Manager, Media

Black Bear; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Black Bear is seeking a strategic Manager, Media to drive paid media planning and execution for our theatrical slate. You will partner with internal marketing teams and external agencies to shape media strategies, allocate budgets, and optimize campaigns across digital, streaming, social, and traditional channels.

You will translate campaign goals into actionable tactics, monitor performance, and deliver insights to improve results.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in media, entertainment marketing, agency, studio, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of paid media planning and execution across digital, social, streaming, linear, outdoor, and other channels.
• Experience working with media agencies, campaign budgets, audience targeting, and performance reporting.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn data into actionable campaign recommendations.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple campaigns, budgets, timelines, and priorities simultaneously.
• Collaborative, curious, and proactive, with a genuine passion for film and audience-driven marketing.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of paid media strategies and plans across theatrical campaigns.
• Work with media agencies to translate campaign positioning, target audiences, and release goals into effective media strategies.
• Evaluate media plans, audience strategies, platform recommendations, flighting, and budget allocations.
• Identify new platforms, partners, targeting opportunities, and media tactics relevant to individual films and audiences.
• Stay current on the evolving media landscape and emerging audience behaviors.
• Manage day-to-day communication with media agencies and partners across active campaigns.
• Track campaign budgets, timelines, media placements, creative needs, and key deliverables.
• Monitor campaign performance and work with agencies to identify opportunities for optimization.
• Review reporting and translate performance data into clear, actionable insights for the broader Marketing team.
• Help ensure media plans remain responsive to tracking, audience signals, creative performance, publicity moments, and other campaign developments.
• Partner closely with Creative and Digital/Social teams to identify paid media asset needs, specifications, and deadlines.
• Help determine which creative is best suited for different audiences, platforms, and stages of a campaign.
• Coordinate with Creative, Publicity, Digital/Social, Strategy, and Distribution to ensure media supports the broader campaign.
• Work with agencies and internal teams to ensure assets are delivered accurately and on time.

Skills

Paid media planning

Digital advertising

Analytics

Budget management

Job description

Black Bear is one of the world’s leading independent studios, producing and releasing film of the highest quality across all genres. Founded in 2011, with offices in Santa Monica and London, the studio is behind a diversified slate that blends critically acclaimed, filmmaker-driven fare with broadly commercial action and genre titles. The company directly distributes films in the United States., U.K., Ireland, and Canada. Black Bear’s original films include Academy Award nominees Train Dreams, The Imitation Game, Sing Sing, Nyad, and Mudbound, previous releases such as Tuner, Dumb Money, Immaculate, I Care a Lot, A Working Man, Shelter, and In The Grey, and upcoming titles including The Rivals of Amziah King, Spa Weekend, Wicker, and more.

Position Overview

Black Bear is seeking a strategic, analytical, and highly organized Manager, Media to support the planning and execution of paid media campaigns across our theatrical film slate. This role will work closely with internal Marketing teams and external media agencies to help develop media strategies, manage campaign execution, monitor performance, and ensure paid media is fully integrated with the broader marketing campaign.

The ideal candidate understands how audiences discover and engage with films across digital, social, streaming, linear, outdoor, and emerging platforms, and is equally comfortable discussing campaign strategy, creative, budgets, and performance.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of paid media strategies and plans across theatrical campaigns.
• Work with media agencies to translate campaign positioning, target audiences, and release goals into effective media strategies.
• Evaluate media plans, audience strategies, platform recommendations, flighting, and budget allocations.
• Identify new platforms, partners, targeting opportunities, and media tactics relevant to individual films and audiences.
• Stay current on the evolving media landscape and emerging audience behaviors.

Campaign Management & Optimization

• Manage day-to-day communication with media agencies and partners across active campaigns.
• Track campaign budgets, timelines, media placements, creative needs, and key deliverables.
• Monitor campaign performance and work with agencies to identify opportunities for optimization.
• Review reporting and translate performance data into clear, actionable insights for the broader Marketing team.
• Help ensure media plans remain responsive to tracking, audience signals, creative performance, publicity moments, and other campaign developments.

Creative & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Creative and Digital/Social teams to identify paid media asset needs, specifications, and deadlines.
• Help determine which creative is best suited for different audiences, platforms, and stages of a campaign.
• Coordinate with Creative, Publicity, Digital/Social, Strategy, and Distribution to ensure media supports the broader campaign.
• Work with agencies and internal teams to ensure assets are delivered accurately and on time.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in media, entertainment marketing, agency, studio, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of paid media planning and execution across digital, social, streaming, linear, outdoor, and other channels.
• Experience working with media agencies, campaign budgets, audience targeting, and performance reporting.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn data into actionable campaign recommendations.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple campaigns, budgets, timelines, and priorities simultaneously.
• Collaborative, curious, and proactive, with a genuine passion for film and audience-driven marketing.

Reports to:

Head of Marketing

The salary range for this role is $100-120K

The actual base salary offered depends on a variety of factors, which may include, as applicable, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, and certifications or other professional licenses held. All candidates are encouraged to apply.

Black Bear is an Equal Opportunity Employer.