Biddable Social Specialist

WPP Media Limited; Cape Town, Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

WPP Media South Africa is seeking a Biddable Social Specialist to lead paid social campaigns across Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, X and Pinterest in Johannesburg and Cape Town. You will optimize performance, manage budgets, and ensure robust tracking.

The ideal candidate has 3–5 years of hands-on paid social experience, agency background, and certifications. Collaboration with clients and internal teams is essential for delivering measurable results.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years hands-on paid social media buying experience, preferably within an agency environment.
• Platform certifications preferred (Meta Certified, TikTok Academy, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions).
• Bid strategy knowledge: good understanding of best-practice bid strategies and how to select the right approach for different campaign goals.
• Technical understanding: familiarity with campaign tracking setup, pixels, Conversions API (CAPI), and basic GA4 event tracking.
• Analytical skills: strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, basic formulas) and PowerPoint for client reporting.
• Communication: clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Work ethic: strong attention to detail, good time-management skills, and the ability to manage campaign deliverables under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Build, QA, launch, and optimize end-to-end paid social campaigns across all major platforms (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest).
• Apply platform best practices across bidding strategies and automated options (e.g., Meta Advantage+, TikTok Smart+).
• Implement creative and audience testing; use performance data to recommend iterations and optimizations.
• Conduct audience research, platform evaluation, and budget planning to inform client media recommendations.
• Diligently monitor and pace client budgets to prevent overspend or underspend across accounts.
• Work with internal teams to ensure proper tracking hygiene (pixels, Meta CAPI, TikTok Events API, UTM parameters, GA4).
• Produce clear, accurate reporting highlighting trends and actionable recommendations for performance improvements.
• Review GA4 alongside platform reports to understand campaign impact and performance.
• Maintain understanding of brand safety, viewability benchmarks, and privacy updates.
• Build relationships with clients and internal teams, communicating clearly via email, calls, and meetings.
• Translate campaign performance metrics into straightforward insights for clients and non-technical stakeholders.
• Leverage platform support to resolve technical issues and test new features.

Skills

Paid social buying

Platform certifications

Bid strategy knowledge

Campaign tracking

Analytics & reporting

Communication

Tools

GA4

Pixels

Conversions API (CAPI)

UTM parameters

Job description

Cape Town, South Africa; Johannesburg, South Africa

About WPP Media

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. With exceptional talent, trusted data and intelligence, and world-class partnerships – all united by ourpioneeringagentic marketing platform, WPP Open – we help clients navigate change, capture opportunity, and deliver transformational growth.

WPP Media is WPP's AI-driven media operating unit, bringing together media, data, and partnerships to deliver creative personalisation at scale. Connected through WPP Open and powered by Open Intelligence, clients see exactly where, how, and why their media investment is working.

Job Title: Biddable Social Specialist
Company: WPP Media South Africa
Location: Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa
Reports To: Performance Hub Lead

Purpose

The Biddable Social Specialist is responsible for the strategic execution, management, and continuous optimization of performance-driven paid social campaigns across our client portfolio. This role requires hands‑on platform expertise across major social networks (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest) to deliver against client objectives and key performance indicators.

Key Responsibilities

Execution & Optimization

• Build, QA, launch, and optimize end-to-end paid social campaigns across all major platforms (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest) based on client briefs and media plans.
• Apply platform best practices across bidding strategies, understanding their benefits, trade-offs, and when to use automated options (e.g., Meta Advantage+, TikTok Smart+).
• Implement creative and audience testing, using campaign performance data to recommend creative iterations and optimizations.
• Conduct audience research, platform evaluation, and budget planning to help inform client media recommendations.
• Diligently monitor and pace client budgets to prevent over- or underspend across accounts.
• Work with internal teams to ensure proper tracking hygiene (pixels, Meta CAPI, TikTok Events API, UTM parameters, and GA4).

Reporting, Insights & Measurement

• Produce clear, accurate reporting that highlights key trends and actionable recommendations for performance improvements.
• Review web analytics (GA4) alongside platform reporting to better understand campaign impact and performance.
• Maintain an understanding of brand safety guidelines, viewability benchmarks, and privacy updates.

Client & Team Collaboration

• Build positive relationships with clients and internal team members, communicating clearly across email, calls, and meetings.
• Help translate campaign performance metrics into straightforward, commercial insights for clients and non-technical stakeholders.
• Leverage platform support and partner relationships (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn) to resolve technical account issues and test new features.

The Ideal Candidate

• Experience: 3–5 years of hands‑on paid social media buying experience, preferably within an agency environment.
• Platform Certifications: Valid platform certifications preferred (Meta Certified, TikTok Academy, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions).
• Bid Strategy Knowledge: Good understanding of best-practice bid strategies and how to select the right approach for different campaign goals.
• Technical Understanding: Familiarity with campaign tracking setup, pixels, Conversions API (CAPI), and basic GA4 event tracking.
• Analytical Skills: Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, basic formulas) and PowerPoint for client reporting.
• Communication: Clear written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain media rationale with confidence.
• Work Ethic: Strong attention to detail, good time‑management skills, and the ability to manage campaign deliverables under pressure.

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