Senior Strategist - Paid Media

SmartBug Media is the most decorated HubSpot agency, recognized as a leader in crafting digital solutions that empower organizations to thrive across the entire customer lifecycle. From marketing and sales to revenue operations, customer success, and e-commerce, we combine sound strategies, cutting-edge AI, and digital innovation to deliver solutions that de-risk the future and drive sustainable growth.

With a fully remote team of over 250 professionals, we excel at creating intelligent web and digital ecosystems—from corporate websites to complex web applications—seamlessly integrated with AI-powered solutions. By aligning SmartBug's expertise with our clients' unique business realities, we build scalable, innovative tools that become engines for growth, setting the course for long-term success.

The Senior Strategist, Paid Media is a seasoned digital strategist responsible for independently managing a portfolio of high-value or complex paid media accounts. This role requires advanced campaign strategy, sophisticated client relationships kills, and the ability to connect paid media performance to business outcomes. The Senior Strategist acts as the lead on all client communication and owns strategic planning, performance reporting, and optimization for their accounts. Sr. Strategists work with moderate oversight from their Lead and may supervise one or more junior team members.

This position is ideal for a paid media professional with strong leadership instincts,an analytical mindset, and experience managing multi-platform campaigns forclients with advanced needs such as multiple funnel stages, high-touch salescycles, or significant integration with CRM systems like HubSpot.

Responsibilities:
• Develop, implement, and optimize advanced paid media strategies across platforms like Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Ads.
• Customize strategies for clients with long sales cycles, niche targeting, multi-location structures, or multiple funnel stages.
• Translate business objectives into campaign strategy, creative briefs, budget plans, and KPIs.
• Analyze and interpret performance data to identify trends, generate insights, and drive continuous improvement.
• Build and manage reporting dashboards (NinjaCat, Databox, HubSpot) to communicate ROI clearly.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for all client communication on assigned accounts.
• Lead strategic client calls, providing both technical and high-level business recommendations.
• Maintain proactive client communication, anticipating needs and positioning the agency as a strategic growth partner.
• Deliver performance updates, QBRs, and optimization plans to ensure retention and growth.
• Present upsell opportunities and work with Group Leads or Directors on contract expansions.
• Partner with Account Specialists or junior team members to delegate tactical tasks and mentor execution quality.
• Collaborate with creative, dev, and strategy teams to ensure campaign assets meet performance goals.
• Train less experienced team members on advanced strategies, campaign troubleshooting, or reporting approaches.
• Contribute to internal education by sharing case studies, best practices, or new platform updates.

Required Experience and Qualifications:
• 5–6+ years of experience managing paid media campaigns with measurable ROI.
• Proven success managing large or complex accounts independently.
• Extensive hands-on experience with Google Ads, Meta Ads, and at least one additional platform (LinkedIn Ads, Microsoft Ads, TikTok, etc.).
• Advanced proficiency with HubSpot, especially in aligning paid media with lifecycle stages, lead scoring, workflows, and revenue attribution.
• Familiarity with reporting and analytics tools such as Google Analytics 4, Databox, and HubSpot dashboards.
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or a related field preferred.

Preferred Skills and Attributes:
• Confident strategist and communicator, capable of leading conversations with senior client stakeholders.
• Analytical and detail-oriented, with strong problem-solving capabilities.
• Skilled at balancing strategic planning and hands-on campaign execution.
• Organized and efficient with strong prioritization and time management.
• Passionate about digital marketing, client results, and continuous improvement.
• Comfortable mentoring others and contributing to team-wide knowledge sharing.

Performance in this role will be evaluated based on:
• Client retention and satisfaction
• Achievement of campaign goals (e.g., CPL, ROAS, lead quality)
• Revenue growth or upsell activity on managed accounts
• Accuracy and insightfulness of performance reportingInternal leadership and contribution to team development