Senior Media Buyer in Essex, Maldon

A Senior Paid Media Account Manager leads client relationships, multi-channel campaign strategy, and performance delivery across digital and traditional media. This role acts as the strategic partner for clients, ensuring campaigns deliver measurable impact while driving growth, innovation and operational excellence across the account portfolio. You will mentor junior team members, shape best-practice processes, and work closely with Account Directors to deliver high-quality work that strengthens client trust and agency reputation.

Key Accountabilities – Client Leadership

• Act as the primary day-to-day lead for key clients, providing proactive guidance, insights and strategic recommendations.
• Translate complex client objectives into clear, actionable media strategies and roadmaps.
• Manage expectations around performance, timelines, budgets and deliverables with confidence and clarity.
• Support and deputise for the Account Director in senior-level conversations, presentations and strategic reviews.
• Build long-term client relationships that drive retention, upsell and account growth.

Key Accountabilities – Strategy & Planning

• Lead the development of integrated media strategies across search, social, programmatic, display and offline channels.
• Produce high-quality media plans, forecasts, testing frameworks and rationale documents.
• Ensure briefs to internal teams and external partners are accurate, complete and strategically aligned.
• Identify new opportunities across channels, audiences, creative and technology to improve performance and client outcomes.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging platforms, advising clients on their relevance and potential impact.

Key Accountabilities – Performance, Optimisation & Quality

• Oversee campaign performance across all channels, ensuring pacing, delivery and KPIs are consistently met.
• Provide advanced optimisation recommendations and ensure they are implemented correctly and on time.
• Lead test-and-learn programmes (AB tests, creative, audiences, landing pages) and translate findings into actionable insights.
• Troubleshoot performance dips, risks or tracking issues, coordinating with activation specialists to resolve quickly.
• Maintain high QA standards across campaign set-up, tagging, reporting and documentation.

Key Accountabilities – Reporting, Insight & Communication

• Produce and present weekly, monthly and quarterly performance reports that go beyond metrics to deliver strategic insight.
• Lead client presentations, performance reviews and planning sessions with confidence and clarity.
• Work with analytics teams to deepen analysis and uncover meaningful trends.
• Maintain and improve reporting templates, trackers and internal documentation.

Key Accountabilities – Commercial & Operational

• Support revenue planning, forecasting, billing checks and scope management.
• Identify upsell, cross-sell and growth opportunities based on performance data and client needs.
• Contribute to new business pitches, case studies and proposal development.
• Ensure smooth workflow management across all accounts, maintaining strong process discipline and deadline adherence.
• Mentor Account Executives and Account Managers, supporting their development and knowledge growth.

Core Competencies

• Client Leadership: Builds trust, communicates with authority, manages complex expectations and drives strategic conversations.
• Media Expertise: Deep understanding of search, social, programmatic and offline channels, including how they integrate.
• Analytical Strength: Highly comfortable with data, GA4, Looker Studio, attribution and performance modelling.
• Strategic Thinking: Able to connect insights, business objectives and media opportunities into clear strategic plans.
• Project & Workflow Management: Strong organisational skills, able to manage multiple workstreams with precision.
• Collaboration: Works seamlessly with Account Directors, activation teams and external partners; supports and mentors others.
• Commercial Awareness: Understands revenue models, scopes, profitability and how to grow accounts sustainably.

Experience & Requirements

• 4–5+ years in a media or marketing agency, with hands-on experience managing multi-channel campaigns across multiple platforms (Essential).
• Proven track record of leading client relationships and delivering measurable performance improvements.
• Strong working knowledge of Google Analytics, paid search, paid social and programmatic platforms.
• Experience presenting to senior stakeholders and leading strategic discussions.
• Confident managing budgets, forecasts, scopes and commercial processes.
• Enthusiastic, proactive and comfortable working both independently and collaboratively.