Director, Paid Search

Company Description
Starcom is the world's first standalone media agency, a storied innovator that continues to lead the way for many of the world's best brands.
Starcom has long been the professional birthplace and proving ground for marketing leaders – CEOs, CMOs, sales leaders, and technology pioneers – and we continue to drive the industry with peerless talent and relentless innovation.
From the start, we've known that achieving growth for our clients requires understanding and connecting with real people where they live and work, in ways they value.
In an AI era, we remain ""Guided By Humanity,"" a phrase that describes our foundational belief that human expertise must remain in the driver's seat, supported by the best processes and technology.
With our proprietary capabilities and Publicis Media's industry-leading resources and clout, we create ideas that move people and drive transformative business outcomes for brands.
Overview
The Director, Paid Search is responsible for leading the success of clients’ paid search campaign initiatives by providing thought leadership on campaign strategies and optimization, building strong relationships and establishing clear lines of communication with clients, partners, and internal stakeholders. As Director of Paid Search you'll manage the strategy and oversee planning, optimization and reporting of client SEM campaigns.
Responsibilities

Motivate and manage a paid search media team in the creation, development, and execution of campaigns to meet/exceed expectations within budget and time parameters
Foster strong relationships with internal teams and client groups
Develop action plans for achieving and measuring media success, including setting key metrics, measurement and optimization strategies
Advocate the value of paid search media and help educate clients, partners and internal teams on the latest developments and capabilities in this quickly evolving media channels
Provide team direction for improving campaign performance through optimization and/or implementing new features and strategies
Lead presentations to both clients and internal teams showcasing campaign strategy and performance results
Develop, manage, and monitor client P&L’s for assigned accounts
Implement holistic media planning
Introduces Process Development Input, Quality Assurance and Best Practices Input
Interfaces with other department leads to share ideas, communicate service offerings, and to identify and deliver new solutions for clients
Keeps senior management apprised of key client opportunities, potential risks and other key nuances which affect the health of the business
Prepares and presents annual financial and staffing plans
Develops a complete understanding of each client’s goals, markets, needs and expectations
Attends client meetings on ongoing basis, interface as needed with executive level and middle management level on client side during meetings and presentations
Advocates across functional areas within client relationships (e.g. IT professionals, marketing/product managers, C-level executives) to develop rapport and deliver complex solutions
Communicates and implements a Participation Planning Process for all assigned accounts
Solves client problems and uses conflict management skills within a professional environment
Manages strategy development and execution for complex marketing analysis disciplines, such as segmentation, attitudinal/motivational analysis, concept/copy testing, sales forecasting, response prediction, advertising effectiveness, consumer profiling, customer profitability analysis (lifetime value), media mix modelling, conversion attribution analysis and ROI measurement
Leverages syndicated digital research (e.g. ComScore, Nielsen, Hitwise) to benchmark trends and/or manage expectations of forecasted trends
Embraces and encourages a culture based on team work, collaboration, and intellectual curiosity
Motivates, leads, and manages internal teams, working collaboratively to drive programs that meet our clients’ business objectives
Drives innovation and provides thought leadership to internal and external stakeholders
Provide training as needed to team
Facilitates the development and documentation of best practices to improve operational efficiencies within the team and the group
Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or higher preferred, preferably in marketing, advertising, business, engineering, statistics, economics, sociology, or equivalent
7+ years of account management experience in online advertising (paid search), direct marketing, or e-commerce with increasing levels of responsibility within an agency or media company, including client-facing responsibilities
5+ years of experience in interactive marketing or business consulting using data and information to drive specific targeting and marketing recommendations
4+ years of team management experience
Possess strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret campaign performance data and provide insights and optimization recommendations
Understanding of best practices for leveraging social media for brand communication
Knowledge of statistical methods and testing methodology preferred
Deep knowledge of ad serving platforms and online analytic solutions
Excellent relationship building, diplomacy, and decision making skills with the ability to think creatively.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite with intermediate to advanced understanding of Excel
Additional Information
Starcom is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our employment decisions are made without regard to actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability, medical condition as defined by applicable state law, genetic information, marital status, military service and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.
Benefits
The Power of One starts with our people! To do powerful things, we offer powerful resources. Our best-in-class wellness and benefits offerings include:

Paid Family Care for parents and caregivers for 12 weeks or more
Monetary assistance and support for Adoption, Surrogacy and Fertility
Monetary assistance and support for pet adoption
Employee Assistance Programs and Health/Wellness/Comfort reimbursements to help you invest in your future and work/life balance
Tuition Assistance
Paid time off that includes Flexible Time off Vacation, Annual Sick Days, Volunteer Days, Holiday and Identity days, and more
Matching Gifts programs
Flexible working arrangements
'Work Your World’ Program encouraging employees to work from anywhere Publicis Groupe has an office for up to 6 weeks a year (based upon eligibility)
Business Resource Groups that support multiple affinities and alliances
The benefits offerings listed are available to U.S. based employees, are reviewed on an annual basis, and are governed by the terms of the applicable plan documents.
Compensation Range: $121,315 - $174,300 annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 02/16/2026.
If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact USMSTACompliance@publicis.com. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.