Media Strategy Director

Brave Bison

Media Strategy Director managing cross-channel performance strategy for New Balance's global accounts. Leading a team to enhance digital excellence in performance marketing.

Posted 6/20/2026full-timeLondon • 🇬🇧 United KingdomLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead Performance Strategy for New Balance
Own the vision and execution of EMEA and regional performance media strategy across Paid Search, Paid Social, Display, and emerging channels.
Partner closely with New Balance stakeholders to shape seasonal plans, commercial responses, product‑launch frameworks, and full‑funnel thinking.
Translate brand moments, athlete partnerships, and product priorities into data‑driven, audience‑first media plans that drive measurable outcomes.
Build performance frameworks that link new audiences through traffic focused campaigns with lower‑funnel conversion and retention.
Create integrated planning approaches that combine media, creative, retail, and commerce signals.
Stay ahead of platform innovation and bring Brave Bison‑level energy to identifying new opportunities, formats, partnerships, and betas.
Champion AI adoption across the department - identifying where automation, predictive tooling, and AI‑enabled optimisation can meaningfully improve performance and efficiency.
Provide senior technical leadership across Google Ads, SA360, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, DV360, and other key platforms.
Ensure world‑class campaign architecture, optimisation routines, automation strategies, and measurement frameworks.
Partner with analytics and creative teams to continually improve performance through audience segmentation, dynamic creative, and predictive modelling.
Act as the primary performance partner for New Balance across EMEA and key regional teams - seen as a genuine extension of their senior marketing leadership.
Lead strategic presentations, quarterly business reviews, performance deep dives, and annual planning cycles.
Deliver clear, story‑driven insights that cut through complexity and focus on commercial impact - with a particular emphasis on ROI storytelling that connects media activity to business outcomes.
Proactively unlock new opportunities to strengthen New Balance's performance engines across EMEA.
Balance assertiveness and diplomacy to constructively challenge client thinking where needed, driving better outcomes through structured problem‑solving and well‑evidenced recommendations.
Lead, inspire, and challenge a multidisciplinary team of search, social, and programmatic experts.
Foster a culture built on curiosity, innovation, experimentation, and operational excellence.
Support learning pathways, certifications, platform training, and ongoing career development.
Drive a growth mindset across the team - modelling resilience, encouraging proactive development, and holding yourself and others accountable for continuous improvement.
Elevate measurement frameworks that integrate platform data, attribution, incrementality testing, and business outcomes.
Work closely with analytics to build dashboards, reporting suites, and predictive tools.
Champion test‑and‑learn programmes across markets, continually raising the performance bar.
Own portfolio‑level forecasting and oversee QA frameworks to ensure budgets, pacing, and quality standards are consistently airtight across all markets.
Contribute to Brave Bison's paid media new business strategy - supporting pitches, crafting compelling narratives, and coordinating cross‑functional input to help win work.
Represent the agency externally through thought leadership, industry events, and marketing activity that reinforces Brave Bison's performance credentials.

Requirements

What you’ll need

7–10+ years' experience in performance media with deep specialism in Paid Search, Paid Social, and Programmatic Display.
Proven track record leading large or global e‑commerce or retail accounts (sporting goods experience a plus).
Highly confident working with senior marketing stakeholders.
Strong analytical capability and ability to convert data into commercially relevant insights.
Exceptional communication and storytelling skills with a bias for clarity and impact.
Experience managing and growing high‑performing teams.
Confident constructively challenging senior stakeholders and driving structured problem‑solving across client and agency teams.
Demonstrable experience championing AI adoption and automation within performance media.
Expert understanding of: Google Ads, SA360, Microsoft Ads Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn DV360 or similar DSPs GA4, tracking infrastructure, attribution models.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Dynamic working: To keep that work-life harmony in check, we're flexible on where and when you work
Private medical insurance: To keep you fighting fit and give you and your family peace of mind.
Income protection: We know it feels good to be covered, just in case.
Calm Subscription: Now more than ever, it’s important to mind your mind!
25 days annual leave: This increases to 27 days after three years with us, and then increases every subsequent year up to a max. of 30 days
Christmas closure: No need to save holiday days for the Christmas closure period. It's on us!
Birthdays off: One extra day to celebrate your big day
Summer hours: Between June and Aug we finish at 15.00 every Friday.
Online coaching and mental health support: Unlimited via OpenUp
Remote Working: Work abroad for up to one month a year.
Performance & Salary: Reviewed twice a year for everyone.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

performance mediaPaid SearchPaid SocialProgrammatic Displaydata-driven media plansaudience segmentationpredictive modellingcampaign architectureautomation strategiesmeasurement frameworks

Soft Skills

analytical capabilitycommunication skillsstorytelling skillsproblem-solvingteam leadershipassertivenessdiplomacycuriosityinnovationgrowth mindset