Director, Media and Partnerships Strategy

Role Description

Director, Media and Partnerships Strategy plays a pivotal role within PartnerCentric’s paid media organization, reporting to the SVP of Applied AI & Vertical Strategy. 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
• AI-led advertising environments

This includes identifying, developing, and activating AI-generated influencers and creator ecosystems as part of innovative media and partnership strategies.

This is a remote position, but candidates must reside and physically perform the work within the United States due to legal and corporate tax compliance constraints. We are only considering applicants who possess unrestricted, independent work authorization that does not now, or in the future, require employer sponsorship.

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.

Requirements

• 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 SVP of Influencer and VP of Growth Marketing to evolve PartnerCentric’s paid media and partnership roadmap in line with market trends and client needs.
• Analyze customer data, segments, and create targeted campaigns to improve customer retention.
• Proactively identify new leads from various sources.
• Evaluate lead IDC fit and insights intel.
• Use marketing assets and follow up sequences to maintain interest and trust over time.
• CRM management.
• 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.
• Partner with the SVP of Applied AI & Vertical Strategy to build scalable systems, processes, and documentation across media partner sourcing, enablement, trafficking, optimization, and performance tracking.
• Establish standardized workflows and reporting frameworks to drive consistency, efficiency, and visibility across the media team.
• Lead technical execution of media operations, including partner setup and digital ad trafficking across platforms.
• Ensure clear, consistent performance tracking and actionable insights across all media initiatives.
• Partner cross-functionally with Influencer, Client Services, Data & Insights, Growth Marketing, and Partnerships teams to ensure cohesive storytelling, aligned media strategies, consistent testing frameworks, and performance measurement tied to client 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.
• Identify opportunities to develop and scale AI-generated influencers and virtual creator partnerships, including ideation, creation, and integration into paid and partnership-driven campaigns.

Benefits

• 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.
• Increased adoption of RMN, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and Amazon-focused strategies by clients.