Paid Media Lead

Overview

Paid Media Lead 
 

Reports to: Director, Channel Marketing 
Scope: Paid media strategy alignment, agency relationship management, performance oversight, and enrollment-focused channel stewardship 
 

Role Summary 
 

The Paid Media Lead is the internal owner of paid media performance across EIM’s portfolio of university partners and programs. This role does not execute campaigns directly, but instead serves as the strategic liaison between EIM and its paid media agency partner, ensuring campaigns are aligned to enrollment goals, program strategy, and performance expectations.  
 

This individual is responsible for translating business goals, audience insights, messaging priorities, and enrollment objectives into clear strategic direction for the agency while holding external partners accountable for optimization, reporting, and performance outcomes. The role sits at the intersection of channel strategy, product marketing, enrollment forecasting, and operational execution.  
 

The Paid Media Lead must be highly analytical, proactive, and outcome-oriented, with the ability to connect marketing performance to enrollment impact and communicate recommendations clearly across stakeholders. 

Responsibilities

Paid Media Strategy & Performance Oversight 

Own the internal paid media performance strategy across programs, ensuring campaigns align with enrollment priorities and business goals 

Monitor channel performance against key KPIs including CPL, lead quality, application conversion, and enrollment contribution 

Identify performance trends, risks, and optimization opportunities, bringing strategic recommendations to internal stakeholders and agency partners 

Translate agency reporting into clear, enrollment-focused insights and narratives for business leaders, PMMs, and senior leadership 

Surface enrollment forecast risks tied to paid media performance with enough lead time to support course correction 

Agency Relationship Management 

Serve as EIM’s primary day-to-day relationship owner with the paid media agency partner 

Lead recurring agency performance and optimization meetings, driving accountability, decisions, and follow-through 

Ensure agency partners receive complete and accurate program context including audience insights, positioning, enrollment targets, creative direction, and launch timelines 

Hold agency accountable to agreed optimization cadences, testing strategies, reporting standards, and performance expectations 

Escalate performance concerns proactively and manage the relationship against outcomes, not activity alone 

Budget & Channel Stewardship 

Partner with the Director, Channel Marketing to manage budget allocation across channels, programs, and enrollment priorities 

Review media investment recommendations and advocate for reallocations based on performance data and business impact 

Maintain visibility into pacing, budget utilization, and forecasted spend risks 

Support strategic channel planning and recommendations across paid search, paid social, display, video, and emerging channels 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

Partner closely with Product Marketing Managers to align paid media strategy with positioning, audience segmentation, and program lifecycle stages 

Collaborate with Creative Services and CRO/UX functions to ensure messaging, landing page experiences, and funnel performance are optimized end-to-end 

Participate in enrollment forecasting and business planning conversations, contributing paid media pipeline insights and performance context 

Serve as the internal point of coordination for paid media-related requests, prioritization, and communication flow 

Qualifications

Required 

3–5 years of experience in paid media, performance marketing, growth marketing, or digital marketing 

Experience managing or collaborating closely with external agencies or vendors in a performance marketing environment 

Strong understanding of paid media platforms including Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager 

Ability to analyze campaign performance data and translate findings into strategic recommendations and business implications 

Strong organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills 

Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining focus on outcomes and operational clarity 

Preferred 

Experience in higher education, healthcare, or another enrollment-driven industry 

Familiarity with CRM and marketing automation platforms such as Salesforce and Marketing Cloud 

Exposure to attribution modeling, conversion optimization, and multi-touch reporting frameworks 

Experience working in matrixed or cross-functional marketing organizations