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- Tasks: Lead strategic direction and delivery of paid advertising for diverse clients.
- Company: Award-winning performance marketing agency with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Autonomy, influence, hybrid working model, and exposure to varied clients.
- Other info: Opportunity to drive innovation and develop high-performing teams.
- Why this job: Make an immediate impact in a respected, high-performing agency environment.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in senior paid media roles and strong leadership skills.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 72000 £ per year.
We are excited to be working with an award-winning performance marketing agency who are looking for an experienced Paid Media Director to step into a senior interim position, leading the strategic direction and delivery of its paid advertising function. This is a high-impact leadership role for someone who combines sharp commercial thinking with deep channel expertise and a hands-on approach to performance marketing. You will take ownership of paid strategy across a diverse client portfolio, ensuring consistent ROI, scalable growth, and best-in-class execution.
The Paid Media Director will be responsible for shaping and steering the agency's paid media output across multiple performance channels, while guiding a talented team of specialists and acting as a senior strategic partner to clients. This role requires someone confident operating at board level, comfortable managing significant media investment, and capable of driving innovation while maintaining operational excellence.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Strategic Oversight
- Define and evolve the paid media roadmap across all active accounts
- Build integrated, performance-led channel strategies aligned to commercial objectives
- Translate business targets into measurable KPIs and scalable activation plans
- Foster a culture of experimentation and structured testing to unlock incremental gains
- Maintain strong relationships with media owners and technology partners
- Team Leadership
- Lead, coach and inspire a multidisciplinary paid media team
- Establish clear standards, processes and channel best practice
- Encourage capability development and knowledge-sharing across the function
- Collaborate with senior leadership to ensure paid media aligns with broader agency growth plans
- Performance Management
- Oversee delivery across Paid Search, Paid Social, Programmatic, Video, Display and Affiliate channels
- Ensure optimisation frameworks drive efficiency, profitability and sustainable growth
- Champion robust measurement, attribution and data-led decision making
- Maintain rigorous budget pacing and forecasting controls
- Client Partnership
- Serve as a senior escalation point and strategic advisor for key accounts
- Present performance insights, forward-thinking strategy and growth recommendations with authority
- Build long-term partnerships through transparent communication and demonstrable results
- Work closely with other disciplines to deliver integrated solutions
- Growth & Innovation
- Monitor platform developments and emerging technologies
- Identify new opportunities, tools and channel expansion strategies
- Contribute to thought leadership and support new business activity where required
About You:
- Extensive experience in a senior paid media role within a digital or performance-led agency
- Deep channel expertise spanning Search, Social, Programmatic, Display and Affiliate
- Strong grasp of analytics, tracking, attribution models and performance measurement
- Proven ability to manage sizeable media budgets with clear commercial accountability
- Confident leader with a track record of developing high-performing teams
- Strategic, analytical and commercially astute
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, results-focused environment
What’s on Offer:
- A genuinely strategic interim position with autonomy and influence
- Exposure to a varied client base, from ambitious growth brands to established household names
- A collaborative, ambitious culture with a strong performance mindset
- Hybrid working model in Leeds
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Paid Media leader looking to make an immediate impact within a respected, high-performing agency environment. Apply today to hear more about this rare opportunity.
Interim Paid Media Director in Leeds employer: Zealous Agency
Contact Detail:
Zealous Agency Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Interim Paid Media Director in Leeds
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry and let them know you're on the lookout for opportunities. You never know who might have a lead or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its clients. Understand their paid media strategies and come armed with ideas on how you can contribute to their success. Show them you mean business!
✨Tip Number 3
Don’t just wait for job postings; be proactive! Reach out directly to agencies you admire, even if they’re not hiring. A well-timed email can open doors and show your enthusiasm for joining their team.
✨Tip Number 4
Finally, apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love hearing from passionate candidates ready to make an impact!
We think you need these skills to ace Interim Paid Media Director in Leeds
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Paid Media Director role. Highlight your strategic oversight and team leadership experience, as these are key aspects of the job.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're the perfect fit for this interim position. Share specific examples of how you've driven performance marketing success in previous roles and how you can bring that expertise to our agency.
Showcase Your Results: When detailing your past experiences, focus on measurable outcomes. We want to see how you've managed media budgets and achieved ROI, so include those impressive figures to grab our attention!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. This ensures your application gets to the right people quickly and shows us you're serious about joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Zealous Agency
✨Know Your Numbers
As a Paid Media Director, you'll need to demonstrate your grasp of analytics and performance measurement. Brush up on key metrics and be ready to discuss how you've driven ROI in past roles. Prepare specific examples that showcase your ability to manage sizeable media budgets effectively.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
This role requires strong team leadership skills. Think about how you’ve inspired and developed teams in the past. Be prepared to share your approach to coaching and fostering a culture of experimentation, as well as how you’ve established best practices in previous positions.
✨Align with Their Vision
Understand the agency's goals and how they align with your experience. Research their client portfolio and think about how you can contribute to their growth. During the interview, articulate how your strategic oversight can help evolve their paid media roadmap.
✨Be Ready for Scenario Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving abilities and strategic thinking. Prepare for scenarios where you might need to optimise campaigns or handle client escalations. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses clearly and effectively.