Digital Advertising Specialist

Mitchell & Stones; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 300,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

Mitchell & Stones is seeking an experienced Digital Advertising Specialist to own paid advertising across our client portfolio. You will develop strategies, build campaigns, monitor performance and present clear recommendations.

You’ll work with Account Managers, SEO Specialists and a Design Team to deliver measurable results and commercial impact. Agency experience and multi-client management are valued.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience managing paid advertising campaigns across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta Ads and LinkedIn Ads.
• Practical experience in campaign strategy and planning, keyword and audience research, campaign builds and optimisation.
• Experience with budget planning, forecasting, GA4, GTM, conversion tracking, attribution and reporting.
• Ability to write advertising copy and conduct creative testing; understand landing-page impact.

Responsibilities

• Develop paid advertising strategies for multiple clients across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta and LinkedIn.
• Build and optimise campaigns, monitor performance and forecast results.
• Produce monthly reports and client-ready recommendations.
• Present strategies and performance to clients and collaborate with account managers, SEO and design teams.

Skills

Google Ads

Microsoft Ads

Meta Ads

LinkedIn Ads

Campaign strategy

Keyword research

Budget forecasting

GA4

Tag Manager

Conversion tracking

Attribution

Ad copywriting

Creative testing

Landing-page recommendations

Tools

Google Analytics 4

Google Tag Manager

Job description

Mitchell & Stones is looking for an experienced Digital Advertising Specialist to take ownership of paid advertising strategy and delivery across our portfolio of clients.

You will manage paid advertising activity across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta and LinkedIn, with responsibility for everything from initial research and strategy through to campaign builds, optimisation, forecasting, tracking, reporting and client recommendations.

We are looking for someone who can combine strong platform knowledge with commercial judgement. You should be able to look beyond clicks, impressions and platform metrics to understand whether a campaign is genuinely supporting the client’s wider business objectives.

You will work closely with our Account Managers, SEO Specialists and Design Team.

The role

Mitchell & Stones is looking for an experienced Digital Advertising Specialist to take ownership of paid advertising strategy and delivery across our portfolio of clients.

You will manage paid advertising activity across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta and LinkedIn, with responsibility for everything from initial research and strategy through to campaign builds, optimisation, forecasting, tracking, reporting and client recommendations.

We are looking for someone who can combine strong platform knowledge with commercial judgement. You should be able to look beyond clicks, impressions and platform metrics to understand whether a campaign is genuinely supporting the client’s wider business objectives.

You will work closely with our Account Managers, SEO Specialists and Design Team.

The role

As a Digital Advertising Specialist, you will take ownership of the paid advertising activity for clients delivered by Mitchell & Stones.

You will be responsible for developing strategies, building and managing campaigns, monitoring performance, identifying opportunities and ensuring our clients receive clear, evidence-based recommendations.

You will also work directly with clients, and supporting our Account Managers to present strategies, explain performance and help them understand what needs to happen next.

This role requires someone who is comfortable taking ownership. You will be expected to proactively manage accounts, identify risks before they become problems and bring forward recommendations without waiting to be asked.

You will have the authority to professionally challenge internal teams and client assumptions where the data or technical requirements support a different approach.

Key responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include:

• Developing paid advertising strategies for new and existing clients.
• Managing campaigns across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta and LinkedIn.
• Conducting keyword, audience, competitor and market research.
• Producing realistic media plans, budgets and performance forecasts.
• Building campaigns from initial setup through to launch.
• Writing and testing advertising copy.
• Producing clear briefs for designers and other creative specialists.
• Managing campaign budgets and monitoring spend against agreed plans.
• Optimising campaigns to improve lead quality, cost per acquisition, return on advertising spend and other agreed commercial objectives.
• Reviewing search terms, keywords, bidding strategies, audiences, placements, creative and landing-page performance.
• Setting up and maintaining accurate conversion tracking.
• Working with Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager.
• Reviewing attribution and ensuring campaign reporting reflects meaningful business outcomes.
• Identifying technical, strategic and commercial issues that could affect performance.
• Producing clear monthly reports and recommendations.
• Presenting strategies, performance updates and recommendations directly to clients.
• Working with Account Managers to agree realistic priorities, deadlines and client commitments.
• Maintaining accurate tasks, actions and deadlines within Asana.
• Supporting new-business proposals, audits, pitches and forecasting.
• Keeping up to date with platform developments, automation, artificial intelligence and emerging paid advertising opportunities.
• Helping Mitchell & Stones continually improve its paid advertising processes, standards and service offering.

What we are looking for

We are looking for someone who:

• Takes genuine ownership of their work and client accounts.
• Thinks proactively rather than waiting for tasks to be assigned.
• Can manage activity across multiple clients and platforms.
• Understands the commercial implications of their recommendations.
• Thinks work through from beginning to end.
• Tests assumptions before presenting them internally or externally.
• Can balance technical best practice with budgets, audience sizes and commercial realities.
• Communicates risks, delays and concerns early.
• Is comfortable making recommendations and defending them with evidence.
• Can explain technical information clearly to non-specialists.
• Takes pride in producing accurate, well-researched work.
• Is organised and able to plan work around recurring client deadlines.
• Enjoys working collaboratively with account management, SEO, design and wider agency teams.
• Is curious about new technologies, platforms and ways of improving performance.

Essential experience

You should have demonstrable experience managing paid advertising campaigns across several of the following:

• Google Ads.
• Microsoft Advertising.
• Meta Ads.
• LinkedIn Ads.

You should also have practical experience in:

• Campaign strategy and planning.
• Keyword and audience research.
• Campaign builds and optimisation.
• Budget planning and forecasting.
• Google Analytics 4.
• Google Tag Manager.
• Conversion tracking.
• Attribution and reporting.
• Writing advertising copy.
• Creative testing.
• Landing-page recommendations.

Agency experience would be beneficial, particularly if you have managed several client accounts simultaneously.

Commercial thinking

Technical knowledge is essential, but this role requires more than knowing how advertising platforms work.

Before making a recommendation, you should naturally consider:

• Is the proposed budget sufficient?
• Is the audience large enough?
• Is the campaign technically achievable?
• Is the recommendation supported by evidence?
• Is the tracking measuring meaningful outcomes?
• Will the campaign generate useful leads or revenue for the client?
• What assumptions are being made?
• What risks could prevent the campaign from succeeding?
• What should happen next if the initial approach does not perform as expected?

We are looking for someone who understands that strong paid advertising is not simply about generating more conversions inside an advertising platform. It is about generating meaningful commercial outcomes for the client.

About Mitchell & Stones

Mitchell & Stones is a full-service marketing agency supporting ambitious organisations with strategy, digital advertising, SEO, creative, content and wider marketing delivery.

We work as an extension of our clients’ businesses, combining specialist expertise with commercial thinking and practical implementation.

Why join Mitchell & Stones?

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of a key agency service.

You will be trusted to lead paid advertising strategy, work directly with clients, influence internal decision-making and help build a stronger and more effective performance marketing function.

You will work alongside a collaborative team of Account Managers and specialists, with the opportunity to shape processes, introduce new ideas and make a visible impact on both client performance and the future development of the agency.

To apply, please submit your CV together with a brief explanation of your experience managing paid advertising campaigns and the platforms in which you have the strongest expertise.