Directive

Director of Paid Media

Directive

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Remote

Location: Arizona • California • United States

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Job Level

Lead

Tech Stack

SQL

About the role

  • Lead and develop a team of Associate Directors — setting direction, aligning on priorities, and creating conditions where high-caliber practitioners perform at their ceiling.
  • Translate executive direction into weekly priorities that are immediately actionable. No ambiguity about what matters most, no gap between strategy and execution.
  • Foster a culture where accountability is structural and excellence is the baseline, not the aspiration.
  • Invest in the growth of your Associate Directors and keep an eye on who's ready to join their ranks from the strategist team.
  • Stay close enough to every account to catch friction before the client names it. We have proprietary, proactive sentiment analysis technology baked into our tech platform, Stratos.
  • Build a culture of early escalation and proactive communication across your team.
  • Ensure every client engagement reflects Directive's methodology — LTV:CAC modeling, DiscoverabilityOS strategy, Share of SERP, and Functional Content.
  • Own the standard for client-facing work before it leaves the department.
  • Build the QA cadence and feedback loops that make quality consistent — not reactive.
  • Show up for clients with the confidence and credibility of someone who has done this before. This will primarily be through monthly leadership meetings or on large accounts.
  • When a client relationship needs senior attention, you're the first call — with a clear diagnosis and a path forward.
  • Own account assignments and team utilization. Match talent to account complexity in a way that supports both performance outcomes and department gross margin.
  • Maintain clear visibility into capacity so resourcing decisions are proactive, not reactive.
  • Own the candidate pipeline from sourcing through finalist presentations for roles within your team. The VP will support here in different stages of the hiring process.
  • Hire for the ceiling, not just the role. You know the difference.

Requirements

  • 8+ years in paid media, with significant time spent as a Director or Associate Director at a B2B or SaaS-focused agency — you've been here before and you know what good looks like at scale.
  • A track record of directing experienced practitioners — coaching strong ASDs, aligning them on priorities, and moving a high-performing team with speed and clarity.
  • Deep fluency in paid search and paid social (Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn required); programmatic experience a plus.
  • Mastery of B2B performance measurement — LTV:CAC modeling, pipeline attribution, SQL-focused goal setting.
  • The operational instincts that come from experience — you've built the systems, you've lived without them, and you move fast because you've already learned the hard lessons.
  • Financial literacy at the department level — P&L awareness, utilization management, and the ability to connect staffing decisions to margin outcomes.
  • The kind of client presence that comes with seniority — calm, credible, and trusted in a room when the stakes are high.
  • A genuine drive to stay ahead of where performance marketing is going, including the role of AI and automation in what excellent work looks like.
Benefits
  • 🙏 Medical, dental, vision plans, disability, and life insurance coverage for you and your family that fit your lifestyle
  • Including a 100% employer-paid plan for you and a 50% employer contribution for your dependents (US, CAD, MX)
  • 🧠 **Mental** - Access to certified therapists through **Spring Health**, membership to **Headspace**
  • 💪 **Physical **- Physical therapy through **Omada, **thousands of **Aaptiv** virtual workouts**, **complimentary **One Medical** membership for primary and virtual care
  • 🛫 T**ime Off** - Unlimited PTO (2-week minimum), Paid Company Holidays, Your Birthday Off, End of Year Recharge (Closed December 24 - January 1), Paid Parental Leave
  • 💰 **Financial** - Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 3% company match
  • 🌟 **Bonus** - Annual bonus based on tenure, which scales in total amount over time
  • 🌴 **Annual Company-wide Retreat**
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
paid mediapaid searchpaid socialGoogle AdsMetaLinkedInprogrammatic experienceLTV:CAC modelingpipeline attributionSQL-focused goal setting
Soft Skills
leadershipcoachingaccountabilityproactive communicationclient presenceoperational instinctsfinancial literacystrategic alignmentteam utilizationperformance management