Lead strategy for tier-1 media campaigns, collaborate with clients and teams, mentor juniors, manage media math, and develop strategic presentations.
Job Summary & Responsibilities
Strengthening and empowering all of the communities we serve.
We're looking for a Sr. Media Strategist who's genuinely curious about how media works. Someone who asks the kind of questions that reframe a problem, and who can translate a client's goals into a channel strategy, audience approach, and budget framework that moves the needle.
You'll own the media planning on tier-1 campaigns, partner with Account Managers and cross-functional teams, and play a real role in how our junior planners develop. You'll work with clients regularly (mostly digitally, occasionally in person), not as the relationship lead, but as the person in the room who can explain why the media plan is built the way it is.
You'll get close partnership, direct feedback, and a manager who's invested in your craft. We're looking for someone who brings strong systems thinking, good judgment under ambiguity, and the kind of intellectual range that makes the room smarter.
Compensation for this position is comprised of a base salary plus incentive compensation. The base salary range is $70,000 to $75,000 per year. Additional incentives bring total potential compensation to $84,000 - $94,200.
What you’ll do
- Own the media planning on tier-1 campaigns, from translating the brief into a channel strategy and budget framework through plan presentation and optimization guidance
- Define audience strategy for campaigns, identifying the right targeting approaches, data sources, and segmentation logic based on client goals and budget reality
- Advise on media mix across paid media channels, balancing reach, frequency, cost efficiency, and client objectives
- Partner with Account Managers in client conversations as the media planning authority, explaining channel decisions and pressure-testing assumptions in real time
- Build media plans, investment recommendations, and strategy decks that connect audience to channel to budget to KPI in a clear narrative
- Own planning math: budget allocation across channels, forecasting, pacing models, and reconciliation
- Lead research inputs that inform planning decisions, including competitive landscape, audience data, platform capabilities, and market context, and turn them into actionable media recommendations
- Evaluate and recommend media partners, platforms, and inventory sources; lead RFP response development where appropriate
- Design measurement frameworks and test-and-learn structures so we can prove what's working and optimize with intent
- Mentor junior planners by asking good questions, modeling strong process, and helping them level up
- Stay sharp on the media landscape, including new platforms, shifting audience behavior, vendor capabilities, and pricing trends, and bring that knowledge into planning decisions
The experience you’ll bring:
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or related field preferred
- Minimum 5 years in media planning or buying, with hands-on experience building and presenting full-funnel media plans for complex campaigns. Coaching or mentoring experience is a plus.
- Confident owning planning math: budget allocation across channels, forecasting, pacing, and reconciliation
- Experience building planning templates, trackers, or workflows
- A track record of media plans, strategy decks, and investment recommendations you built and presented to clients
- Experience presenting and defending media plans to clients and stakeholders; you're comfortable explaining the why behind channel and budget decisions, not just walking through the slides
- Experience mentoring or coaching junior planners
- Comfort across digital media platforms with hands-on experience in search, social, and/or DSP a plus
- Familiarity with audience data platforms or third-party data providers (LiveRamp, GWI, or similar) is a strong plus
- Experience with media planning tools (Bionic, Strata, or similar) preferred
- Experience in political, advocacy, higher ed, or utilities verticals is a plus.
- Sharp organizational and analytical instincts, comfortable juggling multiple campaigns on tight timelines without losing the details
Similar Jobs
Agency • Artificial Intelligence • Consumer Web • Digital Media • Analytics • Design
Manage end-to-end paid media campaigns across multiple clients and channels, including strategy, setup, optimization, tracking, and reporting. Analyze performance data, maintain tracking (GA4/Tag Manager), build reports and dashboards, and present insights to clients. Collaborate with account, creative, and analytics teams to drive growth and improve ROI while staying current on platform best practices.
Top Skills:
Conversions ApiFacebook/Meta AdsGoogle AdsGoogle Analytics (Ga4)Google Looker StudioGoogle SheetsGoogle Tag ManagerLinkedin AdsMicrosoft/Bing AdsPerformance MaxPinterest AdsProgrammatic AdvertisingReddit AdsTwitter/X AdsYoutube Ads
AdTech • Marketing Tech • Sales
Lead and manage inbound RFPs as a player-coach: build high-quality media plans and presentations, manage and mentor strategists, liaise with Sales/Ad-Ops, track team performance, and translate market trends into client recommendations.
Top Skills:
Dsp PlatformsExcelParrot AdsPowerPointProject Management Platforms
AdTech • Marketing Tech • Consulting
Client-facing paid media strategist responsible for leading multiple B2B paid accounts, building quarterly strategies, managing budgets, executing and optimizing PPC across Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn, analyzing performance with analytics tools, ensuring lead routing in CRMs, coordinating vendors, and driving client growth and renewals.
Top Skills:
CRMExcelFacebook AdsFacebook Business ManagerGa4Google AdsGoogle AnalyticsLinkedin AdsLinkedin Campaign ManagerProgrammatic
What you need to know about the San Francisco Tech Scene
San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area attracts more startup funding than any other region in the world. Home to Stanford University and UC Berkeley, leading VC firms and several of the world’s most valuable companies, the Bay Area is the place to go for anyone looking to make it big in the tech industry. That said, San Francisco has a lot to offer beyond technology thanks to a thriving art and music scene, excellent food and a short drive to several of the country’s most beautiful recreational areas.
Key Facts About San Francisco Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 365,500; 13.9% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Google, Apple, Salesforce, Meta
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, consumer technology, software
- Funding Landscape: $50.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins
- Research Centers and Universities: Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of San Francisco; Santa Clara University; Ames Research Center; Center for AI Safety; California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
