Associate Director, Paid Media

OFFICE LOCATION Arlington, Virgina, US Location is flexible to anywhere in the US. Remote and hybrid options are available. #LI-Remote #PDN WHO WE ARE The mission of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is to conserve the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we develop innovative, on-the-ground solutions to the world's toughest environmental challenges so that people and nature can thrive. Our work is guided by our values, which include a commitment to diversity and respect for people, communities, and cultures. From a rewarding mission to career development and flexible schedules, there are many reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want to know more? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube to hear stories from staff or visit Glassdoor. One of TNC's primary goals is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that employees around the globe have a sense of belonging and feel that their unique contributions are valued. We know we'll only achieve our mission by hiring and engaging a diverse staff that reflects the communities in which we work. Recognizing that people bring talent and skills that have been developed outside the scope of a job, we take a holistic approach to recruitment that considers life experience in addition to the professional requirements listed in our postings. Please apply - we'd love to hear from you. To quote a popular saying at TNC, "you'll join for the mission, and you'll stay for the people." WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER The Associate Director, Paid Media develops, manages, and implements TNC's results-driven, full-funnel, multichannel paid media program for TNC's Marketing and Communications (MAC) division in service of TNC's 2030 goals. They work directly with external partners, and TNC's leaders and staff members. The Associate Director, Paid Media will play a critical role in transitioning paid media from a promotional tactic to a full-fledged digital channel at TNC. This position sits within the Storytelling team and reports to the Digital Director. The Associate Director, Paid Media is responsible for the development, management, and implementation of a strategic paid media program that will build awareness, grow engagement, expand influence, and enable revenue among priority audiences. They will manage all aspects of the program and related projects, including but not limited to annual planning, resource allocation and support, integration with key performance indicators and strategies, campaign planning, ad operations, and stakeholder training. While this role will not have specific revenue raised goals, they will be expected to partner with our direct fundraising colleagues in their efforts. As the Associate Director, Paid Media, you will: Manage strategy and execution of all Marketing and Communications Division (MAC) paid media campaigns, in partnership with MAC division, analytics team, other business units, and the support of TNC's paid media agency or record when available, to drive performance against TNC goals and paid media channel targets. Collaborate with MAC leadership and other Digital channel leads to develop outcomes-driven, multichannel, integrated campaigns across traditional and digital tactics. Design, develop, implement, and maintain MAC paid media governance strategy and processes to ensure all MAC paid media campaigns are in line with global MAC strategy and goals, industry best-practices, tracking and tagging procedures, privacy and data protection regulations, and brand guidelines. Leverage data analysis to design innovative strategies and tests to find new platforms, key audience segments, creative assets, and strategies to hit performance targets in collaboration with external partners and other marketing leads. Maintain MAC-wide calendar and budget tracker for all paid media campaigns, soliciting regular updates from campaign stakeholders across MAC. Manage paid media budget in collaboration with TNC's audience, conservation, and policy subject matter experts to ensure effective, efficient campaigns and return on investment. Analyze paid media performance to ensure channel health and progress toward MAC goals, accountable for using performance data to drive strategic decisions. Partner with Data Intelligence & Analytics team on in-depth analyses. Serve as main point of contact and manage all aspects of relationship, strategy, and operations for paid media buying agency of record. Provide critical strategic guidance, planning, tactical training, quality assurance checks, and baseline support for paid media stakeholders, including support for annual paid media budgeting. Assists with creation/administration of budget, evaluates results and develops corrective strategies, as needed. Process invoices for all MAC paid media campaigns. Maintain TNC-owned business managers in line with ad operation (AdOps) best practices including but not limited to Meta, LinkedIn, and Google Ads. Design, manage, and implement multiple projects by coordinating the work of other professionals inside and outside the organization. Ensure all paid media assets are aligned with TNC brand voice and messaging. Occasional travel required. Other related duties as assigned. WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU Are you looking for work you can believe in? At TNC we strive to embody a philosophy of Work that You Can Believe in where you can feel like you are making a difference every day. The ideal candidate will have all or some of these qualifications. If you don't have all of them, apply anyway and tell us about your skills and experience: Experience building, QAing, optimizing, and analyzing paid media campaigns in platform, including but not limited to Meta, LinkedIn, Google Ads, OTT/CTV, programmatic display, and traditional media tactics (broadcast, radio, print). Subject matter expertise on the following paid media channels, across all aspects of the marketing funnel: search engine marketing, social media advertising, programmatic display and video advertising, and streaming audio advertising. Experience building a full-funnel, multichannel paid media program. Demonstrated ability to conduct deep data analysis across the marketing funnel and using that information to make decisions that drive strategies and channel outcomes. Demonstrated ability in managing and delivering on six figure paid media budgets. Understanding of attribution modeling, paid media pixel and cookie tracking, algorithmic changes and impacts, and conversion optimization. Experience working with and managing paid media vendors. Experience managing other digital channels like email, SMS, web, marketing technology, or organic social appreciated. Ability to simultaneously manage multiple, complex projects. Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills, experience in dealing with multiple and diverse internal stakeholders, interacting with business and technology partners, and experience communicating with executives to drive their decision-making. Excellent writing, presentation, communication, mediation, and negotiation skills. Creative problem solver who can generate innovative ideas and solutions. Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice as well as TNC's mission to protect the land and waters on which life depends. Multi-lingual skills appreciated. Multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience preferred.