Paid Media Manager, Programmatic & SEM

Only on W2 - No C2C

100% Remote

Title: Paid Media Manager, Programmatic & SEM

Contract Duration: 06 Months Contract

Role Summary

Lead paid media strategy and hands-on activation across programmatic display, paid search/SEM and other assigned digital channels. This role translates business and campaign objectives into audience, channel, budget and measurement plans; manages agency and media-partner performance; activates and optimizes campaigns in StackAdapt and paid search platforms; and helps assess and build the capabilities needed to bring more media work in-house.

Essential Functions

• Develop paid media strategies, channel plans and testing roadmaps aligned with campaign and business objectives.
• Translate audience insights, market opportunities and campaign goals into targeting, retargeting, placement and budget recommendations.
• Set up, traffic, monitor and optimize programmatic campaigns in StackAdapt.
• Plan, manage and optimize paid search/SEM campaigns in Google Ads or comparable platforms.
• Manage paid display, trade publication and other media-partner placements as assigned.
• Allocate budgets, monitor spend pacing and adjust investment based on performance and priorities.
• Manage media agencies and partners, including evaluating strategy, plans, execution, results and recommendations.
• Establish campaign KPIs, measurement plans, testing approaches and reporting cadences.
• Coordinate campaign tagging, tracking and analytics requirements with marketing, web and technical partners.
• Analyze campaign and channel performance; identify insights and implement optimization recommendations.
• Assess current agency-managed work and recommend which capabilities, processes and execution should be brought in-house.
• Document processes, platform practices and training to support internal capability development and continuity.
• Influence cross-functional stakeholders and communicate concise performance updates, risks and recommendations.
• Use AI tools appropriately to improve planning, analysis, optimization and reporting while maintaining professional judgment and review.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Advertising, Analytics or a related field, or equivalent training and experience.
• Five or more years of paid media strategy and execution experience across programmatic display, paid search/SEM or related digital channels.
• Demonstrated experience managing media agencies, significant campaign budgets and concurrent cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong analytical, project management, communication and stakeholder-influence skills.

Technical Skills – Must Have

• Hands-on experience developing and managing paid media strategies across programmatic display, paid search/SEM and other digital channels.
• Proficiency setting up, trafficking, monitoring and optimizing campaigns in StackAdapt.
• Experience managing Google Ads or comparable paid search platforms.
• Strong knowledge of audience targeting, retargeting, media planning, budget allocation and spend pacing.
• Experience managing media agencies and evaluating agency strategy, performance and recommendations.
• Proficiency with campaign measurement, analytics, reporting and performance optimization.
• Ability to translate campaign goals into channel plans, KPIs, testing strategies and actionable insights.

Technical Skills – Nice to Have

• Experience with B2B demand-generation and lead-generation campaigns.
• Experience managing paid placements with industry publications or trade media partners.
• Familiarity with conversion tracking, campaign tagging and marketing attribution.
• Experience using Google Analytics or comparable web analytics platforms.
• Experience assessing opportunities to bring agency-managed media capabilities in-house.
• Familiarity with marketing automation and CRM platforms, such as Eloqua and Salesforce.
• Experience using AI tools to improve media planning, analysis, optimization and reporting workflows.

Success Measures

• Delivery against campaign objectives and channel-specific KPIs.
• Accurate budget management and spend pacing.
• Growth in qualified traffic, engagement, leads or acquisition outcomes appropriate to each campaign.
• Consistent testing, analysis and optimization that improve media efficiency and effectiveness.
• Clear agency accountability and actionable performance recommendations.
• Documented progress toward transferring appropriate paid media capabilities in-house.