Associate Director, Paid Search

TITLE Associate Director, Paid SearchDEPARTMENT Paid MediaDIVISION NP DigitalLOCATION Remote – US

ABOUT OUR COMPANY

NP Digital (NPD) is a global award-winning performance marketing agency. In 2024 Campaign Magazine labeled us the Global Agency of the Year in two categories, and The Drum awarded us the Agency Business Award for Global Development. Google recently handed us the Agency Excellence Award for Media Unification and AdAge listed us on their Best Places to Work list in 2024 and 2025.

NP Digital combines proprietary platforms with best-in-class talent to deliver leading edge experiences centered around: paid and organic search, social, content, retargeting, performance display, feed management and conversion rate optimization. 

NP Digital focuses on creating innovative, adaptive, and data-driven digital marketing plans for our clients. Obsessed with helping companies grow and exceed their goals, NP Digital delivers on the mission of continually helping brands connect and engage with their audience. 

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Neil Patel Digital (NPD) is seeking an Associate Director of Paid Search to help grow our Paid Search team while serving as a trusted resource for our prospective and existing clients. The ideal candidate for this role is someone who has experience building and leading paid search and performance max strategies at a digital marketing agency. Candidates should have outstanding knowledge of Google Ads and Microsoft Ads and know how to structure campaigns to optimize performance based on each search platform’s ad auction algorithms. Equally important to technical paid search experience is the ability to communicate recommendations and analysis of performance to clients and colleagues alike. You earn the trust of CMOs and CEOs by showing them thoughtful insights, compelling strategies, and clever uses of paid search and performance max to drive meaningful impact to their business.

The Associate Director of Paid Search will be an individual contributor focused on driving new revenue and overseeing a book of business. You’ll get plenty of opportunities to pitch Fortune 1000 brands and will work closely with our other paid media team members and outsourced partners to guide their thinking and ultimately help develop their skill sets. You’ll also partner with Client Services & Sales to spot opportunities for us to expand our client relationships. The ideal candidate has the entrepreneurial spirit to build things, move fast, and get things done.

To qualify, applicants must reside and be eligible to work in the US.

ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own paid search and PMax strategy across book of business and coordinates with other channel Associate Directors, Directors, or Strategists in overarching paid media strategy development
• Supervise client budgets for paid search book of business, QA budgets managed by all Managers and Specialists, oversee budget shifts & pacing, and align with Directors and above
• Contribute to department process development and implementation
• Train team on latest developments and best practices from Google, Microsoft & SA360
• Oversee testing roadmaps and implementation across book of business
• Educate team on industry news and trends that impacts our paid search clients, such as creative best practices and case studies, and inform team of new creative placements or extensions
• Review all reporting and insights for assigned accounts and may assign tasks to Managers or Specialists aligning with their responsibilities
• Lead paid search team meetings and attend internal client team meetings
• Directly manage Senior Managers, Paid Search within book of business but may also manage Paid Search Managers or Specialists
• Provide mentorship, structured assistance, instruction, and inspiration to the team
• Celebrate team members’ accomplishments aligning with NP Digital’s values and performance and foster a positive and collaborative work environment
• Contribute to training documentation and presentations specific to NPD's media philosophy and processes within Paid Search
• Participate in agency thought-leadership deliverables, such as blogs, social posts, POVs, or webinars
• Develop paid search and pmax case studies or awards submission stories on assigned accounts
• Play an active role in pitches for renewals, upsells, and new accounts for clients where a higher-level of subject matter expertise is needed
• As needed, plan, manage, and execute integrated Digital Media campaigns, including but not limited to account setup, strategy development, organization, and management

ABOUT YOU

• 6 or more years of experience in paid search and PMax campaigns
• Experienced in Google Marketing Platform, specifically Search Ads 360
• Ability to translate digital & industry trends into succinct, compelling, conversational language for a variety of C-Suite and Marketing audiences
• Meticulous attention to detail with the ability to catch others’ errors
• Knowledge of paid search automation and rules to prevent and catch errors
• Excellent presenter, including nonverbal items such as facial expressions, appearance, and enthusiasm for the topic being presented
• Skilled at advanced Microsoft Excel formulas and developing polished Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
• Follows and enforces team to follow Google Ads and Microsoft Ads best practices for campaign structure and creative
• Deep understanding of how search engine bid algorithms work and impact performance
• Certified for Google Ads Search via Skillshop at a minimum
• Experience in discussing attribution and search’s role in the overall media mix
• Ability to lead and inspire a dedicated team in a remote environment
• Demonstrate high emotional intelligence and can motivate team members to drive success

BONUS POINTS

• Product feed management and experience, including Google Merchant Center
• Knowledge of other types of campaigns within the search ads platforms, including display, native, and video
• Ability to use SEMrush or Spyfu for competitive insights

ABOUT YOUR GROWTH

As an organization we support your growth and development by investing in your learning to advance your career. We believe in empowering you to showcase your knowledge and skills to win together. Career path opportunities for this department includes:

• Associate Specialist (typically 6+ months experience)  
• Specialist (typically 1+ years)  
• Senior Specialist (typically 1.5+ years)  
• Manager (typically 2+ years)  
• Senior Manager (typically 5+ years) 
• Associate Director (typically 6+ years) 
• Director (typically 8+ years) 
• Senior Director (typically 10+ years) 

ABOUT OUR BENEFITS

We offer a comprehensive and flexible benefits package to all regular, full-time employees. Benefits include but not limited to:

• National Anthem Blue Cross medical plans; EPO, PPO, and HDHP options available
• Flexible paid time off; 16 weeks maternity and 6 weeks paternity leave
• Health Savings Accounts with employer contribution, Healthcare Flexible Spending Accounts, Dependent Care FSA
• Vision and dental coverage
• Employer-paid short-term disability and life and AD&D insurance
• Employer-paid premium subscription to the Calm app
• Employer-paid virtual healthcare support through First Stop Health
• Voluntary pet insurance for your furry family members
• Voluntary accident, hospital indemnity, critical illness, and supplemental life insurance
• New hire technology stipend to set up home office
• Employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement with Roth option

ABOUT THE COMPENSATION

• Base Salary: USD $120,000.00 to $135,000.00; depending on experience and skills
• Discretionary annual bonus: Up to 10% of annual salary

ABOUT OUR CULTURE

We value our best-in-class company culture, which is results-driven, innovative, fast-paced and fun. Our focus is on outcome, not output. We encourage our employees to work with an entrepreneurial spirit while applying a businesslike approach. When you work with great people and leaders that support you, there is no end to what you can accomplish. We celebrate different backgrounds and perspectives from our team members, but one thing we all have in common is a core set of values:

Think Big “Think Big” challenges our teams in all aspects of the business. For our clients, it requires that we expand their vision beyond what’s expected, while pushing us to become a committed partner who provides strategic recommendations and measurable outcomes.

Own It “Own It” plays a key role in encouraging employee autonomy. We believe owning it inspires employees to build skillsets within their roles and beyond to drive their career where you want. “Own It” highlights ability to make the work yours and deliver creative results.

Have Fun “Have Fun” means we enjoy working together and cultivating a great work experience for everyone. Our passion for what we do is visible throughout the organization. Anything we enjoy, we are naturally going to do better, so we make our work something we look forward to, rather than simply something we have to do.

NP Digital is an Equal Opportunity Employer, proud of our diversity and inclusive culture! Our goal is to positively impact change through our actions, and we’re committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.