Associate Director, Paid Social

Associate Director, Paid Social

Darkroom is hiring for our Paid Media team, looking for an Associate Director, Paid Social — a senior performance leader who combines deep platform expertise with strategic vision, team leadership, and executive-level client management. This is not a tactical execution role; it demands the ability to architect full-funnel paid social strategies, lead a team of practitioners, and drive measurable revenue outcomes across a portfolio of high-growth brands.

The ideal candidate is a recognized expert in Meta direct response advertising with a proven track record of scaling ad accounts well beyond $1M USD per month, building and mentoring high-performing teams, and serving as a trusted strategic advisor to senior client stakeholders. You think in systems, not campaigns — and you hold yourself accountable to the business outcomes that matter.

You'll report to the Managing Director of the department and serve as a senior leader within the Paid Media practice, owning the strategy, performance, and growth of a portfolio of key accounts. You'll collaborate closely with Creative, Analytics, Brand, and Client Strategy teams, and will be responsible for developing the next generation of paid social talent at Darkroom.

This is a fast-paced, high-accountability environment designed for marketers who are ambitious, curious, and ready to grow. You'll gain hands-on experience in a broad range of platforms and verticals, while developing the skills needed to lead performance strategies end-to-end.

Darkroom is a career incubator for ambitious talent looking to operate at the intersection of business, design, and innovation.

• Own and drive the overarching paid social strategy across a portfolio of high-growth U.S. brands, ensuring alignment between media investment, creative output, and business objectives.
• Serve as the executive point of contact for senior client stakeholders — presenting quarterly business reviews, growth roadmaps, and performance forecasts to CMOs and marketing leadership.
• Partner with the Managing Director to define team OKRs, capacity planning, and service delivery standards across the Paid Social practice.
• Champion Darkroom's paid social point of view, staying ahead of platform changes, algorithmic shifts, and emerging formats to inform both client strategy and internal best practices.
• Lead the development of annual and quarterly paid media plans, including budget allocation, channel mix, audience strategy, and creative roadmaps.
• Oversee campaign architecture, optimization frameworks, and testing methodologies across 8–15 paid media accounts with aggregate monthly spends ranging from $500K–$5M+.
• Drive best-in-class performance across Meta, Tik Tok, Pinterest, Axon, and CTV, with deep mastery of direct response principles and short-form video creative strategy.
• Establish and enforce rigorous KPI frameworks — CPA, CAC, iROAS, nCAC, MER, aMER, CTR, TSR, and Hold Rate — ensuring data-driven decision-making at every level.
• Architect and pressure-test attribution models in partnership with Analytics, ensuring clients have a clear and accurate view of cross-channel performance.
• Proactively identify growth opportunities through competitive intelligence, audience expansion, and creative iteration — translating insights into actionable channel strategies.
• Serve as the senior creative strategist on accounts, guiding clients and internal creative teams on hook construction, format selection, messaging hierarchy, and creative testing frameworks.
• Develop scalable creative testing systems that connect production investment directly to performance outcomes.
• Advise clients on creative budget allocation across UGC, motion, static, and short-form video to maximize return at each funnel stage.
• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Paid Social Managers and Specialists, setting clear performance expectations and fostering a culture of accountability and craft.
• Conduct structured performance reviews and build individualized growth plans for direct reports.
• Establish internal quality standards for campaign builds, reporting, and client deliverables — and ensure consistent adherence…