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Associate Director, Paid Search

New York, NY, Irvington, NY

Activation - The Operators & Negotiators

At Attention Arc, we exist to make media matter. As part of our Activation team — the Operators & Negotiators — you guide how paid search strategies come to life with intention, clarity, and measurable impact. Associate Directors are both strategic architects and people leaders — shaping the roadmap for client success while elevating the craft, thinking, and collaboration of the team.

In this role, you’ll lead multi-account portfolios, drive sophisticated search strategies, partner directly with senior clients, and mentor a growing team. You bring depth of expertise, a point of view shaped by curiosity and analysis, and the leadership instincts needed to help people do their best work. You ensure that every decision reflects our values, sharpens performance, and strengthens the story of how we make media matter.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

You’ll lead paid search strategy, guide a team of practitioners, and steward client relationships with clarity and confidence. You will model expertise, simplicity, collaboration, and care in everything you do. Core responsibilities include:

  • Bring strong strategic perspective and craft mastery that elevates team credibility and strengthens trust with senior clients.

  • Own paid search strategy across a multi-client or high-complexity portfolio, aligning program direction to broader business, audience, and channel goals.

  • Design and oversee optimization frameworks, testing agendas, learning agendas, and measurement approaches that improve both performance and understanding.

  • Synthesize platform signals, market trends, audience insights, and competitive intelligence into clear strategic recommendations.

  • Communicate with clarity and purpose — translating complex analytical stories into simple, compelling narratives that move clients and teams forward.

  • Partner closely with Planning, Strategy, Analytics, Creative, and Account teams to build cohesive, audience-driven approaches to media.

  • Support pacing, forecasting, investment decisions, and budget reallocation strategies with precision and clear rationale.

  • Oversee executional excellence across tagging, QA, trafficking, reporting, and platform stewardship.

  • Lead, coach, and develop a team of Analysts, Specialists, and Supervisors — providing direction, elevating craft, and giving honest, empathetic feedback.

  • Identify and escalate risks proactively, offering solutions that model calm problem-solving and operational leadership.

  • Champion innovation: evaluate new platform features, automation, betas, and AI-driven tools; recommend how and when to test or scale.

  • Represent paid search expertise in client meetings, cross-team forums, and larger integrated presentations.

  • Contribute to new business conversations by shaping thoughtful, insight-led search strategies.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

You bring a balance of strategic leadership, craft expertise, operational rigor, and people development. You model the agency-wide competencies and set the standard for how others show up.

Qualifications & Skills

  • 6–8 years of hands-on paid search experience, including significant time owning strategy for complex or enterprise accounts.

  • Strong command of bidding automation, query and audience strategy, measurement frameworks, competitive analysis, and full-funnel search planning.

  • Demonstrated ability to craft and articulate strategic narratives — in client decks, in meetings, and cross-functionally.

  • Experience forecasting budgets, managing pacing, and making investment decisions tied to business outcomes.

  • Expertise in interpreting performance data, diagnosing issues, and translating findings into clear recommendations.

  • Experience coaching and leading teams; ability to provide clear direction, constructive feedback, and growth-oriented support.

  • Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.

  • Comfort presenting to senior stakeholders and influencing decisions with insight, clarity, and confidence.

WHO YOU ARE

You are a thoughtful leader who knows how to balance deep craft expertise with strategic perspective. You elevate the work, the team, and the thinking around you. You:

  • Lead All In, owning your portfolio with intention, building strong strategic plans, and setting high standards for craft, rigor, and follow-through.

  • Operate with No Sidelines, building cross-functional cohesion, amplifying team thinking, and creating an environment where collaboration accelerates progress.

  • Move With Curiosity, exploring beyond surface-level results, asking sharper questions, testing smarter hypotheses, and bringing a point of view shaped by insight and learning.

  • Communicate with Truth With Heart, offering direct, honest guidance with empathy, clarity, and respect — whether supporting teammates, advising clients, or navigating challenges.

You bring maturity, confidence, and a steady presence. You thrive in ambiguity, make space for diverse perspectives, and know how to turn complex information into clear action. Most importantly, you lead in a way that strengthens both performance and people.

SALARY & COMPENSATION

We believe in transparency and fairness as part of how we show up with care and integrity. The salary range for this role is $110,000 – $130,000, commensurate with experience, skills, and location.

In addition to base salary, this role is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package, which may include health coverage, retirement savings, paid time off, and opportunities for growth and development.

We approach compensation as part of a broader commitment to your growth—ensuring you’re supported, recognized, and able to build a meaningful career here.

WHO WE ARE

Attention Arc is a modern media agency built on a simple belief: we exist to make media matter. Media is too big to take for granted and too powerful to leave to chance. We bring together expertise, creativity, technology, and human attention to turn insight into impact and make every media dollar work smarter.

Our culture is shaped by our values:
All In — we show up with intensity and ownership.
No Sidelines — we collaborate without ego or boundaries.
Move With Curiosity — we ask why, explore boldly, and learn fast.
Truth With Heart — we communicate with honesty and empathy.

We are human-led, AI-accelerated, and purpose-driven. And we’re building a future where our work and culture speak for themselves.

 

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