Paid Media Specialist

Salary Range: $60,000.00 To $65,000.00 Annually

Paid Media Specialist

Full Time

Exempt

Union Position

About the Adler Planetarium

The Adler Planetarium connects people to the universe and each other. Whether introducing a guest to the Ring Nebula, a neighborhood school to a community partner, a research team to a network of citizen scientists, or one staff member to another, the Adler’s focus on meaningful connections dates back nearly a century.

Today, the museum typically hosts nearly 400,000 visitors annually and reaches millions more through youth STEAM programs, neighborhood skywatching events, online citizen science, and other outreach efforts. With the Adler’s support, people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities gain the confidence to learn more about science and space discovery, and to explore their universe together under the sky we all share.

The Position

The Adler Planetarium is seeking a Paid Media Specialist to join our dynamic team on Chicago's Museum Campus. The Paid Media Specialist serves as the museum’s performance marketing and digital acquisition lead, responsible for planning, executing, and optimizing paid advertising campaigns that drive ticket sales, membership acquisitions, event attendance, and earned revenue. Reporting to the Associate Director of Marketing, this role manages the end-to-end paid media lifecycle across Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, and emerging ad platforms, while overseeing budget pacing and conversion tracking.

In close partnership with the Digital Marketing Specialist (Owned Media), this role ensures promotional campaigns are reinforced across commercial email deployments, conversion-focused landing pages, and UTM tracking architecture to maximize return on ad spend (ROAS) and patron conversion. This is a union position with the Adler Planetarium Workers United, AFSCME Council 31.

This individual will also be responsible for:

Paid Digital Advertising & Campaign Management (60%)

• Plan, build, execute, and optimize paid digital campaigns across Google Ads (Search, Display, YouTube, Ad Grants), Meta Ads Manager (Facebook, Instagram), and other paid platforms (TikTok, LinkedIn, retargeting networks) to hit ticket and revenue targets.

• Architect paid search structure, lead commercial keyword research to capture high-intent visitor search queries ("things to do in Chicago," "planetarium tickets"), and maximize Google Ad Grant performance and compliance.

• Manage day-to-day spend, bidding models, budget pacing, audience segmentation, and multi-variant creative/copy testing.

• Partner with Creative and Science content teams to commission high-converting visual and copy assets tailored for direct-response paid media.

• Coordinate paid media deliverables with external promotional partners, tourism bureaus, and media vendors.

Promotional & Direct-Response Email Marketing (15%)

• Execute promotional, transactional, and revenue-driving email campaigns (e.g., flash sales, exhibit openings) via integrations across Mailchimp, Salesforce, and Ticketure.

• Manage dynamic list segmentation and list hygiene specifically for active buyers and lapsed visitors.

Conversion Tracking, ROAS Analytics & Attribution (15%)

• Own full-funnel attribution, conversion tracking pixels (Meta Pixel, Google Tag Manager), and UTM taxonomy across all campaigns.

• Monitor multi-channel performance dashboards in GA4, Tableau, and ad platform reporting tools to evaluate ROAS, Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), and ticket conversion paths.

• Deliver regular pacing reports and post-campaign analysis with actionable recommendations for marketing leadership.

Website and User Experience Execution (5%)

• Provide support for UX improvements and content updates prioritized by the Associate Director of Marketing.

Other duties as assigned (5%)

• Assist with other marketing projects, operational duties, and priorities as assigned.

The Work Schedule

The typical work schedule for this position is 35 hours per week, from 9 AM to 5 PM, with a flextime and telecommuting option—2 days a week telecommuting and 3 days on-site at the museum.

The Compensation & Benefits (Full-Time)

Base Pay Range: $60,000-65,000/yr

Work-Life Balance

• 35-hour workweek

• Eligible to accrue up to 12 vacation days per year to start

• 3 sick days as of date of hire (can accrue up to 6.5 days per year)

• 7 Adler paid holidays

• 4 Personal Holidays (Prorated for new hires starting after January 1st)

• Flexible Work Arrangements

• Paid Family Bereavement Leave & Jury Duty

• Paid Parental Leave

Competitive Health Coverage

• Medical, Dental, & Vision insurance

• Healthcare, Dependent Care & Commuter flexible spending accounts

• Adler Paid Short-Term Disability insurance

Retirement Savings Plan

• 403 (b) plan with Adler match

• Adler match is 100% vested immediately

• Eligible to enroll as of the date of hire

Network of Support through our EAP programs

• Resources to help address emotional, legal, and financial issues

• Face-to-face, telephonic, and web-based services

• Free subscription to the Calm Premium app

Employee Loan Program

Discounted Onsite Parking Program

Free Entrance to Chicago area museums and cultural institutions

The Person

The Adler Planetarium is seeking a strategic, revenue-driven performance marketer who uses data and creative problem-solving to drive ticket sales and maximize campaign performance. The ideal candidate thrives as a cross-functional collaborator and transparent communicator who translates complex marketing analytics into actionable insights for diverse teams. Adaptable and accountable, this individual effectively juggles competing priorities, manages campaign budgets to strict deadlines, and proactively refines strategies to support changing business goals.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree or 5+ years of professional work experience

• Minimum of 3 years of relevant on-the-job digital marketing experience

• Demonstrable experience leading and managing SEO/SEM, email, paid social media ads, and/or display advertising campaigns

• Proven experience setting up and optimizing Google Ad campaigns

• Strong analytical skills and deep understanding of digital marketing metrics and KPIs

• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively across departments

• Working knowledge of web content management systems (CMS)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree or 5+ years of professional work experience with specialization in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Business Administration, or related field

• Digital marketing certifications, particularly in search and paid social (e.g., Google Skillshop, Meta Blueprint, HubSpot Academy)

• AI in Marketing specialization

• Working knowledge of and experience working in Salesforce, WordPress, and Mailchimp

• Basic knowledge of HTML and CSS

The Adler Planetarium is dedicated to complying with its Equal Opportunity employer obligations. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email the Human Resources Department at recruiting@adlerplanetarium.org and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Accommodation requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.