Paid Media Manager - Manchester
My client, is looking for an experienced Paid Media Manager to join their growing business and play a pivotal role in the next phase of its growth.
Reporting directly to the CEO, this is a hands-on role for an ambitious and commercially minded paid media specialist who wants the opportunity to build, shape and scale a high-performing acquisition function from the ground up.
Having acquired and successfully grown the brand, the business is now entering an exciting period of expansion, with ambitious plans to increase transactions significantly over the coming months. As such, we are looking for someone who can take ownership of paid media strategy and execution while helping define the future structure of the marketing team as the business grows.
This role offers the rare opportunity to combine the excitement of a scale-up environment with the security and backing of an established, successful group.
The Opportunity
You will be responsible for planning, managing, developing and optimising paid media campaigns across multiple digital channels, driving customer acquisition, lead generation and commercial growth.
Initially, this is a highly hands-on position with no direct reports. We are looking for someone who enjoys rolling their sleeves up, taking ownership and delivering results. As the business continues to grow, there will be significant opportunity to influence future investment, team structure and resource requirements.
Key Responsibilities
* Own the paid media strategy across Search, Display, Paid Social, Video and Retargeting channels.
* Manage and optimise campaigns across:
* Google Ads (Search, Display and Performance Max)
* Google Display Network
* Meta Ads Manager
* Microsoft Advertising
* YouTube Ads
* TikTok Ads
* Programmatic DSPs
* Drive high-quality customer acquisition and lead generation at scale.
* Continuously monitor and improve campaign performance against key commercial KPIs including CPA, CPL, ROAS and revenue.
* Work directly with the CEO to provide meaningful insight into marketing performance and investment decisions.
* Analyse campaign, customer and business data to identify growth opportunities.
* Maintain complete ownership of budget allocation and performance reporting.
* Build robust reporting frameworks using GA4, Google Tag Manager and Looker Studio.
* Develop testing strategies across creative, audience targeting, landing pages and bidding approaches.
* Work closely with internal stakeholders and creative teams to deliver high-performing campaigns and assets.
* Make recommendations regarding future investment, technology, agency support and team growth.
Who We're Looking For
The ideal candidate will:
* Have a minimum of 3 years' experience managing significant paid media budgets in-house.
* Be highly commercial and understand that marketing investment must deliver measurable business outcomes.
* Possess excellent analytical skills and be comfortable interpreting large data sets to support decision-making.
* Have a strong understanding of customer acquisition, lead generation and conversion optimisation.
* Be confident discussing:
* What was spent
* Where it was spent
* What return it generated
* How performance can be improved
* Be comfortable working independently and taking ownership of results.
* Have experience scaling performance marketing activity in a fast-paced commercial environment.
* Demonstrate strong budget management and forecasting capabilities.
* Be naturally curious, proactive and solutions-focused.
* Preferably have experience within automotive, car finance, fintech, lead generation, retail or other performance-driven sectors, although candidates from other backgrounds will also be considered.
Essential Skills & Experience
* Google Ads
* Meta Ads Manager
* Microsoft Advertising
* YouTube Ads
* TikTok Ads
* Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
* Google Tag Manager
* Looker Studio
* Attribution and performance reporting tools
* Campaign automation, audience automation and smart bidding strategies
* Strong Excel and data analysis skills
Why Join?
* Direct access to and mentorship from the CEO.
* Genuine opportunity to build and shape a marketing function.
* Significant autonomy and ownership.
* Opportunity to influence future team growth and recruitment.
* Join a business with ambitious growth plans and substantial investment.
* Hybrid working (approximately 3 days per week in the office initially).
* Free parking.
* Hapi Benefits Programme.
* Employee Assistance Programme.
Exceptional candidates with a proven track record of delivering commercial growth through paid media will also be considered.