Paid Media Manager

Formative; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

Life insurance

401K with 100% vesting

Job summary

Formative, a Seattle-based agency, seeks a Paid Media Manager to lead paid strategy, client relationships, and reporting on major campaigns. You will collaborate with the engagement lead to shape multi-channel plans, optimize spend, and deliver insights-driven recommendations.

The role requires 5+ years in paid media with proficiency across Google, Meta, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, and TikTok, plus strong analytics and content coordination. Hybrid office in Seattle is expected.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in audience engagement and paid media strategies.
• Experience across multiple digital media channels and multi-channel strategy.

Responsibilities

• Owns paid client relationship, strategy, reporting, and insights narrative.
• Lead reporting and QA with engagement lead and define scope.
• Set channel mix, budgets, and test-and-learn roadmaps.

Skills

Integrated campaign thinking

KPIs & measurement

Data-driven storytelling

Ad trafficking

QA & traffic management

Adobe Analytics

Google Analytics

UTM tracking

Tools

Google Ads

Meta Ads Manager

Adobe Analytics

Google Analytics

Job description

Formative is seeking a Paid Media Manager on our Marketing & Strategy team with a passion for digital marketing, strategy, communications, and data. This full-time role will support and lead development of major client projects and initiatives.

Who We Are

Formative is a Seattle-based agency of professionals who are passionate about helping to solve society’s most pressing challenges by connecting with audiences in deep, meaningful ways. We operate in the arenas of social good and purpose-driven brands, working to design and launch campaigns, programs and platforms that maximize impact on behalf of clients including Gates Ventures, Allen Family Philanthropies, National Geographic Society, and Amazon Sustainability to name a few.

Our people are relentless seekers, problem solvers, thoughtful collaborators and sector experts. We're inspired by doing work that matters in the world and delivering powerful solutions that solve our clients’ biggest priorities.

Who We’re Looking For

This role works on one of the key agency clients and owns the paid client relationship, paid strategy, and the overall reporting and insights narrative. All client-facing materials and any changes to spend go through this role, and you’ll partner with the engagement lead for overall client management, scoping, and decisions on non-paid workstreams

This person is energized to be a part of a bigger integrated team and eager to provide subject matter expertise for paid strategies and tactics to meet long-term client goals and shorter-term project objectives. You're hungry for growth in account leadership and actively seek opportunities to improve the work product.

Requirements

Experience

• Minimum 5+ years experience developing audience engagement and paid media marketing strategies, as well as tactical go-to-market plans, is required.
• Experience with a range of digital media channels and familiarity with what makes each unique, how to build a multi-channel strategy, how to leverage individual platform tools, how to setup and manage paid campaigns (Meta business manager, Google stack, YouTube, LinkedIn UI, Reddit, TikTok).
• Robust in-platform experience and demonstrated proficiency across search and social platforms including Google (YouTube, Demand Gen, Display), Meta Ads, SEM (Google and Microsoft); experience building and launching paid campaigns end-to-end across multiple platforms inclusive of ad setup, audience targeting trafficking, QA and go-live.
• Some experience in content strategy, editorial planning, and content development (i.e. writing social posts, writing/editing blog posts, etc.) is preferred.
• Experience playing a leading role in multi-channel paid and organic campaigns, turning insights into actionable recommendations, and integrating real-world happenings into campaign strategy.

Skills

• Demonstrated integrated campaign thinking across channel disciplines (organic social, PR, paid media, social media, creators, bespoke content).
• Strong business and marketing strategy skills, experience developing KPIs and measurement frameworks, competency developing data-driven stories and insights.
• Comfortable with executing, QA, trafficking ads or overseeing teammates who execute campaigns with excellence.
• Use of web analytic software such as Adobe Analytics or Google Analytics and UTM tracking codes.
• Experience with platform pixel creation and conversion/events tracking.
• Demonstrated expertise in ad trafficking, quality assurance (QA), campaign pacing, reporting, and managing the day-to-day operations of complex digital media programs.
• Ability to provide constructive feedback based on creative best practices across diverse platforms.

Responsibilities

Client leadership:

• Primary project contact for paid: status, recommendations, and hard questions.
• Help represent the full project across paid, organic, editorial, and copy. Navigate overall engagement and provide holistic strategy.
• Surfaces non-paid issues to the right owner (engagement lead, strategist, editorial, copy, etc.) rather than resolving them alone.
• Owns the reporting and QA reset with the client alongside engagement lead, then holds scope.

Paid strategy:

• Sets channel mix, budget allocation, and test-and-learn roadmaps, including GEO strategy.
• Approves optimizations above the strategist's thresholds.
• Decides the response to platform changes.

Reporting (all-up):

• Owns the integrated paid and organic insights narrative and presents it to the client.
• Sets the report structure and what the client sees.
• Ability to manage and facilitate weekly, monthly, and quarterly reporting.
• Recommend optimizations based on performance and insights.

Team and process:

• Directs the strategist's priorities and coaches on hands-on quality.
• Approves SOPs, templates, and AI workflows.
• Accountable reviewer on QA exceptions.

Additional responsibilities as client and business needs arise.

Work Location & Scope

This position is located in Seattle, WA

Formative has a '2-3-5 Hybrid Office' Policy. We ask that all employees who live in the Seattle metro area work from the Formative Seattle office 2 days per week within a 3-day window -- Tuesday, through Thursday -- each week. Formative employees work 5 days per week as a norm with periodic evening and weekend work when required to meet client deadlines.

Salary Range

$85k - $145k, inclusive of associate through senior manager titles

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package based on experience including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• Formative also contributes a percentage of your salary to a 401K account that is 100% vested.

We are committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Learn more at www.formativeco.com