Job Description

LONDON, UK (Hybrid Working - 3 days in the office per week)

A benchmarked salary between £53,250 to £63,750 Your salary level is determined by skills and experience within our progression framework.

Croud is a global, full service digital marketing agency with a unique business model that helps businesses drive sustainable growth in the new world of marketing. Croud was recently named a Sunday Times Best Place to Work for the second year in a row, and was named Performance Marketing Employer of the Year by PMW.

At Croud, we unlock potential by elevating our people, clients, and communities within a rapidly advancing and complex economy. We operate as a unique scaled network of Intelligent, Creative Specialists, enabling us to deliver superior brand outcomes and unlock potential for our people, our clients and our communities.

Our culture is strategically driven and inspired by a shared long-term vision. It is collaborative and connected, with a focus on continuous learning and mutual support.

We are energised by future thinking, driving innovation to achieve better outcomes. We are instinctively generous, actively including and empowering our people. Above all, we are purpose-driven, committed to positively impacting our people, the planet, and our global communities.

The Paid Media Account Director is a strategic leader responsible for the commercial success, technical architecture, and operational excellence of a client portfolio. You act as the lead for your client set and platform partners. Your mandate is to build future-fit objectives designed to appease your clients objectives. It’s important that you lead by example and help to cultivate a high-performance culture among your reporting managers and executives.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Strategic Architecture & Commercial Growth

You'll be accountable for the overarching strategic vision and commercial expansion of your portfolio.

• Account Leadership: Lead the strategic planning process for high-value, complex accounts. Ensure all roadmap initiatives actively shape and improve the client's commercial outcomes.

• Cross-Channel Excellence: Architect cohesive, multi-discipline media strategies. Create blueprints for cross-channel integration that seamlessly connect Paid Search, Social, and in some cases other digital channels.

• Commercial Expansion: Proactively identify, pitch, and lead cross-departmental growth opportunities (upsells/cross-sells) to enhance long-term client partnerships and agency revenue.

• Accurately Forecast: Be able to accurately produce forecasts across your client set ensuring we model the impact of market trends, seasonality, and the implementation of tactical initiatives confidently.

2. Technical Innovation & Quality Control

You'll define "what good looks like" and ensure your department operates at the forefront of industry technology.

• Technical Troubleshooting & Strategy: Navigate high-level technical barriers to client growth. Architect technical data strategies that solve for privacy-related data gaps (e.g., cookie depreciation, iOS shifts).

• Bidding & Campaign Structure: Set the vision for how the client set structures that work for maximum scale.

• Automation Leadership: Contribute directly to the agency’s internal automation adoption driving a "tech-first" culture across your team.

• Risk & QA Management: Manage commercial risk across the client set by defining and enforcing rigorous, system-level Quality Assurance (QA) standards.

3. Creative Strategy & Industry Influence

You'll elevate the agency's output by integrating creative strategy and leveraging global partnerships.

• Creative-Led Performance: Set the standard for creative strategy and media integration within the department. Confidently present creative-led performance strategies as well as rooting your recommendations in data.

• Platform Partnerships: Influence platform partners (e.g., Google, Meta) at a senior management level. Ensure the department maintains "Best in Class" agency status and secures early access to critical betas.

• Channel Development: Identify long-term commercial opportunities in emerging channels and lead the agency through major industry shifts.

4. Operational Leadership & Team Culture

You'll be a mentor to the leaders below you and a protector of the agency’s operational efficiency.

• Workload & Prioritisation: Manage competing priorities across departments. Protect your team’s focus and capacity by confidently pushing back on low-value, non-strategic work requests.

• Career Development: Manage the career progression of a diverse team of SAMs, Managers, and Executives. Handle conflict effectively and drive a positive, inclusive, and high-performance culture.

• Systems & Efficiency: Design and implement team-wide systems for operational efficiency, ensuring that the entire pod is focused on high-impact, commercially viable tasks.

• Internal Margin Management: Have oversight of internal budgets that contribute to the overall profitability of your client set.

• Internal Stakeholder Management: Maintain complete, real-time visibility over all account activities to provide immediate, accurate updates to internal teams.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Degree level education or relevant equivalent experience

• In-depth demonstrable experience in either Paid Social and/or PPC advertising

• Excellent communication, organisation, and presentation skills

• A mathematical and analytical mind

• Excellent Microsoft Office skills which must include Excel, Word and PowerPoint

• Proven track record of working to deadlines

• The ability to autonomously identify opportunities, generate ideas and formulate strategies

• Extensive line management experience, mentoring & training

• Proven experience in client expectation management roles and situations, able to manage and direct client expectations

COMPANY BENEFITS

Croud operates a hybrid working model with a minimum of 3 days a week based in our London office and the remaining days from home if you wish.

Croud offers a clear path to progression for all members of staff. We are committed to offering development opportunities alongside a support system of regular performance reviews. The opportunities are endless!

On completion of the three-month probation period, every employee is eligible for the benefits listed on our careers site which include:

• Sabbatical: Paid sabbatical at 7 years with an option to take it unpaid at 5 years

• 25 days holiday a year

• Discretionary annual performance based incentive

• Sale commission

• Recruitment referrals bonus

• Health & Wellbeing contribution

• 2 Recharge Days each holiday year

• Ride to Work scheme

• Railcard

• Season Ticket loan

• Home office screen

• Free fruit, breakfast cereals, snacks and tea & coffee in the office

• Enhanced Primary and Secondary family leave as well as extended Parental Leave and Shared Family Leave

• Life insurance and income protection

• Medical Cash Plan

• Pension

• Curated 3rd party learning platform as well as access to Croud Campus (our bespoke learning and development platform)

• Peer to peer recognition scheme 'bonusly'

• Team off-sites/regular socials

• Year-round holiday parties

• Flexible working options

• Day to make a difference

Standard hours are from 9.00am to 5.30pm, there’s flexibility if agreed in advance with your line managers (it may also be necessary on occasions to work outside of these hours).

Croud is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. All candidates will be assessed based on merit, qualifications and their ability to perform the requirements of the role.

Please note: Internal candidates may be considered for this position as part of the selection process, in line with our commitment to transparent and fair recruitment.

OUR VALUES

At Croud, our vision centres around the idea of unlocking potential. We do this by elevating everyone in an inclusive and progressive culture, empowering individuals to deliver their best work. This means we build better brand outcomes, and unlock potential for our people, our clients and our communities.

We live and breathe five core values that foster a culture where everyone can thrive. Our commitment to elevating each other is fundamental to both our cultural and business success. The ideal candidate will excel in and demonstrate the following:

• In it together - our value on integration, collaboration and outcomes

• Eye on the future - our value on futurism, creativity and passion

• Generous in spirit - our value on people, development and inclusion

• Do what you say - our value on integrity and accountability

• Make a difference - our value on purpose and impact