Paid Media Director

North of Chicago (between Chicago and Wisconsin border) Hybrid: In-Office Tue / Wed / Thu Salary range: $140,000 to $155,000 annually Total Compensation: Salary plus up to $40,000 annual bonus and full benefits package About the Role We are searching for a commercially savvy, roll‑up‑your‑sleeves Paid Media Director who thrives on doing the work—not just directing it. You will own the strategy and execute it: building campaigns, pulling levers, analyzing data, and optimizing spend in real time across a global single‑brand environment. Reporting to the VP of Marketing, Consumer Business, you will serve as the company’s internal expert on all things paid media—from performance marketing and Direct‑To‑Consumer (DTC) commerce to brand‑building channels—while acting as the primary strategic interface with our global media agency. What Makes This Role Different Single brand, total ownership. You are the paid media authority for one brand globally—not a portfolio of clients. Your decisions have direct, visible impact on revenue. Hands‑on execution is non‑negotiable. You will build and manage campaigns yourself alongside any agency support. Strategic vision matters, but so does knowing how to pull it off in the platform. Agency collaboration, not agency dependence. You will set the direction, hold the agency accountable, and step in when needed. DTC at the center. A major focus of this role is growing direct‑to‑consumer traffic and revenue through owned digital channels using advanced audience strategies and first‑party data. Key Responsibilities Strategy & Channel Leadership Develop, manage, and continuously optimize a paid media strategy aligned with business goals, brand positioning, and local market needs across digital and traditional channels. Identify emerging paid media opportunities, new channels, and innovations that support brand and revenue growth. Advise senior leadership on investment models, market trends, and best practices as the company’s subject‑matter expert on global media. Drive measurable impact across the full marketing funnel: awareness, engagement, conversion, and retention. Direct‑to‑Consumer (DTC) Media Lead the DTC paid media strategy to grow traffic, conversion, and revenue across owned digital commerce channels. Develop advanced audience strategies including remarketing, retention audiences, lookalike/expansion models, and first‑party data activation. Collaborate with CRM and data teams to enhance segmentation, personalization, and lifecycle marketing integration. Agency Management & Accountability Serve as the primary interface with the global media agency, ensuring strategic alignment, operational excellence, and measurable performance outcomes. Ensure seamless collaboration and accountability with the media agency to deliver high‑performance campaigns and optimal media investments. Measurement & Budget Develop (in close collaboration with the Digital Analytics & Insights team) a unified measurement framework for paid media performance, including KPIs, reporting standards, and regional consistency. Manage the global media budget, ensuring investment prioritization aligns with company strategy and ROI expectations. Optimize media budget allocation across channels and regions to maximize ROI and scale growth; maintain close collaboration with Finance for investment transparency. Standards, Compliance & Enablement Enhance global guidelines for paid media execution, naming conventions, audience management, and platform standards. Support the evaluation and selection of media platforms, tools, and technology partners. Ensure compliance with data privacy, GDPR, and brand safety standards. Provide quarterly functional reviews and performance analyses for senior management. What You Bring Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or a related field. Certifications in media planning, digital marketing, or paid media platforms preferred. 5–8+ years of paid media, performance marketing, or media planning experience—gained in‑house at a single brand, not on the agency side managing multiple clients. Proven track record of building and executing paid media campaigns yourself, from strategy through optimization. Proven experience managing or closely directing an external media agency. Deep knowledge of digital advertising platforms: Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, DV360, and similar. Experience in FMCG industries or similar a strong plus; familiarity with regulated environments preferred. Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced matrixed or multinational environments. Analytical mindset with strong data interpretation and reporting abilities. Excellent communication, project management, and stakeholder management skills. Ability to balance long‑term strategic thinking with day‑to‑day hands‑on execution. Who You Are A doer with strategic depth—you can write the plan and execute it. Entrepreneurial and self‑directed; you don’t wait to be told what to optimize. A confident communicator who can translate complex media data into clear business insights for senior stakeholders. Commercially minded, with a strong sense of how media investment ties to revenue and ROI. Hybrid schedule: work from home Monday & Friday; in‑office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at our location north of Chicago. Willingness to travel internationally up to 10% of the time. #J-18808-Ljbffr