Lead, Performance Media

Valtech; Charlotte (NC); Hybrid; USD 118,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Valtech, based in Charlotte, NC, seeks a Lead, Performance Media to shape strategy and drive growth across a portfolio of client engagements. You will lead, develop, and scale a team of Senior Performance Media Managers and junior planners, delivering integrated, omnichannel campaigns with strong business outcomes.

The role emphasizes AI-enabled planning, responsible AI adoption, and collaboration with analytics, strategy, and technology leads to optimize paid media and experiences across

Qualifications

• 8–10 years in digital & performance media planning and buying.
• Proven leadership of media teams, mentoring senior reports.
• Experience across paid search, social, programmatic & video.
• Strong client leadership, presentation & storytelling skills.
• Experience guiding AI-enabled planning, automation & workflows.

Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction for performance media across portfolios.
• Own media activation, optimization, and budget pacing across accounts.
• Lead senior-level client presentations and internal strategy reviews.
• Manage, develop and scale a team of planners and buyers.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver integrated, experience-led solutions.

Skills

Media planning

Team leadership

Omnichannel strategy

Client relationship

AI integration

Tools

DV360

The Trade Desk

Google Ads

Meta Ads

TikTok Ads

Job description

Why Valtech? We're the experience innovation company - a trusted partner to the world's most recognized brands. To our people we offer growth opportunities, a values-driven culture, international careers and the chance to shape the future of experience.

The opportunity

At Valtech, you'll find an environment designed for continuous learning, meaningful impact, and professional growth. Whether you're pioneering new digital solutions, challenging conventional thinking or building the next generation of customer experiences, your work will help transform industries.

We are proud of:

• The work we do and the innovation we drive
• Our values of share, care and dare
• Our borderless, global framework, which enables seamless collaboration

The role

As a Lead, Performance Media, you are passionate about experience innovation and eager to push the boundaries of what's possible. You bring 8 - 10 years of experience, a growth mindset and a drive to make a lasting impact.

You'll own the strategic direction, quality, and growth of performance media across a portfolio of complex client engagements. This role is ideal for a seasoned media leader who combines deep omnichannel expertise with strong people leadership, commercial acumen, and a forward-looking mindset—including a clear vision for how AI-enabled tools, automation, and intelligent workflows can transform how media is planned, activated, measured, and scaled.

Reporting to the Media Director, this position serves as the senior link between media leadership, clients, and delivery teams—managing up by shaping practice strategy, client growth, and executive-level performance narratives, while managing down by leading, developing, and scaling a team of Senior Performance Media Managers and junior planners and buyers. You'll drive integrated, omnichannel thinking across programs, ensuring paid media is connected with experience, creative, strategy, data, and commerce efforts.

You'll be accountable for the overall performance, profitability, and innovation of media programs across paid digital and broader omnichannel touchpoints, setting standards for excellence, championing responsible AI adoption across the team, and ensuring media consistently delivers measurable business outcomes for our clients.

You will thrive in this role if you are:

• A curious problem solver who challenges the status quo
• A collaborator who values teamwork and knowledge-sharing
• Excited by the intersection of technology, creativity and data
• Experienced in Agile methodologies and consulting (a plus)

Role responsibilities

Media Strategy & Omnichannel Planning

• Set the strategic direction for performance media across client portfolios, spanning paid search, paid social, programmatic, video, CTV, retail media, and emerging platforms, with an understanding of how traditional and offline channels fit into the mix.
• Translate client business and growth objectives into integrated, full-funnel, omnichannel media strategies that connect brand, performance, and customer experience goals.
• Oversee audience-led planning, testing roadmaps, and budget allocation frameworks, incorporating AI-supported planning, forecasting, and scenario modeling.
• Review and approve media plans developed by the team, ensuring strategic rigor, quality, and alignment with client objectives.
• Lead senior-level presentations of media strategy, rationale, and performance to client stakeholders and internal leadership.

Media Buying, Activation & Partner Management

• Own strategic relationships with key media partners and platforms such as Google, Meta, Amazon, TikTok, DV360, and The Trade Desk, leading negotiations for value, priority access, and betas.
• Provide oversight of campaign activation, optimization, and budget pacing across accounts, ensuring operational excellence, accuracy, and governance.
• Champion a structured test-and-learn agenda across new channels, formats, partners, and AI-enabled capabilities, and scale proven approaches across clients.
• Guide the team in maximizing platform automation and AI-driven bidding, targeting, and creative optimization while maintaining appropriate human oversight and quality controls.
• Establish and evolve activation standards, QA processes, and workflows that improve speed, consistency, and scalability.

