Junior Media Buyer (Pet Nutrition)

Black Pen Recruitment; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 240,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Black Pen Recruitment is seeking a Junior Media Buyer in Cape Town to own day-to-day management of campaigns across Meta, Google and TikTok. This role is data-driven and AI-enhanced, focusing on testing, funnel optimisation and performance reporting for DTC brands.

You will launch campaigns, analyse performance, adjust bids, build audiences and collaborate with the Performance Marketing Manager to drive growth in a hands-on, on-site environment.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years in paid media or performance marketing in DTC/e-commerce.
• Strong knowledge of Google Ads, Meta Ads and TikTok Ads.
• Experience with A/B testing and performance optimisation.
• Degree in marketing, business or related field, or equivalent experience.
• ROAS, CAC and LTV mindset.
• Detail-oriented, organised, and tech-savvy.
• Collaborative and curious; willing to learn AI tools.

Responsibilities

• Launch and optimise campaigns across Meta, Google Ads and TikTok.
• Monitor daily performance and adjust bids for target metrics.
• Manage budget pacing and audience refreshes.
• Publish routine weekly and monthly performance reports.
• Troubleshoot issues and flag anomalies.

Skills

Analytical mindset

ROAS focus

Detail-oriented

Time management

Curious

Collaborative

Education

Degree in Marketing, Business, or related field

Tools

Google Ads

Meta Ads

TikTok Ads

AI tools

Job description

Our client is a leading European provider of premium natural pet nutrition, focused on supporting pet health and wellbeing through high-quality, minimally processed food. The business offers a broad range of fresh and gently cooked meals, functional snacks, and supplements, combining quality ingredients with nutritional expertise to deliver healthy and nutritious solutions for pets.

Role overview

As Junior Media Buyer you will own day-to-day campaign management and execution across Meta, Google and TikTok. This is a data, creative and AI-driven role, working across some of the most established direct-to-consumer e-commerce pet food brands. You will launch new campaigns, analyse performance data, develop new creative testing strategies, optimise full marketing funnels and manage paid campaigns, with AI and agentic workflows embedded in almost every part of your day. You'll handle bid adjustments, audience building and budget pacing to keep campaigns running optimally. This role frees the Performance Marketing Manager to focus on strategy, Amazon Ads and cross-brand optimisation.

Our client's approach to AI

Every role in this team is expected to use AI as a daily working tool — not occasionally, not reluctantly, and not because someone else will upskill them. AI proficiency in your own domain is a baseline expectation, not a differentiator. The "AI in this role" section below sets out the specific tools and use cases relevant to this function. These are not aspirational — they reflect how the role is designed to operate from day one.

Job Type: Full Time/Permanent

Location: Cape Town

Workplace: Onsite

Department: Commercial — Performance Marketing

Focus areas: Campaign management, creative testing, funnel optimisation, performance reporting

Reports to: Performance Marketing Manager

Requirements

• 1–3 years in paid media, media buying or performance marketing, with DTC or e-commerce brands where revenue growth depended on your analytical decisions
• Strong knowledge of Google Ads, Meta Ads and TikTok Ads
• Experience with A/B testing and performance optimisation
• Strong organisational and time management skills
• Some experience with AI tools
• Degree in marketing, business or a related field, or equivalent experience
• Performance-obsessed — You think in numbers first: ROAS, CAC and LTV
• Detail-oriented — Meticulous about campaign management and optimisation
• Organised — Manages multiple campaigns and deadlines consistently
• Tech-savvy — Comfortable with ad platform interfaces
• Collaborative — Works well with the Performance Marketing Manager and team
• Curious — Interested in learning performance marketing and optimisation
• Uses AI as a tool — Willing to learn and apply new tools

Responsibilities

Performance Campaign Management

• Launch and optimise advertising campaigns across Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Google Ads and TikTok
• Monitor daily performance and adjust bids to optimise for target metrics
• Manage budget pacing to spend optimally throughout the month
• Manage audience refreshes and segment adjustments
• Monitor for technical issues and anomalies

Creative Strategy & Experimentation

• Using insights to develop and report on new ad angles and creative hypotheses for rapid testing at scale
• Build new ad variants for the creative testing programme
• Set up A/B test structure and launch variants following guidelines
• Report on winning creatives and performance patterns to the Performance Marketing Manager
• Improve full-funnel conversion rates through multivariate and A/B testing
• Design, test and scale high-converting funnels across multiple brands, markets and products

Performance Reporting

• Produce routine weekly and monthly performance reports
• Flag anomalies and performance changes to the Performance Marketing Manager
• Track KPIs against targets
• Compile data for performance reviews and strategic planning

Campaign Troubleshooting

• Identify and elevate campaign issues to the Performance Marketing Manager
• Help troubleshoot performance issues and policy violation

AI in this role

• Use AI to help analyse campaign performance data
• Use AI to help identify optimisation opportunities
• Use AI to help generate reporting insightsStay current with AI tools relevant to performance marketing