Paid Search Account Director

Company Description

We help brands make BOLD MOVES

Nowadays, brands want rapid, spectacular growth and they expect media to deliver it.

Clients used to give us media briefs that said “deliver 80% awareness” or “give me an impactful Christmas campaign.”

Now we hear

“Take me from 4th to 1st in my category”

“Help me grow 10% in a market declining 10%”

“Make me the most loved brand in my industry”

These are huge asks of media, that can’t be met through tweaking the media plan of two years ago.

Decades of advertising research prove that without a big change, large brands stay large and small brands stay small.

This is why Zenith help brands make BOLD MOVES.

Bold moves are big, brave changes to media strategy, delivering more impact for brands and more value for consumers.

Bold moves are backed up with a solid forecast – they are a better path to growth.

Bold moves build a partnership – we believe in this approach so much we link our growth to your success.

Bold Moves bring bigger ROI

This approach works for our clients, our people and consumers – it’s why we are recognised as the UK’s best media agency.

Our CommitmentAt Zenith UK, we believe that fostering an inclusive culture where all talent can thrive makes our company stronger. It enables a greater idea exchange, which fosters innovation and creativity, and enriches our perspective.We are committed to Publicis Groupe’s wide variety of talent engagement and inclusion programming, and encourage our people to take an active role in continuing to drive positive change within our agency.

Overview

This is a 12 months maternity cover fixed term contract.

The Paid Search Account Director is a key paid search role that will support the strategic growth and development of our Paid Search proposition across our multi-market performance hubs. You will be a trusted advisor to senior clients as well as your colleagues within the agency. With your team of channel specialists, your primary goal will be to develop client strategy and elevate our Paid Search proposition across Tissot and Avolta, ensuring that you are working in lockstep with our overarching business strategy whilst delivering best in class client servicing.

Responsibilities

Client retention – You will lead a team of six across our Tissot and Avolta client accounts, delivering leading-edge paid search strategy, testing plans and best in class activation processes at scale.

Commercial acumen - You will own the commercial contribution for your client portfolio, understanding how Publicis tools and data offering can benefit and fit into the client strategy.

Product adoption – You will be accountable for managing change within your direct team to adopt products and technology that will reinvent how we plan and buy search media. This will involve ensuring your team members lean into change, upskill and understand the benefits of adopting products, working with our key media partners Google, Microsoft and Apple.

Client roadmaps – Working with your Head of Paid Search, elevate client sophistication through the development of strategic roadmaps that unify data, tech and media in a coherent market-leading offering.

Team management – You will lead a team of Paid Search experts and will be responsible for steering initiatives to ensure that they have a clear career path, working on key removing barriers to upskilling and attending training.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience within a digital agency, specifically in Paid Search key suppliers (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Apple Search Ads).

• Extensive knowledge & experience working with campaign & bid management software, in particular SA360

• Extensive experience in managing teams, effective in people management and following policies and practices in line with the talent team. Good knowledge around recruitment, performance management best practice, motivation, development plans, and issue resolution.

• Ability to offer consultative advice to large-budget advertisers about their Paid Search campaigns. Holistic attribution of value relating to the client's business and marketing success measures to report cross-channel marketing outcomes.

• Strategic experience in identifying & delivering commercial growth, not just in media billings but in new emerging revenue streams. Evidence of delivering high-value client business strategies and translating these into team actions and outputs.

• Lead data governance and management in line with global and industry developments, communicating this effectively with internal and external stakeholders.

• Ensure Financial Quality Assurance is adhered to within the team.

• Champions equal opportunities and supportive ways of working for teammates with equity requirements by working with the Talent team. Promotes a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion within the team.

• Capable of producing decks and POV aimed to senior clients.

Additional Information

Zenith UK offers a wide range of benefits to support our employees. Full details are shared when you join, but highlights include core benefits such as Pension, Life Assurance, and Private Medical cover, alongside enhanced policies like Reflection Days and Shared Parental Leave. You’ll also have access to a range of additional initiatives, including:

📖 Please check out the Publicis Career Page which showcases our Inclusive Benefits and our EAG’s (Employee Action Groups).

Publicis Groupe works primarily from the office or our clients' office four days per week.

At Zenith UK, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, citizenship, relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.

We are committed to providing a fair, accessible, and inclusive recruitment process. If you have any access needs - for example, related to disability, neurodivergence, or a health condition - please let us know. We’ll work with you to ensure the process works for you. Sharing this information will never impact your application.

Guided by our values, we listen with empathy, uplift each other, take responsibility, and embrace change - building a culture where everyone feels seen, respected, and genuinely included.