Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Associate Directors — setting direction, aligning on priorities, and creating conditions where high-caliber practitioners perform at their ceiling
• Translate executive direction into weekly priorities that are immediately actionable. No ambiguity about what matters most, no gap between strategy and execution
• Foster a culture where accountability is structural and excellence is the baseline, not the aspiration
• Invest in the growth of your Associate Directors and keep an eye on who's ready to join their ranks from the strategist team
• Stay close enough to every account to catch friction before the client names it. We have proprietary, proactive sentiment analysis technology baked into out tech platform, Stratos
• Build a culture of early escalation and proactive communication across your team.
• Ensure every client engagement reflects Directive's methodology — LTV:CAC modeling, DiscoverabilityOS strategy, Share of SERP, and Functional Content.
• Own the standard for client-facing work before it leaves the department.
• Build the QA cadence and feedback loops that make quality consistent — not reactive.
• Show up for clients with the confidence and credibility of someone who has done this before. This will primarily be through monthly leadership meetings or on large accounts.
• When a client relationship needs senior attention, you're the first call — with a clear diagnosis and a path forward.
• Own account assignments and team utilization. Match talent to account complexity in a way that supports both performance outcomes and department gross margin.
• Maintain clear visibility into capacity so resourcing decisions are proactive, not reactive.
• Own the candidate pipeline from sourcing through finalist presentations for roles within your team. The VP will support here in different stages of the hiring process.
• Hire for the ceiling, not just the role. You know the difference.

Requirements

• 8+ years in paid media
• Significant time spent as a Director or Associate Director at a B2B or SaaS-focused agency
• A track record of directing experienced practitioners — coaching strong ASDs, aligning them on priorities, and moving a high-performing team with speed and clarity
• Deep fluency in paid search and paid social (Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn required)
• Programmatic experience a plus
• Mastery of B2B performance measurement — LTV:CAC modeling, pipeline attribution, SQL-focused goal setting
• Financial literacy at the department level — P&L awareness, utilization management, and the ability to connect staffing decisions to margin outcomes
• The kind of client presence that comes with seniority — calm, credible, and trusted in a room when the stakes are high
• A genuine drive to stay ahead of where performance marketing is going, including the role of AI and automation in what excellent work looks like

Preferred

• Programmatic experience a plus
• Experience with AI and automation in performance marketing

Benefits

• 100% employer-paid plan for you and a 50% employer contribution for your dependents (US, CAD, MX)
• Medical, dental, vision plans, disability, and life insurance coverage for you and your family that fit your lifestyle
• Mental - Access to certified therapists through Spring Health , membership to Headspace
• Physical - Physical therapy through Omada, thousands of Aaptiv virtual workouts , complimentary One Medical membership for primary and virtual care
• Unlimited PTO (2-week minimum), Paid Company Holidays, Your Birthday Off, End of Year Recharge (Closed December 24 - January 1), Paid Parental Leave
• Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 3% company match
• Annual bonus based on tenure, which scales in total amount over time
• Annual Company-wide Retreat