Lead the strategy. Scale the systems. Shape the future.
About the Job
TurnKey Marketing is seeking an experienced, strategic, and hands-on Director of Paid Media to lead our paid search function while helping drive the continued evolution of our performance media capabilities. This role is ideal for a proven agency leader who combines deep technical expertise with strong people leadership, operational excellence, and a passion for driving measurable client results.
As the Director of Paid Media, you will oversee strategy, execution, optimization, and team development across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, YouTube, Performance Max, display, and other paid media channels. You will play a key role in scaling department operations, improving automation and reporting efficiencies, and helping shape the future direction of our paid media practice.
We are looking for someone who thrives in a fast-paced agency environment, stays ahead of industry changes, embraces emerging technologies and AI, and can effectively balance strategic leadership with hands-on expertise when needed.
Compensation will be determined based on experience, expertise, and overall alignment with the needs of the position.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the overall strategy, execution, and optimization of paid media programs across a diverse portfolio of clients.
- Manage, mentor, and develop a team of paid media specialists, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous learning.
- Provide technical leadership across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, YouTube, Performance Max, display advertising, attribution, and conversion tracking.
- Partner with executive leadership to identify opportunities for growth, scalability, process improvement, and operational efficiency.
- Drive adoption and utilization of Fluency and other automation, reporting, and workflow management platforms to improve team productivity and performance.
- Establish and refine best practices, standard operating procedures, reporting frameworks, and quality assurance processes across the department.
- Monitor campaign performance, identify optimization opportunities, troubleshoot issues, and provide strategic guidance to the team.
- Oversee budget pacing, forecasting, and performance management across client accounts.
- Collaborate closely with analytics, creative, web, SEO, account management, and paid social teams to deliver integrated marketing solutions.
- Stay current on platform updates, emerging technologies, AI applications, and industry trends, ensuring the agency remains competitive and innovative.
- Support business development efforts through occasional participation in prospect presentations and strategic discussions.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with platform representatives, industry partners, and technology vendors.
Requirements
- 8+ years of paid media experience, including significant experience managing Google Ads and Microsoft Ads programs.
- 3+ years of leadership experience managing, coaching, and developing digital marketing teams.
- Agency experience required.
- Strong expertise in Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, YouTube advertising, Performance Max, attribution, conversion tracking, and Google Analytics 4.
- Experience using Fluency strongly preferred. Candidates with demonstrated success leading adoption of Fluency or similar enterprise-level paid media automation, reporting, and workflow management platforms will be highly regarded.
- Proven ability to improve operational efficiency, scale processes, and drive adoption of new technologies and tools.
- Strong understanding of automation, AI-driven workflows, and emerging technologies within digital marketing.
- Experience managing large-scale paid media budgets and delivering measurable performance improvements.
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Strong communication and presentation abilities, with the confidence to engage with executive stakeholders, clients, and prospects when needed.
- Experience managing multiple client accounts and priorities within a fast-paced agency environment.
- Ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on involvement in campaigns and troubleshooting.
Preferred Qualifications
- Automotive agency experience, including dealership, dealer group, OEM/co-op, or multi-location marketing experience, strongly preferred.
- Experience with CRM integrations, offline conversion tracking, and advanced attribution strategies.
- Experience in regulated industries such as healthcare, pharmaceutical, legal, financial services, or similar sectors.
- Existing relationships with Google and Microsoft representatives and partner teams.
We’d Love to Talk If You:
- Have successfully led paid search or paid media teams in a fast-paced agency environment.
- Enjoy balancing strategic leadership with hands-on technical involvement when needed.
- Stay current on Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, YouTube, Performance Max, attribution, and emerging advertising technologies.
- Have experience driving adoption of platforms like Fluency and improving operational efficiency through automation and scalable processes.
- Can identify opportunities to streamline workflows, eliminate manual work, and help teams operate more effectively.
- Are comfortable mentoring specialists, challenging strategy, and elevating team performance.
- Understand the unique demands of managing multiple clients, competing priorities, and high-performance expectations.
- Can confidently discuss paid media strategy, performance results, and business impact with agency leadership, clients, and prospective clients.
- Have experience in automotive marketing, multi-location businesses, or other fast-paced, high-volume industries.
- Get excited about helping shape the future of a growing paid media organization.