Director, Media Planning

What to know

Lead a team of digital ad experts and contribute to campaigns that drive positive change in the world. You will manage and mentor staff and oversee the development and implementation of paid media strategies across clients ranging from nonprofits to advocacy groups to political campaigns. And, as a key partner to other business and craft leaders at Blue State, you’ll shape the work we do as an agency for our people and our clients.

If you want to mentor and grow a team of passionate individuals while contributing to the development and implementation of groundbreaking campaigns that will inspire and affect change, then this could be the role for you. 

We’d like to hear from you if you’re an experienced manager and team leader who has working knowledge of most digital media platforms and a knack for process. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

The Company 

Blue State is a purpose-driven agency. We partner with leading causes, brands, and campaigns and create real change. From Google and UNICEF to Amnesty International and Oxfam, we transform how brands and causes raise money, influence policy, build platforms, and grow communities of supporters. Led by the most creative and analytical minds from the political, nonprofit, and brand worlds, Blue State is an independent agency and has 150+ employees in the US and London.

A day in the life

• Shape and standardize our offerings across our capabilities – fundraising, mobilization, campaigns, and customer engagement. 
• Scale our operation through new talent, infrastructure, and platforms/partners. 
• Set expectations with media teams and project teams for deliverables, quality of work, and skill sets required.
• Guide clients at a high level as they build out their organization and programs for sustainable growth.
• Oversee a portfolio of key partners with accountability for program performance and client satisfaction.
• Lead business development opportunities, shaping our response to client challenges, driving upsell opportunities, and differentiating us from other agencies.
• As the ads world shifts, identify new markets and experiment with new approaches for our paid media services, specifically exploring a model that unites TV with digital.
• Oversee, mentor, and train staff to ensure execution of high-quality media programs.
• Identify processes, templates, and tools to help the team become more efficient and deliver its best work.
• Foster points of collaboration between Media Teams and other teams (Strategy, Design, Video, Creative/Content, Analytics) to strengthen our deliverables and programs.
• Build team culture and camaraderie.
• Be a role model and inspire others to do their best work.

The Team

As a leader of our global Paid Media practice, you’ll work closely with a cross-disciplinary group of colleagues on a variety of tasks to advance agency practices while leading your paid media colleagues across offices. We’re passionate, geeky, and care about our clients and their campaigns. Our passion and drive to achieve great results for causes we believe in inspires everything we do.

What we offer

• Unlimited time-off (inclusive of sick, personal, and vacation days)
• $1,250 annually in professional development funds
• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible and health savings accounts
• 401K & employer match
• Generous paid holiday schedule
• 12-week fully-paid parental leave for all parents-to-be
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Remote work flexibility

We approach in-office working with a hybrid model. On-site presence is welcome for US staff who are within commuting distance of the NY or DC office. Managers retain discretion to require in-person attendance for folks on their discipline or client teams as necessary, including for those whose roles require them to be in person.

The salary range for this position is $130,000-$150,000; compensation will be commensurate with experience.

Some things we're looking for

• 8+ years experience
• Expert understanding of paid media technology - paid social, SEM, DSPs, DMPs, ad servers and verification tools (Facebook, Google Ads, DCM, Yahoo DSP, DoubleVerify, LiveRamp)
• Experience managing paid media programs including acquisition, awareness, and persuasion
• Familiarity with the goals for political campaign media programs; expert understanding of political media programs and experience managing multi-million dollar media budgets desired
• Familiarity managing a media team of planners and buyers
• Familiarity with emerging media platforms such as TikTok, CTV/OTT, podcasts, and more
• Experience with  digital research tools such as Global Web Index and Statista
• Strong understanding of audience segmentation strategies
• Strong ability to analyze + interpret data to inform actionable insights to recommend & inform direct response acquisition, awareness, and persuasion campaigns
• Ability to effectively influence and communicate cross-functionally with all levels; exceptional verbal and written communication skills
• Strong presentation skills 
• Hands-on experience with developing and reporting on metrics and KPIs for business goals, process improvement projects, and campaign management
• Ability to both think strategically and execute tactically
• Ability to adapt to new situations, solve problems on the fly, and communicate with those around you. Teamwork and scrappiness required.
• Strong collaborator and relationship builder.
• A passion and curiosity for making change. This includes comfort with ambiguity, a restlessness that resists the status quo, and a commitment to quality that ensures we’re always making progress.
• Empathy, communication, respect, and the ability to act as a role model at Blue State.

At Blue State, diversity is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. We encourage those from underrepresented communities — women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, those with disabilities and people at all the intersections in between — to apply. Even if you don’t think your current skill set checks every box, but this role seems to align with your strengths, we want to hear from you.

Blue State is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible application and interview process. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, including the use of AI tools throughout the hiring process, please contact us at [email protected] with the subject line: Accommodation Request to get started.