Director of Media Strategy & Activation (Paid Media)

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director of Media Strategy & Activation (Paid Media) based in Canada.

This senior leadership role will own the development and execution of an integrated media strategy spanning both brand and performance marketing. You will oversee the full media investment portfolio and make strategic decisions on channel mix, budget allocation, and growth priorities. The role connects paid search, social, programmatic, display, video, mobile, and emerging media into a unified operating model. You will partner closely with Marketing, Product Growth, Sales, and Data Science teams to connect media activity to measurable business outcomes. A major focus will be strengthening internal capabilities while managing high-performing agency and specialist partnerships. You will also help shape the responsible use of AI and automation across media planning, optimization, creative testing, and reporting. This is an opportunity to lead a high-impact media organization within a flexible, distributed, and highly collaborative environment.

Accountabilities: Unified media strategy: Develop and own an integrated media strategy across brand and performance channels, establishing annual and quarterly investment priorities and making informed tradeoffs as business needs evolve.

Media investment management: Oversee the complete media portfolio across paid search, paid social, programmatic, display, video, mobile, affiliate, and other emerging channels, including planning, forecasting, pacing, and budget reallocation.

Brand and performance integration: Connect brand and performance investments through coordinated reach, frequency, creative, audience, and channel strategies while partnering with brand teams to translate broader positioning into effective media execution.

Operating model and partnerships: Define the appropriate balance between internal expertise, agencies, and specialist partners, while managing external relationships and building internal capabilities where they create strategic advantage.

AI-enabled media operations: Establish and execute a clear approach to AI-enabled workflows across creative production and testing, audience modeling, budget allocation, bid optimization, reporting, and quality control.

Revenue and growth alignment: Partner with Product Growth, Sales, and Marketing Data Science to connect media signals with activation, conversion, qualified leads, expansion, retention, and other downstream business outcomes.

Measurement and optimization: Work with analytics and data science teams on attribution, incrementality testing, media mix modeling, and other measurement approaches, translating complex findings into clear executive recommendations.

Team leadership: Lead, coach, and develop media leaders, establishing clear ownership, performance expectations, priorities, and organizational structures that connect individual contributions to broader growth objectives.

Continuous improvement: Identify opportunities to improve media efficiency, experimentation, operating processes, technology adoption, and the overall effectiveness of the media organization.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in media, performance marketing, digital marketing, or a related discipline, with progressively increasing leadership responsibility in a high-growth B2B and/or B2C environment.

4+ years of people leadership experience , including hiring, coaching, performance management, and organizational design.

Deep hands-on expertise across paid media channels such as search, paid social, programmatic, display, video, and mobile, including planning, forecasting, audience strategy, budget pacing, and performance optimization.

Experience managing brand media alongside performance media , with knowledge of brand lift measurement, reach and frequency planning, and creative performance optimization.

Proven success managing significant media investments and demonstrating measurable impact on acquisition efficiency, pipeline generation, revenue, or other business outcomes.

Experience managing agency and vendor ecosystems, including partner selection, scoping, performance management, and accountability.

Strong analytical and commercial fluency, including attribution, incrementality testing, media mix modeling, marketing measurement, CAC, LTV, and payback economics.

Experience supporting self-serve, product-led, and sales-assisted growth motions across consumer, SMB, and mid-market audiences.

Excellent executive communication skills, with the ability to turn complex performance data and strategic tradeoffs into concise recommendations.

Experience building or scaling media strategy, planning, or activation functions is strongly valued.

Familiarity with modern martech and adtech ecosystems, including CDPs, marketing automation, attribution platforms, tagging, and data governance.

Experience navigating privacy-related measurement changes, cookie deprecation, and first-party data strategies is an advantage.

Experience with AI-enabled media workflows, including creative generation and testing, audience modeling, automated reporting, budget optimization, or bid management, is highly desirable.

Strong awareness, judgment, adaptability, and relationship-building skills , with the ability to use technology to amplify rather than replace human decision-making.

A collaborative and accountable leadership style, with strong ownership, curiosity, experimentation, and a commitment to continuous learning.

Benefits

Flexible, distributed working environment designed around autonomy, collaboration, and meaningful connection.

Remote-first work model with asynchronous communication and core collaboration practices that support both focused work and team engagement.

Opportunities to participate in regular team gatherings, offsites, and in-person events designed to strengthen collaboration and relationships.

Approximately 5–10% travel may be required for offsites and other team gatherings.

Access to a global, multidisciplinary environment with opportunities to collaborate across Marketing, Product, Sales, Data Science, and other functions.

Corporate bonus eligibility and equity opportunities as part of the broader total rewards offering.

Opportunities for professional growth, leadership development, experimentation, and exposure to emerging AI and marketing technologies.

A culture that emphasizes flexibility, ownership, curiosity, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

How Jobgether works: We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team. We appreciate your interest and wish you the best!  Why Apply Through Jobgether?    Data Privacy Notice: By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Jobgether will process your personal data to evaluate your candidacy and share relevant information with the hiring employer. This processing is based on legitimate interest and pre-contractual measures under applicable data protection laws (including GDPR). You may exercise your rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection) at any time.     #LI-CL1