Paid Media Performance Director - Focus Display & Paid Social

Paid Media Performance Director – Focus: Display & Paid Social

Who are we?

A world where complexity is the only constant demands a new breed of company. Brave Bison is a different beast: a media, marketing and technology company purpose built for the digital era.

Our universe is made up of award-winning business arms Brave Bison Performance, Brave Bison Commerce and SocialChain. And we’re underpinned by our very own social-first media network who deliver monthly views in the billions for some of the biggest channels in sport and entertainment across YouTube, Snap, Meta and TikTok.

We’re a global collective who live and breathe digital, working with some of the boldest brands in the world to capitalise on the complexity that defines the modern marketing landscape.

Our mission

New platforms, new behaviours, new audiences, new trends, new technologies, new regulations—our clients’ worlds get more complex daily. Their agency partnerships shouldn’t. It’s our job to cut through the chaos, make the complex simple and navigate a clear path to growth for them.

That’s why we make it our mission to capitalise on complexity for our clients—by crafting dynamic digital solutions that outpace tomorrow’s challenges.

Our values

We’re a proudly diverse business comprised of deep specialists across social media, digital marketing and technology. Although our skills, backgrounds and beliefs may differ, we are united by four core shared values:

• Bold Curiosity. We run at change and challenge convention because we love to push the boundaries of what the world thinks is possible. We champion discovery, go deep into our clients’ worlds and are always hungry to learn more about them, our specialisms and each other.
• Connected Clarity. We are focused in our collaboration — joining the right dots between our clients, our partners and our herd of experts to deliver agile solutions at speed and scale. We set a shared ambition from the outset, are transparent at every stage and always strive to make the complex simple.
• Positive Encouragement. We want to make working with us the best part of someone’s day. We lift one other up, find the fun in the day to day and are committed to ensuring everyone belongs.
• Constant Impact. We believe in outcomes over outputs. We’re goal orientated, results driven and data-led. We show up with passion every day. And we’re always honing our craft.

Brave Bison Performance

With over 20 years’ experience growing our clients’ businesses through digital media, we help brands leverage the right data, right partners, and right tech to capitalise on complexity and supercharge their online growth.

By going deep into our clients’ world, investing their budget where it will work the hardest and ensuring that we only win when they win, we stand for braver digital in a world of opportunity.

Role Overview

This leadership role involves managing a high-performing paid media team, developing forward-thinking client strategies, and driving innovation across display and paid social channels. You will deliver exceptional performance and growth for clients while advancing the agency’s paid media offering in line with industry trends.

This role is perfect for someone passionate about driving results, elevating teams, and shaping the future of paid media in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Role & responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Development
  • Lead a team of Strategists, Traders and Analysts.
  • Drive career progression by mentoring your team and fostering a collaborative culture.
  • Embed a structured training and development programme tailored to individual growth.
  • Motivate the team to achieve best-in-class performance and seamless execution.
• Client Strategy & Performance
  • Own the development of paid media strategies across Display and Paid Social, with flexibility to integrate into emerging media channels.
  • Monitor market trends, competitor activity, and platform innovations (e.g., automation, AI-driven optimisation).
  • Challenge client briefs to ensure achievable and high-impact outcomes.
  • Support in forecasting, attribution modelling, and measuring strategy effectiveness to drive tangible ROI.
  • Challenge and interrogate media plan proposals, trading and optimisation decision making by the strategists and trading team.
  • Responsible for campaign data integrity ensuring proper campaign tracking setups are in place.
  • Contribute to quarterly business reviews, elevating client strategy and proposing new opportunities for growth.
• Channel Innovation & Growth
  • Identify emerging trends and new partners to test.
  • Roll out innovative solutions, provide training across teams, and champion across the agency.
  • Collaborate with department heads to assess opportunities and integrate high-growth strategies.
• Senior Leadership Contributions
  • Optimise team resources and client profitability while ensuring operational alignment with commercial goals.
  • Lead pitches, develop thought leadership content (e.g., white papers), and represent the agency at industry events.
  • Partner with senior leadership to drive the evolution of the paid media department.

Qualification & skills requirements

• A proactive leader who thrives on collaboration, innovation, and results.
• Ability to inspire and nurture talent while embedding best practices
• Analytical and forward-thinking, with a proven ability to integrate new technologies and processes.
• Strong communicator, adept at managing relationships with internal teams and external partners.
• Proven experience in display, paid social, and wider biddable media channels.
• 1-2 years of team management with a track record of developing talent.
• Advanced understanding of platforms like DV360, Trade Desk, Quantcast, Meta Ads, LinkedIn, GA4, and reporting platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to implement data-driven strategies and maximise ROI.

What you’ll get

Our people make us who we are, so to make sure we attract and retain the best and brightest in the industry, we offer an attractive benefits package.

But not only that, we are the UK’s first carbon neutral agency (a status we have held since 2018), with a serious commitment to monitoring and reducing the impact our work has on the planet across three core sustainability pillars of Greenhouse Gases, Waste & Recycling and Sustainable Consumption.

Then there’s a whole host of benefits – from discounted gym memberships and free eye tests to an employee pension scheme and enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption package. Here’s a snapshot of just some of the benefits we think you might also like:

• Dynamic working: To keep that work-life harmony in check, we’re flexible on where and when you work
• Private medical insurance: To keep you fighting fit and give you and your family peace of mind.
• Income protection: We know it feels good to be covered, just in case.
• Calm Subscription: Now more than ever, it’s important to mind your mind!
• 25 days annual leave: This increases to 27 days after three years with us, and then increases every subsequent year up to a max. of 30 days
• Christmas closure: No need to save holiday days for the Christmas closure period. It’s on us!
• Birthdays off: One extra day to celebrate your big day
• Summer hours: Between June and Aug we finish at 15.00 every Friday.
• Online coaching: Unlimited coaching via MoreHappi
• Remote Working: Work abroad for up to one month a year.
• Performance & Salary: Reviewed twice a year for everyone.

Finally, we’re proud and committed to being an equal opportunity workplace, providing equal opportunities for all and treating all existing employees and all job applicants in the same way, regardless of their age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity status and marital & civil partnership status.

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