Measurement, Optimization & AI Integration

• Hold accountability for performance outcomes across the portfolio, ensuring media investment is tied to clear KPIs and business impact.
• Partner with analytics and data leadership to shape measurement frameworks, including attribution, incrementality testing, and media mix modeling.
• Lead the identification, piloting, and integration of AI-powered tools and workflows across planning, reporting, insight generation, and optimization—and help define how these are adopted responsibly across the team.
• Turn complex performance data into clear, executive-ready narratives and recommendations that inform client decisions.
• Stay ahead of industry, platform, and privacy changes, assessing their implications and advising clients and internal teams accordingly.

Client Leadership & Growth

• Serve as the senior performance media lead for key clients, building trusted, strategic relationships with senior and executive stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to expand scope and grow client relationships, contributing to account planning, new business pitches, and proposals in partnership with the Media Director.
• Support scoping, resourcing, and budget management to ensure engagements are delivered efficiently and profitably.
• Collaborate across creative, experience, strategy, technology, and data teams to deliver integrated, experience-led solutions.
• Represent the performance media practice in cross-functional and leadership forums.

Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead, manage, and develop a team of Senior Performance Media Managers and junior planners, buyers, and specialists.
• Set clear goals, provide regular coaching and feedback, and lead performance reviews and development planning in line with Valtech processes.
• Allocate work and manage team capacity across accounts to balance client needs, quality, and team wellbeing.
• Build team capabilities in omnichannel planning, analytics, and AI-enabled ways of working through training, knowledge-sharing, and hands-on guidance.
• Contribute to hiring, onboarding, and retention, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing team culture.
• Partner with the Media Director to shape practice priorities, best practices, and long-term capability growth.

Must have qualifications

To be considered for this role, you must meet the following essential qualifications:

• 8 to 10 years of experience in digital and performance media planning and buying, ideally within an omnichannel agency or consultancy environment.
• Deep expertise across paid digital channels (paid search, paid social, programmatic, online video, CTV, retail media), with a working understanding of traditional and offline channels within an integrated mix.
• Proven experience managing, mentoring, and growing media teams, including senior-level direct reports.
• Track record of owning large, multi-channel budgets and delivering measurable business results across multiple clients or brands.
• Exceptional client leadership, presentation, and storytelling skills, with experience advising senior and executive stakeholders.
• Ability to operate strategically while staying close enough to execution to guide, unblock, and quality-check the team’s work.

Nice to have qualifications

• Demonstrated experience integrating AI-powered tools and automation into media workflows, with a clear point of view on how AI can improve efficiency, insight, and performance.
• Strong command of measurement approaches, including attribution, incrementality, and media mix modeling, as well as tracking and ad ops fundamentals.
• Commercial acumen, including experience with scoping, resourcing, negotiation, and contributing to new business.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: Media Director
• Direct reports: Senior Performance Media Managers, Performance Media Planners/Buyers, and junior team members
• Works closely with: Strategy, Creative, Experience, Data & Analytics, and Technology Leads, as well as Client Stakeholders

The benefits

This is a Full-Timeposition based in Charlotte, NC. The offered salary range is $118,000 to $135,000 annually, depending on experience and location.

Beyond a competitive compensation package, we offer:

• Flexibility, with remote and hybrid work options (country-dependent)
• Career advancement, with international mobility and professional development programs
• Learning and development, with access to cutting-edge tools, training and industry experts
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, plus employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts

Our benefits are tailored to each location. Your Talent Partner will provide full details during the hiring process.

We are committed to inclusion and accessibility. If you need reasonable accommodations during the interview process, please either indicate it in your application or let your Talent Partner know.

About Valtech

Valtech is the experience innovation company that exists to unlock a better way to experience the world. By blending crafts, categories, and cultures, we help brands unlock new value in an increasingly digital world.

At the intersection of data, AI, creativity and technology, we drive transformation for leading organizations, including L'Oréal, Mars, Audi, P&G, Volkswagen Dolby, and