Director, Performance Media

Laughlin Constable; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Laughlin Constable is seeking a seasoned leader to direct performance media strategy across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic. You will unify channel plans, translate client objectives into insight-driven strategies, and drive investment decisions across the consumer journey.

The role requires strong leadership, collaboration, and a hands-on ability to optimize campaigns while mentoring specialists.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of digital media experience across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic.
• Proven ability to lead integrated performance media strategies across multiple channels and stages of the consumer journey.
• Strong knowledge of major platforms and measurement/bid-management tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead cohesive paid search, paid social, and programmatic strategies across the consumer journey.
• Translate client objectives into integrated performance media plans.
• Evaluate and optimize DSP, platform, data, and partner relationships.
• Mentor and develop channel specialists for strategic thinking and leadership.
• Establish best practices across planning, setup, QA, optimization, and reporting.

Skills

Digital media strategy

Cross-channel leadership

Client leadership

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Mentoring

Strategic thinking

Collaboration

Tools

Google Ads

Microsoft Advertising

Meta Ads Manager

TikTok Ads Manager

LinkedIn Campaign Manager

Amazon DSP

The Trade Desk

DV360

YouTube

Job description

What You’ll Do

Lead Performance Media Strategy

• Establish a cohesive vision for how Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic work together across the consumer journey.
• Translate client business objectives into integrated, insight-driven performance media strategies.
• Ensure channel recommendations build on one another rather than operating as separate, platform-specific plans.
• Review and strengthen media strategies, tactical plans, investment allocations, testing roadmaps, and optimization recommendations.
• Bring a clear point of view on the appropriate role of each channel, platform, audience, and buying approach.
• Potentially provide direct strategic and day‑to‑day leadership for a designated client.

Improve Platform and Partner Value

• Evaluate the agency’s existing DSP, platform, data, technology, and media partner relationships to identify opportunities to improve pricing, effectiveness, transparency, and client value.
• Assess contracts, fee structures, data costs, technology costs, auction dynamics, supply paths, inventory quality, and deal structures.
• Partner with internal leadership to identify negotiation opportunities and ensure platform agreements support both client objectives and agency needs.
• Evaluate DSPs and other buying platforms based on client goals rather than defaulting to a single technology or partner.
• Maintain strong relationships with partners including Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Amazon, The Trade Desk, and other emerging platforms.
• Use those relationships to secure strong support, marketplace intelligence, beta access, and differentiated opportunities for clients.
• Serve as a senior resource across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic—helping teams solve complex strategic, platform, measurement, and campaign challenges.
• Maintain enough hands‑on platform expertise to step into accounts or campaigns when the team needs additional support.
• Lead by example while ensuring the role remains focused on raising the strategic and operational performance of the broader team.
• Mentor and develop channel specialists, helping them strengthen their strategic thinking, client leadership, technical expertise, and cross‑channel perspective.
• Establish and reinforce best practices across planning, campaign setup, QA, optimization, budget management, documentation, and reporting.
• Help identify capability, training, staffing, and workflow needs across the performance media team.

Advance Performance and Measurement

• Partner with Media Planning, Strategy, Data & Analytics, Creative, and other agency teams to build connected media programs.
• Guide cross‑channel investment and reallocation decisions based on business impact, audience behavior, marginal performance, and client priorities.
• Ensure reporting explains what happened, why it matters, and what should happen next—not simply how individual platforms performed.
• Collaborate with Analytics to develop learning agendas and test‑and‑learn frameworks across audiences, creative, platforms, formats, bidding approaches, and measurement methodologies.
• Advance the team’s use of attribution, incrementality, forecasting, experimentation, and other measurement approaches.
• Identify opportunities to improve campaign effectiveness, operational consistency, and agency profitability.

Shape the Agency’s Point of View

• Stay ahead of platform changes, privacy developments, automation, AI, identity, measurement, retail media, and other shifts affecting performance media.
• Translate industry developments into clear implications and actionable recommendations for clients and internal teams.
• Develop POVs, best practices, training materials, and thought leadership that strengthen the agency’s performance media offering.
• Help clients separate meaningful marketplace changes from platform hype and determine where testing or investment is warranted.

What We’re Looking For

• 8+ years of digital media experience, including significant hands‑on experience across Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic.
• Demonstrated ability to lead integrated performance media strategies across multiple channels and stages of the consumer journey.
• Current working knowledge of major platforms such as Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Amazon DSP, The Trade Desk, DV360, YouTube, and relevant measurement and bid‑management tools.
• Experience evaluating DSPs, platform capabilities, media supply, data offerings, fee structures, contracts, and partner economics.
• Strong understanding of auction dynamics, programmatic supply paths, SSP and DSP relationships, private marketplace and programmatic guaranteed deals, audience data, brand safety, and inventory quality.
• Proven ability to improve performance through budget allocation, bidding, targeting, creative testing, campaign structure, and ongoing optimization.
• Experience developing and mentoring specialists while remaining close enough to the work to provide meaningful technical and strategic guidance.
• Strong client leadership, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to turn complex marketplace or performance information into a clear point of view and practical recommendation.
• Comfort working in a collaborative, fast‑moving agency environment where leaders roll up their sleeves and contribute wherever they can create the most value.

This role is ideal for someone who is both a practitioner and a strategic leader—someone who wants to make the work better, help the team grow, and build a more connected and effective performance media offering.

Laughlin Constable is an equal opportunity employer and participates in E-Verify. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.