Paid Social Director at Dentsu in London

Job description

The purpose of this role is to develop best in class strategies and management of all Paid Social activity on assigned clients, to manage and develop the team and serve as a point of escalation as needed. Job Description: Paid Social Director | Permanent | London | Hybrid Working Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world’s leading organizations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and now present in over 145 countries and regions, it has a proven track record of nurturing and developing innovations, combining the talents of its global network of leadership brands to develop impactful and integrated growth solutions for clients. Dentsu delivers end-to-end experience transformation (EX) by integrating its services across Media, CXM and Creative, while its business transformation (BX) mindset pushes the boundaries of transformation and sustainable growth for brands, people and society. We’re hiring a Paid Social Director as part of our London team. This role is pivotal in shaping market-level strategy and delivering best-in-class execution across culturally impactful campaigns. Purpose of the Role The Paid Social Account Director is responsible for leading the relationship with key local market stakeholders, developing Paid Social strategy and ensuring excellence in execution through their team. Sitting between the Paid Social Manager and Partner, this role translates global direction into market-specific strategies, builds robust testing roadmaps and drives high-performing, efficient delivery. You will be accountable for ensuring your market delivers against performance goals while maintaining high standards across planning, activation and team development. Key Responsibilities Client Leadership & Strategic Ownership: Act as the senior day-to-day lead for local market clients, building strong and trusted relationships Own the development of Paid Social strategy within your market, aligned to global direction and local objectives Translate global briefs into actionable market-level plans that reflect cultural nuance and audience behaviour Provide strategic guidance and thought leadership to clients, particularly across entertainment launches and key moments Planning, Testing & Innovation: Develop and own testing roadmaps to drive continuous improvement and innovation Identify new opportunities across platforms, formats and audience strategies Ensure learnings are captured, shared and scaled across campaigns and markets Champion a test-and-learn culture within the team Performance & Delivery Oversight: Oversee campaign planning and execution to ensure delivery against KPIs Drive performance optimisation through strong use of data and insights Ensure high standards across campaign quality, reporting, and financial management Support forecasting and performance tracking across your market Team Leadership & Excellence: Lead and develop Paid Social Managers and executives, ensuring strong delivery and growth Set clear expectations and maintain high standards across planning and activation Oversee workload management and resource allocation within your team Foster a collaborative, accountable and high-performing team culture Collaboration & Integration: Work closely with the Paid Social Partner to align market strategy with global priorities Partner with cross-channel teams (Client Services, Search, Programmatic, etc.) to deliver integrated solutions Support Total Social integration across Paid, Organic and Creator activity where relevant Qualifications + Skills Strong experience in Paid Social within an agency or client-facing environment Proven ability to lead client relationships and develop strategic recommendations Experience working on multi-market or global clients, ideally within fast-paced, culturally driven sectors Deep understanding of Paid Social platforms (Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest) and their role across the funnel Strong analytical mindset with ability to translate data into actionable in