Head of Paid Media

📍 Location: Leeds – hybrid working

💰 Salary: £50,000–£65,000 depending on experience

Ready to take proper ownership of a paid media department?

We’re working exclusively with a fast-growing digital agency that is looking for a Head of Paid Media to lead, shape and scale its paid media offering.

This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who genuinely enjoys leading people, and is excited by where paid media is heading next. AI, automation, audience modelling, creative testing, platform changes — all of it. If that sounds like your kind of role, please keep reading.

You’ll lead and develop a paid media team, take senior ownership of key client relationships, and help shape how the agency delivers PPC over the next few years. There’s plenty already working well, but there’s also loads of room to build, improve, experiment and put your own spin on the department.

What You’ll Be Doing

✔ Leading the Paid Media department day-to-day across strategy, delivery, standards and account allocation

✔ Coaching, supporting and developing paid media specialists

✔ Taking senior ownership of larger paid media accounts, including retention, performance reviews and renewal conversations

✔ Getting hands-on with strategy and delivery where needed — especially on key accounts

✔ Building AI into paid media workflows across ad copy, auditing, reporting, audience modelling and creative testing

✔ Running account audits to spot weaknesses, opportunities and smarter ways to improve performance

✔ Leading client meetings with clarity, confidence and commercial understanding

✔ Producing strong presentations, pitch decks and strategic documents for clients and new business

✔ Writing and reviewing high-quality ad copy

✔ Keeping a close eye on Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok and wider platform changes

✔ Helping shape pricing, scopes, proposals and how PPC is packaged commercially

✔ Supporting pitches and new business conversations

✔ Being a credible, positive senior presence across the agency

What You’ll Bring to the Table

🎯 Experience &​ Skills

• Significant agency-side Paid Media experience — ideally 5+ years, with time spent in a senior or team-lead role

• Proven experience across Google Ads, including Search, Display, Shopping and Performance Max

• Strong paid social experience across platforms such as Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok

• Experience across both lead generation and eCommerce accounts

• Solid knowledge of GA4, Google Tag Manager and conversion tracking

• A good commercial brain — you understand PPC beyond clicks and leads, and can connect it back to business results

• Confident client-facing skills, especially with senior stakeholders and larger accounts

• Experience pitching PPC or contributing to new business

• Strong written communication skills across ad copy, presentations and client comms

• Proper leadership experience — someone who can coach, challenge and bring people on

💡 Mindset &​ Approach

• Curious, switched-on and genuinely excited by where paid media is going

• AI-fluent — not just “I have ChatGPT”, but interested in how AI can properly improve workflows and performance

• PPC-obsessed in the best way — always learning, testing and keeping pace with the platforms

• Commercially sharp, but still human and collaborative

• Calm under pressure and able to bring clarity when things get complicated

• Positive, generous with knowledge and good energy in the room

• Comfortable balancing leadership with hands-on account work when needed

Nice to Have

• Experience with Microsoft Ads, Pinterest Ads, Reddit Ads or programmatic platforms

• Experience with feed management or shopping campaign tools

• Looker Studio dashboard-building skills

• Google Ads or Meta Blueprint certifications

• Advanced Excel skills

• Experience helping grow or develop a paid media team

• Experience working across eCommerce, home, garden, FMCG or financial services clients

• Experience making smaller budgets work hard — not just managing huge spends

Why Join?

🌱 Real ownership — this is a proper Head of role, with space to shape the department

🤖 AI-forward environment — a business genuinely interested in using AI to work smarter, not just talk about it

📈 Growth stage — join an agency with momentum and ambition

👥 Team leadership — coach, support and raise the standard of a growing paid media function

🧠 Curiosity is valued — this is a place for people who want to keep learning, not coast

💬 Commercial influence — have a say in how PPC is packaged, pitched and grown

🏡 Hybrid working — Leeds-based with flexibility

Sound Like Your Kind of Challenge?

If you’re ready to lead a Paid Media team, shape an offering, embrace AI properly and help build something with real momentum, we’d love to hear from you. 🚀