Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. THE CHARLES GROUP is hiring a Senior Media Planner who operates as both architect and operator across the full paid media stack. The role involves owning the full planning-to-buying lifecycle, optimizing campaigns across various platforms, and translating performance data into actionable insights for clients.

Responsibilities

• Own the full planning-to-buying lifecycle: brief intake, audience sizing in Meta Audience Insights and Google Keyword Planner, channel mix modeling, flowchart construction, IO and SOW alignment, trafficking, pacing, optimization, and reporting across Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, DV360, The Trade Desk, YouTube, and CTV/OLV partners
• Build, launch, and optimize campaigns directly in Meta Ads Manager (Advantage+ Shopping, ASC+, manual ABO/CBO structures), Google Ads (Performance Max, Search, Demand Gen, YouTube), The Trade Desk (Koa bidding, contextual and 1P data segments), LinkedIn Campaign Manager (Matched Audiences, ABM lists), Pinterest Ads Manager, and TikTok Ads Manager (Smart+, Spark Ads)
• Author media plans, Gantt-style flowcharts, and platform POVs informed by SQL-pulled CRM data, GA4 path analysis, Similarweb traffic benchmarks, Pathmatics or Sensor Tower competitive spend, and qualitative audience research (panels, social listening via Sprinklr or Brandwatch)
• Convert performance data into client-facing decks built in Google Slides or Keynote, including waterfall charts on incremental lift, cohorted LTV/CAC payback curves, and channel attribution comparisons; deliver narratives in QBRs, weekly status calls, and ad hoc executive readouts
• Operate as the embedded media advisor: proactively surface optimizations (creative rotation cadence, bid cap adjustments, dayparting, placement exclusions), evaluate alpha and beta features (Meta Advantage+ Catalog Ads, Google AI Max for Search, TTD OpenPath, Amazon Marketing Cloud), and pressure-test strategic shifts with hypothesis-driven test plans
• Partner with creative and PM teams to align asset specs (aspect ratios, runtime, file weight, dynamic creative variants for DCO), enforce trafficking deadlines tied to flight start dates, and manage creative routing through Frame.io, Workfront, or Asana to hit launch SLAs
• Monitor pacing within +/- 5% of plan via daily Datorama, Supermetrics, or Looker Studio dashboards; flag delivery anomalies (CPM spikes above 20%, frequency drift past 3.5, sub-50% impression share) and intervene mid-flight without prompting
• Support new business with media POVs, RFP responses, competitive spend audits using Pathmatics, MOAT, and Nielsen Ad Intel, and pitch-stage forecasting models with channel-level CPM, CTR, and CVR assumptions

Skills

• 8+ years of hands-on paid media buying experience with cumulative managed spend of $5M+, ideally at a media or integrated agency servicing premium, luxury, or DTC lifestyle brands
• Demonstrated in-platform execution: you personally build campaign structures, write keyword match types, configure conversion APIs and offline event uploads, set bid caps and budget schedules, and QA UTM strings rather than delegating to a junior buyer or trader
• Deep platform knowledge across at least three of the following: Meta, Google/YouTube, DV360, The Trade Desk, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest
• Strong analytical fluency: confident pulling raw data via platform APIs or connectors (Supermetrics, Fivetran), building pivot tables and XLOOKUP-driven models in Excel or Google Sheets, segmenting performance by audience, placement, creative, and device, and acting on statistically significant deltas (90%+ confidence) without escalation
• Excellent client communication: ability to abstract auction dynamics, attribution methodology, and bid algorithms into plain-language narratives for CMOs, brand directors, and finance stakeholders who do not operate in DSPs
• Comfort presenting to C-suite and VP-level clients, defending channel allocation decisions against pushback, and negotiating scope, KPIs, and measurement methodology in live working sessions
• Exceptional attention to detail in budget reconciliation (matching platform spend to IO totals to finance ledgers within $1 variance), pacing accuracy, and reporting integrity (verified UTM hygiene, deduplicated conversions, consistent attribution windows across channels)
• Prior experience on luxury, prestige beauty, hospitality, fashion, or premium lifestyle accounts is a strong plus, including familiarity with brand suitability controls (DoubleVerify, IAS), category-specific inventory (Vogue, Conde Nast, Hearst, hospitality endemic), and conversion paths with longer consideration windows (28 to 90 day click-through)

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