Associate Director, Paid Social

We're building the future of advertising and are looking for the minds to help us do it. As a valuable member of Darkroom's unique Performance Marketing team, you'll be given the opportunity to specialize in data analysis, performance creative management, and/or media buying, depending on YOUR skills and preferences

Essential to the growth of our clients' businesses, Darkroom Performance Marketing Managers are excellent communicators, proficient in advertising and marketing principles. The right candidate should be equally comfortable in a strategic position and an executional one when it comes to planning, building, and deploying paid media campaigns.

About The Role
Darkroom is hiring a
Director, Paid Social
— a Meta-first operator who is both a strategic growth leader
and
a hands-on in-platform executor.

You will lead 4–6 high-growth consumer brands, owning the performance, strategy, and optimization of their paid social programs. This role is deeply operational: you will spend meaningful time
inside Meta Ads Manager
, deploying campaigns, running tests, optimizing performance, and directly driving revenue outcomes.

You are the person who both
designs the plan
and
pushes the buttons
— building the future of how high-performing Meta programs are run. Understanding of short form creative strategy is essential.

This is a NYC-based strategic + executional hybrid role for someone who lives in the numbers and wants to build a reputation as one of the best Meta operators in the industry.

*What You'll Do
Hands-On Media Execution (Non-Negotiable)*

• Build, launch, and optimize Meta campaigns inside Ads Manager
• Execute full-funnel paid social programs: prospecting, mid-funnel, retention, remarketing
• Set up creative tests, audience tests, bid strategies, structure iterations
• Troubleshoot performance issues directly within the platform
• Own pacing, budget, attribution, and performance troubleshooting end-to-end

Lead Paid Social Growth Strategy

• Architect Meta-first acquisition strategies across multiple brand portfolios
• Scale paid social budgets from early-stage to $500K–$1M+ per month
• Develop funnel structures, testing roadmaps, and measurement frameworks
• Identify opportunities to increase AOV, MER, LTV, and new customer revenue

Be the Strategic Partner to CMOs & Founders

• Lead client calls, QBRs, weekly updates, and executive presentations
• Connect performance insights to business outcomes
• Own client satisfaction and retention across your portfolio

Financial Modeling & Forecasting

• Partner with Data & Finance to align spend to business goals
• Track CAC, contribution margin, cohort data, and profitability levers
• Read pro forma marketing projections and interpret data to clients

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Director's of Growth Strategy on full-funnel media efforts
• Partner closely with Creative Strategy to brief and evaluate ads
• Partner closely with paid search team
• Be a paid social leader on the team and an example for others
• Ensure cross-channel consistency and coordinated go-to-market execution

Drive Innovation in Paid Social

• Stay ahead of Meta algorithm changes, creative evolution, attribution shifts
• Bring proactive hypotheses, angles, and creative ideas to clients weekly
• Contribute to building the most sophisticated paid social team in performance marketing

*You Should Apply If You Are:

A Hands-On Meta Expert*- 5+ years managing and scaling Meta campaigns
- Deep in-platform experience — you have personally deployed hundreds of ads
- Fluent in campaign structures, bidding, pacing, pixel/event setup, and optimization
Experienced scaling accounts from

A Strategic Growth Operator

• Strong understanding of DTC economics (AOV, CVR, MER, CAC, margin, cohorts)
• Able to build and communicate clear testing frameworks and growth roadmaps

A Client-Facing Leader

• Confident presenting performance insights to executives
• Capable of managing founder/CMO relationships with clarity and calm

A Cross-Functional Partner

• Thrives working with Creative, Data, Retention, and Social Commerce teams
• Strong at influencing without authority and coordinating pods

A Builder

• Hungry, curious, ambitious
• Wants to grow into a future Head of Paid Social or Managing Director
• Thrives in fast-paced, high-accountability environments

*Location Requirement
This role is
based in New York, NY*
and requires occasional in-person collaboration with clients and Darkroom leadership. Currently, Darkroom is remote but will move to full time in office in 2026.

Working at Darkroom
Darkroom is not a typical agency. We are looking for A players that want to build something great. There is no room in our organization for mediocrity and candidates that are not at the top of their game do not last. We move fast, think deeply, and expect every team member to bring insight and rigor to everything they touch. We hold a high bar for performance, creativity, and ownership — but we also support each other relentlessly. No egos, no red tape — just world-class talent building something remarkable.We believe in
autonomy with accountability
,
truth over comfort
, and
outcomes over optics
. If you want to build and win alongside some of the smartest people in the business, you'll thrive here.

• Work-Life Balance: We recognize that time away from work is essential for growth and well-being. Our generous paid time off policy ensures you have the time you need to maintain a healthy work-life balance and perform at your best.
• Health & Wellness: Company-sponsored medical, dental, and vision benefits with, so you can stay as healthy as can be.
• Generous Quarterly Bonuses: Your productivity directly translates to your compensation. We offer a competitive quarterly bonus structure that is both substantial and customized to your role, ensuring your hard work is consistently and generously rewarded.
• Finances, growth, and retirement: After one year with Darkroom, we deliver a robust 401k program with company match, equity incentives, and a profit-sharing opportunity so we can help you save as the company grows.
• Endless opportunities for growth: Our agency is founded on an interdisciplinary approach, giving Darkroomers insights into services far beyond your job description. Grow your skills and interests beyond your niche and stay at the forefront of the industry through total immersion in cross-functional collaboration.
• Parental Leave: flexible parental leave benefits to support new parents during this important transition, ensuring time to bond with their families while maintaining work-life balance.

Our Hiring Process:
The hiring process for this position typically follows three stages; phone screen, hiring manager, and Executive calls.

Equal Opportunity Statement
Darkroom is an equal opportunity workplace—we are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national orientation, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements