google Analytics

Tableau

Job description

BPI Group in Chicago seeks a Director of Paid Media to lead end-to-end digital advertising campaigns for a diverse client portfolio. You will set strategy, oversee execution, and drive results with accountability and high-quality output.

The role requires strong leadership, data-driven planning, vendor negotiation, and mentoring of junior planners. On-site three days weekly preferred, with fully remote options for exceptional candidates.