Director of Paid Search in London

Our Mission is to be able to say - “Anyone in the World below $15M should fire their Agency tomorrow as nobody can beat this Value & Service at this Price.” At Common Thread Collective (CTC), we’re not just another agency—we’re the best growth partner for eCommerce brands under $15M. Our Paid Search team plays a vital role in driving measurable performance for our clients, and we’re looking for an experienced Senior Paid Search Buyer to take that impact even further.

As the Director of Paid Search, you’ll be the strategic and operational authority for CTC’s Google Ads practice. You own the outcomes — account performance, client relationships, team development, and the build-out of AI-powered automation across Google Search, Shopping, and Performance Max. This is a role for someone who has already operated at a senior level, commands the full depth of paid search strategy, and is ready to lead a team and a practice.

You’ll work closely with our Growth Strategists, Creative Team, and Data Analysts to turn forecasts into revenue. When challenges arise, you set the standard for how they get resolved — defining the escalation path, equipping your team to execute, and holding them accountable to the outcome. You own CTC's paid search playbooks and best practices outright: commissioning them, evolving them, and ensuring they reflect what world-class Google Ads performance actually looks like in practice.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

This place isn’t for everyone, but it might be for you if… Our core values are the heart and soul of this incredible Company. The right person for this role will appreciate each of these values, personally subscribe to them, and understand why each is critical to having a great business. To give ourselves our best shot at accomplishing our mission, we organize all of our decisions — from recruiting, to hiring, to raises, to promotions, to how we spend our time and money — in the direction of three committed values. We recognize these values aren't for everyone. They're challenging. In fact, they're so challenging that's why we invest so much in supporting our team and why we tend to attract people who are craving the opportunity to do more at work than get a paycheck. We're looking for those who are interested in making their work significant.

• AUTODIDACT: You are a relentless learner, fueled by genuine curiosity. You absorb new information like osmosis — quickly, deeply, and independently. You don’t need to be told twice — in fact, you often teach yourself before anyone even needs to ask. You see feedback not as criticism, but as rocket fuel for your growth. You proactively seek ways to improve, always refining your approach, sharpening your instincts, and mastering your craft without waiting for direction. You thrive in environments where self-management, initiative, and continuous improvement are not just encouraged — they are expected.
• UNIMPEACHABLE CHARACTER: You are a person people are proud to associate with — both professionally and personally. You tell the truth, even when it’s hard, even when it costs you. You demonstrate the courage to face uncomfortable conversations, the humility to accept hard truths, and the strength to own every outcome — without excuses, without playing the victim. You are self-aware, you are consistent, and you understand that trust is built through a thousand small moments of integrity. You value feedback because you know that nothing great is ever built alone — and that growth begins where comfort ends.
• COMPETITIVE GREATNESS: You show up at your best when it matters the most. You don’t just endure hard challenges — you relish them. You are the person others turn to when the stakes are highest and the pressure is on — because they know you’ll find a way. You adapt without hesitation, you persist without complaint, and you innovate without being asked. You love your craft, and you attack problems with creativity, resilience, and an unrelenting will to win.

What You’ll Do

CLIENT INTERACTION & EXECUTIVE RELATIONSHIP OWNERSHIP: At the Director level, client interaction is not a task on your list — it is one of your most strategic functions. You are the face of CTC’s paid search practice to clients at the executive level. You don’t just report on performance; you shape how clients think about growth, investment, and the role paid search plays in their broader business. Your client relationships are long-term, trust-based, and commercially significant.

• Own the executive-level relationship with a portfolio of CTC’s most strategic clients — serving as their primary point of escalation, strategic counsel, and long-term growth partner.
• Lead quarterly business reviews (QBRs) that go beyond performance recaps — connecting paid search outcomes to the client’s broader revenue goals, retention rates, and brand positioning.
• Proactively identify risks to account health, budget pacing, or client satisfaction — and address them before they surface as problems, not after.
• Frame strategy recommendations in business terms, not search jargon — your clients are CMOs and founders, and you communicate at their level.
• Set the standard for how all client-facing communication is structured across the paid search team — from weekly update emails to crisis response protocols.

AI AUTOMATION & GOOGLE ADS INTELLIGENCE (POWERED BY CLAUDE): CTC is building the infrastructure for the next generation of performance advertising — and this Director owns a core piece of that. You will lead the design and implementation of AI-powered automation workflows across Google Ads, with a specific focus on product feed optimization and intelligent campaign management using Claude as the underlying AI engine. This is not a “learn about AI” role — it is a build-and-own role for someone who understands both the technology and the search outcomes it needs to drive.

• Design and own end-to-end automation workflows for Google Shopping feed optimization — using Claude to dynamically rewrite product titles, descriptions, and attributes based on search intent, seasonal signals, and performance data.
• Build Claude-powered pipelines that analyze Google Ads account data— surfacing anomalies, budget inefficiencies, and optimization opportunities faster than any manual review process.
• Develop automated ad copy generation and testing workflows using Claude — enabling the team to run higher-velocity creative tests across Google Search and Performance Max without proportional increases in manual workload.
• Integrate Claude-driven insights into client reporting workflows — automating the translation of raw Google Ads data into narrative performance summaries, strategic recommendations, and executive-ready outputs.
• Partner with engineering and operations to productize the most effective automation workflows — turning one-off scripts and prompts into repeatable, scalable systems deployable across the entire client portfolio.
• Define the evaluation criteria for AI-generated outputs — building quality control processes that ensure automated content and recommendations meet CTC’s performance and brand safety standards before going live.
• Educate and upskill the broader team on AI automation capabilities — democratizing access to these tools so that automation benefits every account, not just those you personally manage.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE TABLE

• Demonstrated track record managing $2M+ in annual Google Ads spend across Search, Shopping, and Performance Max, with portfolio-level accountability for ROAS, retention, and revenue growth.
• Deep, hands-on command of Google Ads — you can do a full account audit, identify structural issues across campaigns, bidding strategy, and feed quality, and prescribe a fix without needing to ask someone else.
• Expert-level understanding of Google Shopping feed architecture — you know how product data quality affects campaign performance and can diagnose feed issues as well as any specialist.
• Meaningful experience with Performance Max — including asset group structure, audience signal strategy, and how to interpret attribution in a PMax environment.
• Direct people management experience — you have developed, coached, and (when necessary) performance-managed team members, and you have concrete examples of each.
• Practical, hands-on experience with AI tools — specifically using LLMs like Claude for workflow automation, content generation, or data analysis — not as a side experiment, but as part of how you actually work.
• Executive-level communication skills — you can write a sharp two-paragraph client update or present a 30-minute QBR to a CMO with equal confidence.
• DTC or performance marketing agency background strongly preferred — you understand the pace, the client dynamics, and what it takes to win and retain business in this environment.
• Strong analytical foundation — comfortable with budget modeling, incrementality frameworks, and drawing defensible conclusions from imperfect data.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

COMPENSATION PACKAGE: Six-figure compensation. Final details will be discussed during the interview process and will be based on experience, fit, and mutual alignment.

TIME OFF: When you’re at CTC, you’re firing on all cylinders. To make that possible, we offer a Flexible Time Off policy where you will coordinate with your supervisor to take time away from the office for rest, travel, and a variety of other things that are important to you!

Location & Environment: Fully remote with the ability to pick your schedule. Embrace autonomy as a core value, with clear expectations, regular 1:1 feedback sessions, and measurable quality benchmarks to support personal growth. Exceptional work is recognized and rewarded, with weekly check-ins for accountability, ensuring you’re consistently challenged and engaged with new opportunities daily.