THE ROLE:

As an Associate Director, Paid Social, you are a strategic social media leader with a proven ability to manage complex, full-funnel paid social programs end to end. You excel at developing and executing advanced paid social strategies, building and leading high-performing teams, and translating performance insights into clear, compelling roadmaps and client-ready narratives. Your leadership blends analytical rigor, creative thinking, and a relentless focus on performance excellence-driving both client success and sustainable agency growth.

As a trusted mentor and collaborative leader, you foster strong team cohesion and unlock individual potential through hands-on coaching and thoughtful guidance. You take a deep-dive approach to onboarding and development, helping new team members quickly understand client priorities, business objectives, platform best practices, and creative testing frameworks. In this role, you set the standard for paid social excellence-driving profitability, elevating strategic thinking, and empowering teams to consistently deliver outstanding results.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Lead channel-specific paid social strategy for complex, multichannel accounts, leveraging deep expertise across platforms such as Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Snap, and Pinterest, and DEPT's broader service offerings to drive growth across the funnel.
• Serve as the day-to-day paid social strategist for the largest and most complex paid media accounts, aligning tactics with client objectives, measurement frameworks, attribution models, and spend levels.
• Own the paid social component of client roadmaps, ensuring strategic alignment with client priorities, performance goals, creative strategy, and cross-channel initiatives.
• Maintain accountability for paid social budget management, performance delivery, forecasting, and profitability, recommending strategic pivots as needed to meet or exceed KPIs.
• Establish, enforce, and evolve paid social processes and best practices, ensuring consistent use of tools such as Asana, Qontrol, platform QA frameworks, and internal standards across teams.
• Partner closely with Client Partners and activation teams to deliver cohesive paid social strategies; contribute to and approve paid social content for key client deliverables; and provide strategic consultation throughout deck development and presentations.
• Act as the primary escalation point for paid social within your portfolio, proactively resolving performance challenges, prioritization conflicts, and team coordination issues to ensure timely, high-quality execution.
• Build, develop, and lead high-performing teams by overseeing onboarding, driving effective delegation, coaching people managers, and fostering inclusive, collaborative, and high-impact team environments.

WHAT YOU BRING:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in paid social advertising.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in client-facing roles, serving as a strategic advisor.
• Proven track record of managing and scaling successful paid social programs for enterprise-level or highly complex accounts.
• Deep proficiency in paid social platforms and tools, including Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Reddit, etc. and analytics solutions.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret performance data, uncover insights, and translate findings into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Experience leading, managing, and developing teams, with a strong focus on mentorship, performance growth, and career development.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and influence clients and cross-functional internal partners.
• Demonstrated ability to foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture.
• Proven capability to develop and execute strategic paid social plans that align with client objectives and drive measurable business growth.
• Strong problem-solving skills and adaptability in navigating evolving platforms, market conditions, and client needs.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

We are a collaborative, open-door, best-idea-wins environment that fosters personal and company growth and has fun doing it. Here is a snapshot of our benefits package:

• Healthcare, Dental, and Vision coverage
• 401k plan, plus matching
• PTO
• Paid Company Holidays
• Parental Leave

#LI-Remote

The anticipated salary range for this position is listed below. Salary is based on a range of factors that include relevant experience, expertise, physical location, and organizational impact. This is based on a 40-hour workweek and leveling. Keep in mind, we're flexible.

US Remote Range

$95,000-$130,000 USD