Senior Paid Media Strategist

Location: Charleston, SC (In-office Monday-Thursday, work-from-home Fridays)

Reports to: Director of Advertising & Brand Strategy

About the Role

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Matchstick Social is an award-winning, full-service digital marketing agency based in Charleston, SC. We're looking for an experienced, analytical, and highly motivated Senior Paid Media Strategist to join our growing team.

This is a hands-on role for someone who knows Google Ads inside and out, loves finding opportunities in the data, and gets genuinely excited about helping businesses grow. You'll serve as our in-house Google Ads expert while also supporting Meta advertising and campaigns across YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, and other platforms when they make sense for our clients.

Key Responsibilities

Google Ads Strategy & Management

• Lead strategy, setup, management, and optimization across assigned Google Ads accounts, aligning campaigns with client objectives, audiences, and budgets.
• Build and manage Search, Performance Max, Display, Demand Gen, YouTube, Shopping, Local, and other relevant campaign types.
• Manage Google Local Services Ads, including verification, budgets, lead quality, and optimization.
• Review every active Google Ads account at least three times weekly for performance, spend pacing, delivery, and conversions.
• Conduct keyword and search term research; manage audiences and negatives; test bidding strategies, targeting, and campaign structures.
• Monitor Quality Score, impression share, auction insights, and other signals to find opportunities for improvement.
• Evaluate lead quality and downstream business outcomes, not just platform-reported conversions; incorporate client feedback into optimizations.
• Troubleshoot disapprovals, policy issues, tracking problems, and campaign performance concerns; maintain consistent account quality and stay current on platform changes.

Meta & Other Paid Channels

• Build, launch, manage, and optimize Meta campaigns across Facebook and Instagram, including audience strategy, placements, bidding, and creative testing.
• Work with designers on ad concepts, messaging, and assets; recommend platform mixes based on client goals and budgets.
• Manage YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, and other paid channels as appropriate.
• Monitor performance consistently, flag risks and opportunities proactively, and troubleshoot ad rejections, account restrictions, Meta Pixel, and Conversions API issues.

Budget Management & Reporting

• Track spend and pacing across accounts, flag overspending or underspending early, and recommend changes or reallocations. Confirm changes with the assigned Account Manager before implementation unless directed otherwise.
• Prepare accurate monthly paid media reports and deliver analysis to Account Managers ahead of client deadlines.
• Go beyond reporting metrics: explain performance trends, connect results to business goals, and recommend next steps to improve lead quality, conversion rates, and ROAS.
• Review landing pages and recommend improvements to messaging, user experience, and conversion rates; support Account Managers with client questions and additional analysis.

Analytics, Tracking & Technical Implementation

• Configure and maintain Google Tag Manager, Google Ads conversion actions, Meta Pixel and Conversions API tracking, and GA4 events.
• Maintain CallRail integrations and verify call conversion tracking.
• Troubleshoot attribution and conversion tracking problems; validate tracking before launch and after relevant site changes.
• Support Google Business Profile and LSA verification and coordinate with developers on technical fixes.

Client Management & Collaboration

• Own strategy, communication, recurring performance meetings, client expectations, and renewal conversations for up to seven assigned advertising-only clients. Identify additional service opportunities when appropriate.
• For full-service accounts, support the Account Manager as the paid media expert, providing timely updates, analysis, recommendations, and participation in client meetings as needed.
• Support new-business discovery, account audits, channel and budget recommendations, performance projections based on available data, and proposal presentations.
• Coordinate with the Director of Advertising & Brand Strategy, Account Managers, designers, and developers; communicate important campaign changes promptly and contribute to better team processes.

Qualifications

• Professional experience managing Google Ads campaigns across multiple client accounts, preferably in an agency setting.
• Advanced, hands-on knowledge of Google Ads, including Search, Performance Max, Display, Demand Gen, YouTube, Shopping, and other relevant campaign types.
• Experience managing Google Local Services Ads is strongly preferred.
• Hands-on experience building, launching, managing, and optimizing Meta advertising campaigns.
• Familiarity with additional paid media platforms, including YouTube, LinkedIn, and Reddit, is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to manage advertising budgets, evaluate campaign performance, and make data-driven optimization decisions.
• Strong understanding of Google Ads conversion tracking, Google Tag Manager, GA4, Meta Pixel, and Conversions API.
• Experience with CallRail and call conversion tracking.
• Ability to troubleshoot campaign performance, tracking issues, and platform-related concerns.
• Experience developing paid media strategies based on business objectives, audience behavior, and performance data.
• Strong reporting and analytical skills, including the ability to translate performance data into clear recommendations.
• Experience communicating directly with clients and presenting advertising results.
• Ability to manage multiple accounts, deadlines, budgets, and priorities in a fast-paced agency environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience collaborating with Account Managers, designers, developers, and other marketing specialists.
• Comfortable using project management and communication tools such as ClickUp, Gmail, and Google Chat.
• Must be able to work in person at our Charleston office Monday through Thursday, with the option to work from home on Fridays.

Advanced Google Ads expertise is essential. Be prepared to discuss campaigns you personally built and managed, including strategy, budgets, performance, tracking, and optimization decisions.

What We Value

We're looking for someone proactive, analytical, detail-oriented, dependable, and solutions-focused. You should understand clients' businesses and what makes a lead valuable, communicate concerns before they become problems, and take ownership without needing constant direction. You should also enjoy collaborating with creative and account teams and explaining technical decisions in a way clients understand.

Role Scope

Your focus is paid media strategy, execution, tracking, performance, and assigned advertising-only client relationships. You'll guide ad creative, but won't design it; you won't manage organic social media, full-service client accounts, website development projects, or SEO/content strategy beyond paid landing page recommendations.

Benefits & Compensation

• ICHRA
• SIMPLE IRA eligibility after one year
• Paid time off and family leave
• Phone stipend or company phone
• Bonus opportunities
• Work-from-home Fridays and summer Friday hours
• Quarterly team activities, office snacks, and occasional team lunches
• Professional development support

Salary: $68,000-78,000 annually, plus bonus opportunities. 

Bonus eligibility, criteria, and payouts are subject to company policies and annual review.

Matchstick Social is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.