Senior Media Buyer Job at University Of Michigan in Ann Arbor

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached to the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position, outline experience that directly relates to this position, and include a link to relevant work samples/portfolio.

Job Summary

Michigan Creative is the largest provider of marketing services to the University of Michigan. We are seeking an experienced Senior Media Buyer to join our Paid Media team. In this role, you will lead strategy, execution, and optimization of advertising campaigns across digital and traditional channels, managing significant budgets and directly advising campus clients.

As a Senior Media Buyer, you will manage the planning, execution, and optimization of paid media campaigns for a portfolio of clients across the University of Michigan. Reporting to the Managing Director of Michigan Creative, you will serve as a subject matter expert and client-facing lead, ensuring strategies deliver measurable impact.

Why Work at Michigan?

In addition to a career filled with purpose and opportunity, the University of Michigan offers a comprehensive benefits package to help you stay well and help yourself and your family plan for a secure future. Benefits include:

• Generous time off, including family care and maternity and parental leaves
• A retirement plan that provides two-for-one matching contributions after one year
• Many choices for comprehensive health insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability coverage
• Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses

Responsibilities*

• Execute digital media campaigns across paid search, programmatic, connected TV (CTV), and paid social channels (e.g., Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.); create and optimize successful campaigns that drive engagement, impressions, awareness, and leads
• Support the execution of traditional media plans across channels, including radio, newspaper, and out-of home
• Serve as a subject matter expert on media buying best practices and trends, including platform changes and new product offerings
• Fully own media strategy design and proposal writing in partnership with project managers, including recommending tactics, targeting, ad types, bid strategies, and keywords.
• Oversee and coordinate social advertising accounts, ensuring proper execution and monitoring of campaigns on platform-side tools
• Manage campaign budgets and oversee financial tracking, including spend recommendations, billing reconciliation, and vendor invoice approval
• Manage day-to-day implementation of campaigns; ensure proper execution of media buys by monitoring buys/schedules
• Lead campaign optimization and reporting efforts, including weekly performance reviews, data analysis, and sharing actionable insights with clients and campus stakeholders
• Co-lead client communications with project managers, representing media strategy while PMs oversee project delivery; provide recommendations and respond to client needs
• Work collaboratively with a cross-functional team of project managers, writers, designers, and developers to deliver integrated campaigns
• Contribute to process stability by following established workflows while recommending improvements that support consistency and efficiency across projects

Required Qualifications*

• A bachelor's degree in marketing, business, or communications or an equivalent combination of education, internship, and professional experience
• 5+ years of experience in managing and optimizing digital advertising campaigns
• Strong attention to detail with an iterative data- and objective-driven mindset
• Demonstrated knowledge of the principles of successful search engine marketing (paid search/ppc) and social media campaigns, including functional knowledge of relevant platforms (e.g., Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, Snapchat, X, TikTok, etc.)
• An understanding of UTM-based link tracking and behavioral performance metrics within Google Analytics
• Proficient in pixel and conversion tracking implementation via Google Tag Manager (GTM) and GA4
• Experience managing vendor relationships, contracts, and deliverables, including billing reconciliation and invoice approval
• Strong client-facing skills, with experience presenting campaign results, leading optimization discussions, and co-owning strategic recommendations with project managers

Desired Qualifications*

• Experience in an agency or higher education setting
• Knowledge and documented success in sales, recruitment, and/or admissions strategies within higher education or B2B

Work Schedule

Hybrid - 2 days onsite in Ann Arbor, 3 days remote.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes .

Additional Information

Our Mission

Inspiring pride and support for U-M excellence everywhere.

Our Vision

To be U-M's trusted marketing experts, providing leadership and support for our campus partners to create the most cohesive and resonant Michigan brand.

Our Core Values

Adaptability, Collaboration, Creativity, Curiosity, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Professionalism

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.The review and selection process maybegin as early as the eighth day after posting.Thisopening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.