Saatchi & Saatchi

Director, Paid Social and Search (Performance Media)

Saatchi & Saatchi$121K — $174K *
Media
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7+ years of performance marketing experience, specifically in paid search and paid social
  • 4+ years of experience managing teams, including leading managers and senior practitioners
  • Demonstrated success in driving brand and performance objectives through performance media
  • Strong analytical skills with the capacity to turn complex data into actionable insights
  • Executive-level presence for influencing senior clients
  • Ability to navigate complexities while balancing strategic vision with operational detail
  • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including formulas and data analysis
  • Bachelor's degree preferred

Responsibilities

  • Lead and develop high-performing teams in paid search and social media to meet performance goals
  • Own and align paid search and social strategy with broader brand objectives
  • Serve as a senior advisor to clients, building strong, long-term relationships
  • Define success metrics and optimization strategies across search and social
  • Guide teams in advanced optimization techniques and AI tool application
  • Educate clients on performance media innovations and best practices
  • Deliver presentations that communicate strategy, insights, and future opportunities
  • Manage financial health and staffing for assigned accounts
  • Collaborate with cross-channel leaders to create integrated media solutions
  • Establish best practices and quality standards for search and social operations
  • Understand client businesses to shape effective strategic recommendations
  • Drive thought leadership in AI and emerging media trends
  • Foster collaboration and creativity within teams
  • Coach and develop talent through ongoing feedback and training

Benefits

  • Paid Family Care for up to 12 weeks
  • Monetary support for Adoption, Surrogacy, and Fertility services
  • Financial assistance for pet adoption
  • Employee Assistance Programs and wellness reimbursements
  • Tuition Assistance for career development
  • Flexible paid time off policies including vacation, sick days, and volunteer days
  • Matching Gifts program for charitable contributions
  • Flexible work arrangements to support work/life balance
  • 'Work Your World' Program allowing remote work for up to six weeks annually
  • Active Business Resource Groups supporting diverse affinities
Full Job Description
Overview

The Director, Paid Social and Search is a performance media leader responsible for setting the strategic vision and driving business impact across clients' paid search and paid social programs. This role owns end-to-end strategy, performance, and financial stewardship across search and social, while serving as a client advisor and people leader.

You will guide teams through an evolving performance media landscape-shaping innovation, championing best practices, and ensuring search and social are fully integrated into holistic media strategies. This role balances strategic leadership, operational excellence, talent development, and accountability for business results.

Responsibilities

  • Lead, motivate, and develop high-performing paid search and paid social teams, ensuring campaigns meet or exceed performance, financial, and quality goals
  • Own paid search and paid social strategy across platforms, aligning activation and optimization to broader brand and business objectives
  • Serve as a trusted senior advisor to clients and internal stakeholders, fostering strong, long-term relationships
  • Define success frameworks, including KPIs, measurement approaches, testing methodologies, and optimization strategies across search and social
  • Guide teams in applying advanced optimization techniques, platform automation, and AI-enabled tools with sound strategic judgment
  • Champion the value of performance media by educating clients and internal teams on platform innovation, emerging capabilities, and industry best practices
  • Deliver clear, compelling presentations that communicate strategy, insights, performance results, and forward-looking opportunities
  • Own financial management for assigned accounts, including forecasting, staffing plans, and overall account health
  • Partner closely with cross-channel leaders (analytics, programmatic, paid social, search, and broader media teams) to deliver integrated solutions
  • Establish and reinforce best practices, quality assurance standards, and scalable processes across search and social operations
  • Develop a deep understanding of clients' businesses, categories, and objectives to proactively shape strategic recommendations
  • Drive thought leadership on emerging trends, technologies, and responsible AI usage to enhance performance, insights, and operational efficiency
  • Foster a culture of collaboration, curiosity, creativity, and continuous learning across teams
  • Coach, mentor, and develop talent through training, feedback, and performance management

Qualifications

  • 7+ years of experience in performance marketing, paid search, paid social, or digital media with increasing responsibility
  • 4+ years of people management experience, including leading managers and senior practitioners
  • Proven experience driving results across brand and performance objectives using paid search and paid social
  • Deep understanding of paid search and social platforms, optimization methodologies, and measurement frameworks
  • Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights
  • Executive-level presence with comfort presenting to and influencing senior client stakeholders
  • Demonstrated ability to lead through complexity while balancing strategic vision and operational detail
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, with advanced Excel skills (e.g., formulas, pivot tables, data analysis)
  • Bachelor's degree preferred


Additional information

The Power of One starts with our people! To do powerful things, we offer powerful resources. Our best-in-class wellness and benefits offerings include:
  • Paid Family Care for parents and caregivers for 12 weeks or more
  • Monetary assistance and support for Adoption, Surrogacy and Fertility
  • Monetary assistance and support for pet adoption
  • Employee Assistance Programs and Health/Wellness/Comfort reimbursements to help you invest in your future and work/life balance
  • Tuition Assistance
  • Paid time off that includes Flexible Time off Vacation, Annual Sick Days, Volunteer Days, Holiday and Identity days, and more
  • Matching Gifts programs
  • Flexible working arrangements
  • 'Work Your World' Program encouraging employees to work from anywhere Publicis Groupe has an office for up to 6 weeks a year (based upon eligibility)
  • Business Resource Groups that support multiple affinities and alliances


The benefits offerings listed are available to U.S. based employees, are reviewed on an annual basis, and are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents.

Compensation Range: USD $121,315.00 - USD $174,300.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 8/2/2026.

About Saatchi & Saatchi

Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency headquartered in New York City. The company was founded in London in 1970 by brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi and is now part of the Publicis Groupe, a French multinational advertising and public relations company. Saatchi & Saatchi has over 6,000 employees in 114 countries and provides a range of advertising and marketing services to clients in various industries, including automotive, consumer goods, financial services, and telecommunications. The company is known for its creative and innovative advertising campaigns, including the iconic 'Nothing is Impossible' campaign for Toyota. Saatchi & Saatchi has won numerous awards for its work, including Cannes Lions, Clios, and Effies.
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