Marketing Director, Paid Media

Learning Resources • Full-time • Hybrid in Vernon Hills, Illinois, United States • $150,000 - $180,000 / year • 1m ago

Fast Facts

Lead integrated media strategy as a Marketing Director focusing on Paid Media at a prominent educational toy company, optimizing media investments and driving brand growth through performance marketing.

Responsibilities: Oversee media strategy for various platforms including Amazon, manage budgets, and execute awareness campaigns while leading a team of three professionals.

Skills: Requires 10+ years of experience in paid media management, strong analytical skills, and proficiency in stakeholder communication and team management.

Qualifications: Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred. Proven experience in retail media, data-driven strategy, and team leadership is essential.

Location: Position based in Vernon Hills, IL; hybrid setup appears implied within the context provided.

Compensation: $150000 - $180000 / Annually

About our family of companies:

We are on a mission to bring learning to life! At our family of companies, Learning Resources®, Educational Insights, and hand2mind, we create a unique range of toys, educational products and supplemental curriculum trusted by teachers and loved by families alike. Voted among the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces for the last five consecutive years, we are a 400-person strong, family-owned organization dedicated to helping kids succeed in school and develop a love of learning. In addition to high-quality, hands-on products like VersaTiles® and Cuisenaire® Rods, we make award-winning toys, including top sellers such as the Pretend & Play® Cash Register, the Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set and Toy of the Year winner Botley® the Coding Robot as well as Educational Insights top sellers Kanoodle®, GeoSafari® Jr. series, and Playfoam™. We pride ourselves on being committed to our employees’ personal and professional development, a thriving culture and a diverse, creative atmosphere. Along with our culture and competitive benefits package, we offer opportunities for training and development by university professors as well as in-demand, motivating external speakers. We are looking for professionals who are truly just kids at heart! We hope you’ll come join our award-winning team today!

Team & Position Description:

This role offers a career-defining opportunity to lead and shape an integrated media strategy at a fast-growing toy company where your expertise in media strategy and quantitative analysis will drive tangible results. You will work at the intersection of performance marketing and brand-building, directly impacting the company’s growth on e-commerce giants and retail platforms. With visibility across the organization, you’ll directly influence the company’s growth trajectory and collaborate with a creative, passionate group of marketing professionals.

What you’ll do day to day:

As the Director, Paid Media, you will lead the company’s media strategy and execution, bringing strong quantitative and analytical expertise to optimize media investments across platforms. This role oversees high-impact budgets and operations for Amazon media (including Sponsored Ads, DSP, and streaming campaigns), Retail Media (e.g., Target, Walmart, and others), Paid Social, and Awareness, while ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing mix decisions. You will manage awareness campaigns to elevate brand visibility and play a critical role in developing and executing annual marketing plans in collaboration with cross-functional teams. This position leads three direct reports who manage specialized teams and serves as the primary liaison with external media agencies.

What we’re looking for (Key Performance Objectives):

1. Develop and Execute a Data-Driven Media Strategy

Within the first 90 days, establish a robust quantitative framework to evaluate and optimize media spend across performance channels (e.g., Sponsored Ads, DSP) and upper-funnel media (e.g., streaming and digital video). Implement systems to measure the incrementality of media decisions, identifying the ROI for each channel and improving marketing mix efficiency by at least 15% within the first year. Present quarterly reports to leadership with insights on media performance, including recommendations to adjust the marketing mix to maximize incrementality and impact.

2. Measure and Optimize Marketing Mix Effectiveness

Within six months, introduce tools and models (e.g., MMM or multi-touch attribution) to assess the overall effectiveness of media investments, isolating key drivers of sales and brand impact. Collaborate with the analytics team to deliver actionable insights on incrementality, ROI, and cross-channel interactions, ensuring marketing investments are aligned with business objectives. Achieve a measurable improvement in media efficiency while maintaining or growing conversion volume.

3. Lead Amazon and Retail Media Operations

Within the first 90 days, streamline processes for managing Amazon and Retail Media campaigns, ensuring optimal resource allocation across Sponsored Ads, DSP, and retailer platforms like Target and Walmart. Achieve a 10% increase in ROAS within the first year by leveraging data-driven optimizations and enhanced targeting. Partner with brand marketing and sales teams to deliver integrated campaigns that increase in-store sales and achieve buyer expectations across key retail accounts.

4. Drive Awareness Media Campaigns

Lead the team in planning and executing brand awareness campaigns, including streaming video and digital media, to achieve a 10% lift in brand awareness among target demographics. Develop innovative cross-platform media strategies that integrate upper-funnel and performance media efforts, ensuring cohesive storytelling and measurable outcomes. Implement advanced analytics to track the impact of awareness campaigns on downstream conversions, contributing to a growth in total sales.

5. Collaborate on Annual Marketing Plans and Ongoing KPIs

Work closely with the brand teams to develop and execute annual marketing plans, ensuring alignment of media strategies with overarching business goals. Within 60 days, establish a cadence for providing KPIs, dashboards, and insights to internal stakeholders, including actionable recommendations to enhance campaign performance. Ensure all media plans integrate with broader marketing objectives and deliver consistent performance metrics to measure success.

6. Build and Coach a High-Performing Team

Within the first 60 days, conduct a talent assessment for three direct reports and their teams, creating individualized development and coaching plans. Foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation, providing regular mentorship to ensure team members achieve career milestones while delivering business results. Build succession plans and identify opportunities to address skill gaps, collaborating with HR to recruit and onboard new talent as necessary.

7. Strengthen Partnerships with Media Agencies

Serve as the key point of contact for external media agencies, ensuring accountability for delivering quantifiable results. Within six months, implement performance-based evaluations for agency partners, achieving fee reductions, where possible, while maintaining top-tier service. Develop processes for agency collaboration, including joint planning sessions and post-campaign reviews to drive continuous improvement.

Requirements/Ideal Attributes:

Bachelors degree required, MBA preferred
10+ years experience in paid media management including advanced experience in retail media (Amazon Advertising, Walmart Luminate, Target Roundel, etc.), display, programmatic media, streaming video, paid search; agency experience a plus
Proven results driving growth in brand awareness, loyalty and customer acquisition
Technical knowledge of tracking, tools (dynamic creative optimization, etc.) and experiment design and implementation
People management experience; skilled at developing talent
Data Driven with excellent analytical skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong skills in Fostering Teams & Collaboration, Driving Change, and Learning Agility
Demonstrated track record of accountability

We are a drug-free workplace and an EEO employer.

Please note: This role will be filled by our internal recruitment team, so no assistance is needed from any outside staffing agency at this time.

Compensation Range: $150,000 – $180,000 annual salary – Actual compensation may vary due to other factors such as: years of experience, skill set or location. Total compensation includes profit sharing bonus potential, 401k matching, and a variety of other benefits (details can be found here).

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