Senior Paid Media Manager

Candidsky is hiring a Senior Paid Media Manager to join our performance marketing team in Manchester City Centre. You’ll lead on multi-channel paid campaigns for a mix of UK and international clients - from B2B lead gen to B2C e-commerce brands with significant monthly media spend and clear ROAS targets. This is a senior, hands-on role with real scope to shape how our Paid Media team runs. If you’re the kind of person who wants ownership, enjoys building strong client relationships, and is ready to step into a Head of Paid / Paid Media Director track within 6–12 months, we want to hear from you.

About Candidsky: We’re an award-winning performance marketing agency with 17+ years in Manchester. Our mission is simple: empower clients through clear communication and proven strategies across SEO, Paid Media, and Digital PR. Our vision is to be the leading digital agency in the North, delivering exceptional results while building a culture that’s creative, collaborative, and genuinely fun. We’re serious about results, but we’re people-first — always. We work smart, stay human, act like real people, and keep the team spirit high (and yes, we still make time for board games and agency trips).

The role: As Senior Paid Media Manager, you’ll manage and optimise multiple accounts, drive performance improvements month-on-month and year-on-year, and help us grow the division. You’ll have the autonomy to test, iterate, and scale what works — with support from Paid, SEO, and Digital PR teams around you.

• Key responsibilities:
• Own performance across a portfolio of paid media clients (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Paid Social, Display, Performance Max, and more).
• Use data-driven insights to improve results MoM and YoY.
• Lead strategic account planning: campaign architecture, keyword strategy, bidding, creative testing, audience strategy, and landing page experimentation.
• Write and test compelling ad copy, collaborating with content and creative teams on paid messaging and assets.
• Manage daily and monthly budgets to agreed revenue, ROI, and ROAS targets.
• Carry out competitor research and turn insights into practical opportunities.
• Deliver clear reporting that shows impact, next steps, and commercial value.
• Maintain sharp client comms via Basecamp and email, aligned with our Client Services process.
• Support pitches and proposals with insights, forecasts, and channel strategy.
• Contribute to building and improving internal paid processes, templates, and ways of working.

• Success measures (KPIs):
• Hitting or exceeding client ROAS and ROI targets.
• Channel performance improvements across your client set.
• Client retention, satisfaction, and proactive communication.
• Strong commercial delivery and budget efficiency.

• What we’re looking for:
• Proven experience managing and scaling PPC / paid media accounts with meaningful spend.
• Strong strategic thinking alongside hands-on optimisation ability.
• Confident with Google Ads (Search, Shopping, PMax, Display, YouTube) and Microsoft Ads; paid social experience is a plus.
• Excellent reporting and performance storytelling — you can explain what happened, why, and what we’ll do next.
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities without dropping standards.
• A positive, proactive teammate who builds relationships easily and pushes for better.
• Someone excited by growth — personally and for the agency.

• Behaviours that matter here:
• Team player who collaborates across functions.
• Organised and methodical, but not afraid to move fast.
• Curious, experimental, and improvement-driven.
• Calm under pressure and solutions-focused.
• Invested in developing yourself and others.
• Goal-orientated and genuinely into performance marketing.

Progression: We’re growing quickly, and this role is designed to become a leadership position. If you want a clear runway to Head of Paid / Paid Media Director within 6–12 months - including recruiting and leading your own team - we’ll back you to get there.

• Benefits:
• Flexible start times (8:00–10:00am).
• Hybrid working: up to 2 remote days per week, 3 office days.
• 30 days holiday including bank holidays, plus an extra day per year up to 5 years’ service.
• Your birthday off, automatically booked.
• Quarterly socials chosen by the team (think Go Karting, Cake Making, Darts, Fancy Dinners).
• Gym contribution up to £50 per month after passing probation.
• AXA private healthcare.