Head of Paid Media

This agency has quietly built one of the strongest media buying and performance creative operations in DTC ecommerce, working with hundreds of seven, eight, and nine figure brands across the US, UK, Australia and Europe. They're scaling fast, aiming to 4x the business over the next 12 to 18 months, and they need someone to step in as the number two to the COO and run the entire service delivery engine.

If you've spent years in agency life managing media buyers, saving accounts on the brink, and building the systems that keep a growing team from falling over, this is built for you.

This is a full-time, remote contractor role with EST working hours.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU

• Real seniority from day one. You report directly to the COO and effectively run the service delivery department. No waiting years to earn a seat at the table.
• Direct influence over how the agency scales. With headcount and client count both growing fast, the systems and standards you put in place now become how this agency operates for years.
• Client exposure at the top end. You'll be talking to founders running some of the most recognisable brands in ecommerce, not filtered through account managers.
• Full remote flexibility. Work from wherever you want, as long as you're comfortable overlapping with EST hours.
• You build the team. Team building and hiring for the service delivery department sits with you, not HR.

WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO

• Directly manage a team of performance marketers, creative strategists, editors and designers, currently four media buyers and one creative strategist and growing
• Run weekly 1:1s with every performance marketer to drive their development and hold the team to elite standards
• Own the client roster: review it weekly, keep dashboards accurate, and know exactly where every account stands
• Step in as the senior escalation point when a client relationship is in trouble, running retention calls and leading "task force" efforts to fix underperforming accounts
• Join onboarding calls and build direct rapport with top-tier clients so you're a known face, not a name on an escalation ticket
• Spot early warning signs of churn, silent clients or performance dips, before they become a problem
• Build and enforce the playbooks and SOPs that keep service quality consistent as the team scales
• Track performance across every client account against agency benchmarks

WHO YOU ARE

• You have 7+ years in performance marketing, specifically inside creative or paid media agencies serving DTC and ecommerce brands
• You've directly managed and led performance marketing teams, not just been part of one
• You're elite at de-escalating high-stress client situations and can walk into a tense call and leave the client more confident, not less
• You have a genuine "get things done" attitude and don't lose focus when a crisis lands
• You're comfortable being the senior escalation point when something goes wrong, not someone who passes problems upward
• You understand both sides of the business, media buying performance and the client relationship that sits on top of it
• You're comfortable working EST hours and communicating with US-based clients regularly

Bonus if you've:

• Been based in Canada or another EST-adjacent timezone
• Built or rebuilt SOPs and playbooks for a scaling agency team
• Managed a team through a period of fast headcount growth