Media Planner & Buyer

Are you a hands-on media planner and buyer who loves building as much as executing? We're seeking a Media Planner & Buyer to lead paid social and programmatic campaigns that drive audience growth and client results, and to help shape how our media function grows. About the Role • Hourly Rate: $55 • Contract Duration: ASAP through mid-January 2027, with potential to extend • Location: Fully remote • Weekly Hours: 40 hours per week • Availability: Eastern or Central time zone hours preferred; some availability between Christmas and New Year's required As our Media Planner & Buyer, you'll lead paid campaigns that support audience growth and client programs, taking work from brief to live campaign on tight timelines. You'll personally build and optimize campaigns across paid social and programmatic platforms, partner with our audience, creative, and client teams, and turn performance data into clear recommendations. This is also a bridge role: you'll help us spot recurring needs, put process in place, and define what a future permanent hire in this seat should own. We're looking for an entrepreneurial builder who is as comfortable spending a full day trafficking campaigns as half a day writing a memo or brainstorming with leadership. Scope of Support Media Strategy and Planning • Consult on audience strategies and build media plans for varied audiences, from local readers and broad consumer segments to business leaders, policymakers, and opinion influencers • Translate campaign goals into practical targeting, channel, and budget recommendations • Contribute strategic thinking through memos, recommendations, and brainstorms with the team and founder Campaign Execution and Optimization • Personally build, launch, manage, and optimize campaigns across Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and programmatic platforms such as The Trade Desk and StackAdapt • Own execution end to end, from setup, trafficking, and QA through budget pacing, testing, optimization, and reporting • Deliver against commitments for reach, impressions, engagement, and other campaign goals Cross-Functional Partnership and Building the Function • Partner with audience, creative, and client teams to get campaigns live quickly and adapt as priorities shift • Turn performance data into clear, actionable recommendations • Recognize when the request and the real need differ, and deliver both • Flag recurring needs, propose processes, and advise on how to resource media going forward, including the scope of a future permanent hire • Look for ways to streamline workflows with AI, such as building agents or automations Qualifications • 7 to 10 years of experience leading and executing paid social and programmatic campaigns at an agency, media company, public affairs firm, or similarly fast-paced environment • Hands-on, current expertise in Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and at least one programmatic platform such as The Trade Desk or StackAdapt • Strong understanding of audience segmentation, geographic and contextual targeting, first-party data, retargeting, and the capabilities and limits of each platform • Self-directed working style: you identify what needs to happen, solve problems, flag risks early, and follow through with minimal oversight • Strong analytical judgment and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple campaigns accurately under tight deadlines • Entrepreneurial mindset: you thrive with ambiguity and enjoy creating structure rather than stepping into a predefined role • Nice to have: real comfort with AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, and curiosity about using them to work smarter Additional Information This is a W2 role.