Senior Manager, Paid Media
13 hours ago
New York
Job DescriptionOverview The Senior Manager, Paid Media and Partnerships plays a pivotal role within PartnerCentric's paid media organization, reporting to the VP of Influencer. This role combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution to design, grow, and optimize high-value paid media programs that drive measurable client revenue. This individual will help shape the future of performance-based marketing by blending intellectual curiosity, commercial acumen, and a forward-thinking approach to media investment across emerging ecosystems, including Paid Social, Expert Authority Media, Retail Media Networks, and AI-led advertising environments. This is a true player/coach role: you will both lead and develop a growing media team and stay deeply involved in strategy and execution for key accounts. Who You Are You're a strategic connector who thrives at the intersection of media, relationships, data, and innovation. You see the potential in new ecosystems, whether AI-native ad placements, Expert Authority platforms like Reddit or Quora, creator-driven video environments like YouTube, or retail media partners, and can translate that vision into actionable growth strategies. You are comfortable building and leading a team while remaining hands-on with planning, optimization, and partner management for priority clients. You're naturally curious, commercially sharp, and motivated by the challenge of building what's next in performance media. A Week in the Life As a Senior Partnership Manager, you will report to the VP of Influencer and be responsible for building out PartnerCentric's media team. You will support the company's paid media and publisher ecosystem strategy while actively collaborating with key clients on planning, optimization, and strategic initiatives. You will cultivate and manage strategic relationships across a broad and constantly evolving media and partner landscape, while coaching and developing team members. Your week might include: • Monday: Researching and analyzing the latest trends and challenges in paid media and Expert Authority ecosystems, such as AI-driven ad products, privacy regulations, or emerging Retail Media Networks (RMNs), to develop insights for internal teams and clients., • Tuesday: Leading or contributing to a thought leadership session with the VP of Influencer, account managers, and client services, discussing market shifts and actionable strategies for paid social, Expert Authority Media, and AI advertising tests., • Wednesday: Presenting to a key client about new media opportunities and providing data-driven, actionable recommendations to adjust their paid media mix and investment strategy, while modeling strong client-facing skills for more junior team members., • Thursday: Meeting with prospective or existing media partners (e.g., Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Quora, YouTube, retail media networks, AI platforms) to discuss collaboration opportunities and integrating them into both the company's strategy and client programs. Coaching a team member through a complex media proposal or negotiation., • Friday: Leading the creation of a report based on proprietary tools and data, showcasing the impact of paid media initiatives across channels and recommending next actions for clients, while identifying opportunities to standardize reporting and workflows for the growing media team.Key Responsibilities, • Strategic Partnership & Media Development, • Identify and cultivate relationships with high-value paid media partners across Paid Social (e.g., Meta, TikTok), Expert Authority Media (e.g., Reddit, Quora, YouTube), Retail Media Networks, and AI-driven advertising platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Perplexity)., • Explore and evaluate emerging media and partner categories, including AI-powered commerce, GEO/AEO partner targets, and new paid formats, for client fit and innovation potential., • Translate client objectives into integrated paid media strategies and partnership plans that align with their performance goals and drive incremental revenue., • Collaborate with the VP of Influencer and Director of Partnership Development to evolve PartnerCentric's paid media and partnership roadmap in line with market trends and client needs., • Relationship Management & Growth, • Own and manage a portfolio of strategic media and platform relationships; serve as the key point of contact for performance growth, co-marketing, and innovation discussions for select high-priority accounts., • Negotiate commercial agreements, media investment terms, and revenue share models with partners in alignment with client and agency objectives., • Act as an advocate for partners internally, ensuring their capabilities and value propositions are understood and leveraged across client teams., • Continuously test, measure, and refine paid media tactics to improve efficiency, scale, and incrementality, setting best practices the broader media team can follow., • Team Leadership & Media Team Build, • Serve as a player/coach: balance hands-on ownership of key accounts with the responsibility of building and leading a high-performing media team., • Manage and mentor a small team of Partnership Managers or Associates, with a focus on media strategy, execution excellence, and professional growth; support hiring and onboarding as the team scales., • Provide coaching on media strategy, analysis, negotiation, and communication skills; foster curiosity, accountability, and creativity within the team., • Partner with the VP of Influencer to develop scalable systems, processes, and documentation for media partner sourcing, enablement, trafficking, optimization, and performance tracking., • Cross-Functional Collaboration, • Partner closely with the Client Services and Data & Insights teams to ensure media strategies align with client performance goals and FUSE innovation priorities., • Contribute to thought leadership, partner education sessions, and case studies highlighting success stories and innovations across Paid Social, Expert Authority Media, Retail Media, and AI advertising., • Leverage AI-powered tools and PartnerCentric's proprietary FUSE technology to surface insights, assess performance, and identify areas of opportunity across channels and partners., • Collaborate with Influencer and partnership teams to ensure cohesive storytelling, testing frameworks, and measurement across media and partner initiatives.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), • Growth in paid media testing, adoption, and scaled investment across Paid Social, Expert Authority Media, Retail Media, and AI advertising partners., • Contributions of these paid media initiatives to client revenue, ROAS, and incremental performance., • Positive client feedback and satisfaction related to strategic paid media and partnership initiatives., • Successful hiring, development, and performance of the media team, including retention and demonstrated capability growth., • Increased adoption of RMN, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and Amazon-focused strategies by clients.Qualifications, • 5–8 years of experience in paid media, partnerships, influencer, or performance marketing, including a minimum of 3 years working directly in digital media planning, buying, or partner development., • Strong understanding of the digital media ecosystem, including Paid Social, content and creator-driven media, Expert Authority platforms, retail media, and emerging AI-led advertising environments., • Demonstrated experience operating as a player/coach: leading or managing others while owning strategy and execution for key accounts., • Highly curious, forward-thinking, and motivated to shape the future of performance and partnership-driven media., • Familiarity with Retail Media Networks (e.g., Criteo, Koddi, CitrusAds), Programmatic Platforms (e.g., TradeDesk, DV360), Expert Authority Media (e.g., Reddit, Quora, YouTube), and AI-led partner strategies to create visibility and ranking in Answer Engines is a plus., • Proven ability to manage media and platform relationships, negotiate agreements, and drive measurable results., • Experience managing or mentoring team members, including involvement in hiring, training, or process development., • Excellent communication, presentation, and collaboration skills; comfortable representing PartnerCentric to senior-level stakeholders., • Experience with affiliate or partnership platforms such as Impact, CJ, Partnerize, or Rakuten is a plus, especially where they intersect with paid media partnerships.