Media Specialist (Performance Media)

The Media Specialist is responsible for the hands-on setup, activation, monitoring, and day-to-day management of media campaigns within an assigned marketing channel. Channels may include Programmatic, Paid Search, Paid Social, or other emerging performance media channels.

Reporting to the Performance Media Strategy leader and working under the guidance of a Senior Media Specialist, this role ensures campaigns are built accurately, launched on schedule, and monitored against client objectives, regulatory requirements, platform best practices, and operational standards. The Media Specialist executes optimization actions, prepares performance reporting, and escalates delivery risks for senior review.

This is a developing practitioner role. The ideal candidate has foundational platform experience in at least one performance media channel, strong attention to detail, and a demonstrated interest in building channel depth. Experience in a financial institution, agency, or other regulated marketing environment is preferred but not required.
Key Responsibilities
Campaign Activation and Management (50%)

- Build and traffic digital media campaigns within the assigned channel against approved strategies, budgets, targeting parameters, and client objectives.

- Complete campaign setup tasks including audience configuration, budget and flight entry, tracking implementation, and pre-launch quality assurance checklists.

- Monitor daily delivery, pacing, and performance against established KPIs and flag variances to the Senior Media Specialist or Strategy leader.

- Identify execution issues, tracking discrepancies, and delivery challenges, and resolve routine issues or escalate complex ones with supporting detail.

- Maintain accurate campaign documentation, naming conventions, and trafficking records in line with operational processes and standards.

Optimization and Reporting (25%)

- Execute optimization actions such as bid, budget, placement, audience, and creative adjustments under senior guidance.

- Pull, assemble, and quality check campaign performance reporting for internal and client-facing use.

- Track key performance indicators including engagement, conversions, acquisition metrics, pacing, and media efficiency.

- Summarize performance observations and surface opportunities and risks to senior team members.

- Support test execution by implementing agreed test structures and capturing results accurately.

Channel Skill Development (15%)

- Build working knowledge of platform capabilities, targeting methodologies, product updates, and industry best practices within the assigned channel.

- Complete platform certifications and training relevant to the assigned channel.

- Apply established playbooks and channel best practices consistently across campaigns.

- Contribute observations from day-to-day execution that inform process improvement and automation opportunities.

- Use AI-enabled tools and automation solutions available to the team to improve campaign setup, reporting, and optimization workflows.

Compliance, Governance, and Collaboration (10%)

- Follow client requirements, industry regulations, platform policies, and financial services compliance standards in all campaign work.

- Coordinate with Client Services, Analytics, Product, Creative, and Operations teams throughout campaign lifecycles.

- Provide accurate campaign detail to support performance reviews and client discussions.

- Escalate performance concerns, operational risks, or compliance questions promptly.

Education
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Business, or a related field preferred.

Experience

- 2 to 4 years of experience in digital media, performance marketing, media buying, campaign management, or marketing operations.

- Hands-on experience executing campaigns in at least one performance media channel.

- Experience in a financial institution, agency, marketing services, or other performance-driven environ