Managing Director, Head of Paid Social

Job Description

Job Description

WHO WE ARE

Crossmedia is the global media independent. We're committed to doing media and business the right way, guided by the principles of TRUST, REASON and the Pursuit of HAPPINESS. Crossmedia US was founded in NY in 2000 and is one of the largest minority-owned full-service media planning & buying agencies in the nation. We are 500+ Crossmedians worldwide with big ambitions to continue to grow with soul. 

We focus on what media agencies should do: create innovative connections between brands and people regardless of channel or budget. And we do it in an honest way. We are and always have been a values-based organization. We earn our clients TRUST by ensuring media transparency in our business model and objectivity in decision-making. We apply REASON & logic to finding solutions to our clients' greatest business challenges. The Pursuit of HAPPINESS matters to us. Big time. We invest in each colleagues' professional & personal wellbeing and growth. It's why we have countless initiatives, clubs & cultural events dedicated to our people and why we have been the top ranked media agency named to Ad Age's Best Places to Work for the past seven years in a row.

We have offices in the US, London and Germany. Our client roster includes U.S. Bank, Invesco, Newell Brands, NASCAR, Planet Fitness, American Cancer Society, Ricola, Herschend Family Entertainment, Zalando, Edible Arrangements, Citizens Bank, and more.

 

 

 

THE ROLE

Paid social is evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities for brands to engage audiences and drive business results. We are looking for a senior leader with deep expertise, a strong point of view, and a clear vision for the future of paid social.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Integrated Investment, the Managing Director, Head of Social will serve as Crossmedia's senior paid social expert and strategic leader. This role will lead the agency's paid social strategy, capabilities, and point of view across audience development, activation, optimization, measurement, platform innovation, and emerging opportunities.

You'll advise senior clients, lead a team of 25+ social professionals, and partner across Planning, Analytics, Paid Search, Programmatic, Creative, and Investment to ensure social is integrated into broader media strategies. You'll also help evolve CrossSocial, identifying opportunities to connect paid social with creators, influencers, content, and experiential capabilitie

YOUR OBJECTIVES

• Lead the practice: Set the strategic vision and standards for Crossmedia's paid social offering and continuously advance its capabilities and point of view.
• Advise clients: Bring strategic perspective to complex business challenges and develop differentiated, audience-first strategies that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Develop talent: Lead and grow a high-performing team of 25+ people while fostering accountability, collaboration, curiosity, and continuous improvement.
• Drive growth: Strengthen client relationships, identify new opportunities, and contribute to retention, expansion, and new business.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Paid Social Expertise

• Serve as Crossmedia's senior paid social subject-matter expert and strategic voice.
• Establish best practices across strategy, audience development, activation, testing, optimization, and measurement.
• Translate consumer behavior, data, creative, and platform capabilities into actionable media strategies.
• Evaluate emerging platforms, formats, technologies, and trends and determine their relevance for clients and Crossmedia.
• Partner across disciplines to ensure social strategies are integrated, data-informed, and connected to business outcomes.

Client & Business Leadership

• Build trusted relationships with senior clients and serve as a strategic advisor on social and broader media opportunities.
• Lead senior-level strategy, planning, presentations, and business reviews.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen client strategies, expand relationships, and drive growth.
• Develop appropriate team structures and staffing plans, scope work effectively, and align resources to client needs and budgets.
• Contribute to new business through differentiated social expertise and thought leadership.

Team & Practice Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of 25+ social professionals.
• Set a high bar for strategic thinking, client leadership, and execution.
• Strengthen capabilities through talent development, training, knowledge-sharing, and evolving best practices.
• Attract and retain exceptional paid social talent.

CrossSocial

• Help shape the evolution of CrossSocial, with paid social as its core strategic and performance capability.
• Identify opportunities to integrate creators, influencers, content, and experiential capabilities when they add strategic value.
• Build scalable approaches and partnerships that expand Crossmedia's social capabilities.

REQUIREMENTS 

• 12+ years of paid social experience, including significant senior leadership experience within an agency, platform, or client-side environment.
• Deep expertise across paid social strategy, audience development, activation, optimization, testing, and measurement, with a strong understanding of the broader social ecosystem, including platforms, consumer behavior, emerging technologies, and creator dynamics.
• Ability to translate business objectives, audience insights, and data into sophisticated, audience-first strategies and a strong understanding of how Social connects with Paid Search, Programmatic, Planning, Analytics, Creative, and broader media.
• Demonstrated success serving as a trusted strategic advisor to senior client stakeholders, with the credibility and point of view to serve as an external voice in the broader marketplace.
• Strong commercial acumen, with experience contributing to client growth, retention, expansion, and/or new business.
• Proven experience leading and developing large, multidisciplinary teams, with a track record of building high-performing organizations and growing senior talent.
• A genuine commitment to talent development, including coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and creating clear opportunities for people to grow into expanded leadership roles.
• Strong executive presence and exceptional communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with the ability to influence and inspire stakeholders at every level, from junior talent to C-suite clients and partners.
• Partners closely with Centers of Excellence leads to build a consistent, collaborative, and best-in-class Social practice across the agency.
• A hands-on leadership approach, with the ability to operate strategically while remaining connected to clients, the work, and the team.
• A strong point of view, entrepreneurial mindset, and willingness to challenge conventional thinking.

CROSSMEDIA BENEFITS

Our principles of Trust, Reason, and the Pursuit of Happiness are brought to life through benefits that recognize and support the diversity and physical, emotional, and professional well-being of our people, including:

• Flexibility to work in hybrid manner with in-office and work from home options (depending on role). 
• Open/Flexible PTO/Annual leave with US & UK specific policies 
• Sponsored healthcare options and agency-wide physical & mental health support 
• 401k with company match (USA), and generous Pension (UK) 
• Paid sabbatical at significant milestone anniversaries
• Generous paid parental leave policy
• Life milestone recognition & support
• The Pursuit of Happiness Fund devoted to helping Crossmedians find their happy (be it travel, enrichment class, fitness membership or professional development)
• Cell phone/tech reimbursement
• Student Loan payment plan (US)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Learning & Development and training programs
• And burgers – lots and lots of burgers

  COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Diversity is in our DNA. As a minority-owned company, our commitment to an inclusive environment has long been embedded into agency practices and at every level. Almost one third of senior leadership identifies as a person of color and over half of our executive leadership are women. We have active mentoring & internship programs that create opportunities for underrepresented groups. Internal agency programming is anchored by XMEquity365, a permanent, year-round initiative fostering acknowledgement and support of marginalized communities within five pillars – Excellence, Voices, Education, Giving & Representation.

Crossmedia is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and creating a diverse and inclusive company culture and that does not discriminate against candidates and employees because of their disability, sex, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. 

All job requirements are subject to possible revision to reflect changes in the position requirements, business necessities and/or to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. Essential and other job functions are subject to modification. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to which will be required in this position. Employees will be required to follow other job-related duties as requested by their supervisor/manager (within guidelines and compliance with laws in the US and UK ).

Continued employment remains on an "at-will" basis." Reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (US based) 

Physical Demands: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job: 

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time.
• Ability to stand, bend, and reach
• Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer.
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• The ability to observe details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

In compliance with the current Americans with Disabilities Act and state and local laws, if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation to apply for a position with Crossmedia, please email  View email address on us.fitly.work . (US based candidates).