Group Media Director

Position Overview

Session Interactive is looking for a Group Media Director to lead integrated media strategy and drive the performance of three key service areas under the Media umbrella across our client portfolio. This is a leadership role. You will oversee the following key service areas: Paid Search, Paid Social, and SEO. You will directly manage their respective Team Leads, own the Media department's financial performance, and set the strategic direction that connects those disciplines into one coherent practice.

This role unifies planning and thinking that has historically lived in separate corners of the agency into a single strategic discipline and practice, backed by real management authority and financial accountability. You will sit at the intersection of client goals, channel execution, department economics, and department process - building media strategies that are ambitious, feasible, and grounded in data, while running the department like a business within the business.

This is a full time, fully remote role with flexible scheduling, designed for a senior, self-directed strategist, proven executioner, and skilled motivator who thrives in ambiguity and can drive clarity through strong questions, research-backed thinking, and confident recommendations.

Dream Candidate Description

The ideal candidate is a confident strategic thinker and a proven people leader, someone who has managed senior individuals and team leads, owned a department P&L, and can translate a client's business problem into a coherent, cross-channel media plan, then stand in front of that client and defend it with clarity and conviction.

They are highly intuitive and emotionally intelligent—someone who can read the room, ask the right questions, and raise the standard of thinking without creating friction. They can challenge assumptions respectfully, identify what’s missing, and guide the team toward smarter decisions.

This person has a deep understanding of media strategy and/or programmatic thinking, and is comfortable building strategies inside a DSP planning interface (audience selection, inventory considerations, measurement approach, budget allocation logic, flighting, etc.). 

They have spent considerable time within the platforms as well, and know how to architect, build out, deploy, manage, and optimize media campaigns from an executional standpoint. They understand that great strategy must be deliverable—and they know how to structure priorities and sequencing so teams can execute effectively.

They will do all of this guided by Session Interactive’s mission & vision and core values: integrity, excellence, collaboration, dynamism, and empowerment.

Primary Responsibilities & Day to Day Snapshot

1. Strategy Development & Strategic Oversight (Client Outcomes First)

• Lead the development of integrated, cross-channel media strategies spanning SEO, paid search, paid social, organic social, programmatic, and display - working with all teams to accomplish - aligned to each client's business goals
• Build media plans that incorporate the full range of available tactics, including content syndication, retargeting, and webinar sponsorships, and recommend the right mix for each client's objectives and budget
• Ensure strategy stays connected to performance data, and adjust plans as results and market conditions evolve

2. Team Leadership and Department Management

• Unify three key service areas: Paid Search, Paid Social, and SEO under one Media Department practice, which you will lead. Directly manage Team Leads, setting clear goals and holding respective service areas accountable to results
• Coach and develop senior individual contributors and team leads, building bench strength and succession within each service area
• Set department-level structure, workflows, and standards of quality across the SEO, paid search, and paid social disciplines
• Drive performance management, resourcing, and staffing decisions across the department in partnership with People Ops

3. Client Consulting, Discovery, and Executive-Level Recommendations

• Serve as the senior strategic voice in client conversations, quarterly business reviews, and goal-setting sessions
• Translate client business objectives into clear, executable strategy across targeting, channel selection, messaging, and measurement
• Present strategic recommendations, performance readouts, and QBRs directly to client stakeholders, including executives and directors

4. Consumer, Market, and Industry Intelligence

• Explore consumer behaviors and audience dynamics to inform targeting and messaging strategies.
• Analyze industry trends, competitive landscapes, and emerging technologies to identify opportunities and risks.
• Stay current on platform changes, programmatic best practices, and new digital marketing techniques—and translate them into recommendations the team can use.
• Bring a point of view on where the media landscape is heading and what it means for client strategy and department capability

5. RFP/RFI + Proposal Strategy Support

• Evaluate incoming RFPs and client requests, define the recommended strategic approach, and ensure proposed plans are realistic and achievable
• Flag scope, budget, or timeline risk early, and recommend solutions before proposals go out
• Partner with Sales on strategic selling, ensuring plan quality supports the pitch

6. Financial Oversight and P&L Management

• Own the Media department's P&L, including revenue, cost, overhead, and margin performance across paid search, paid social, and SEO - and coach team leads to have an active role in understanding and owning these key metrics as well
• Partner with Finance and the VP, Operations on budgeting, forecasting, and capacity planning for the department
• Monitor utilization and staffing costs against revenue, and recommend adjustments to protect margin
• Provide clear, data-backed financial reporting on department health to agency leadership

7. Internal Enablement and Cross-Functional Alignment

• Partner with Client Account Management, SEO, Paid Search, Paid Social, and Analytics service areas to ensure strategy and execution stay connected, and that plans are realistic to deliver
• Educate internal stakeholders on client business context, goals, and strategic logic
• Direct deliverables and sequencing across the department, clarifying what comes first and where focus should sit

8. Growth Opportunities & Quarterly Planning

• Identify expansion, cross-sell, and upsell opportunities in partnership with Client Account Management and Sales, grounded in client performance and maturity
• Lead quarterly planning for the department, ensuring capacity, staffing, and strategy are aligned to agency growth goals
• Ensure ongoing strategy remains coherent, prioritized, and tied to measurable outcomes
   

What This Role Is Not Responsible For

To keep expectations clear, this role is not responsible for:

• Owning every client account at the agency (although there should be an awareness of all clients)
• Day-to-day trafficking tasks that belong to Client Account Management (though this role influences prioritization and sequencing)
• Performing audits and creating roadmaps specific to individual service areas 
• Managing day to day budgets or individual contributor hours for individual service area initiatives
• Sales quota ownership (but may support pitches and strategic selling through insights and plan quality)
   

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, or a related field; advanced degree a plus
• Seven or more years of experience in media strategy, with hands-on fluency across SEO, paid search, paid social, organic social, programmatic, and display
• Proven experience managing senior individuals and team leads, with a track record of driving results through others rather than solo execution
• Experience owning a department or team P&L, including budget, overhead, and margin management
• Strong financial acumen, with the ability to translate department performance into staffing, resourcing, and capacity decisions
• Demonstrated leadership within one or more of the following service areas: paid search, paid social, or SEO
• Working knowledge of earned, paid, and owned media efforts and when each earns a place in a media plan
• Strong consulting and discovery skills, with the ability to clarify a client's true goals and constraints, not just the stated brief
• High emotional intelligence and communication skill, able to challenge assumptions and raise the standard of thinking without creating friction
• Proven experience presenting to senior client stakeholders, including QBRs and executive-level strategic readouts
• Familiarity with measurement frameworks, including attribution limitations, incrementality concepts, and conversion architecture
• Self-directed and comfortable driving clarity in ambiguous situations, with strong organizational and prioritization skills

What Success Looks Like

• Media strategies across supported accounts are cohesive, feasible, and tied directly to client outcomes
• The department meets or exceeds its P&L targets for revenue, cost, and margin
• Team Leads and senior staff are engaged, developed, and retained
• Clients and internal stakeholders report strong confidence in strategic guidance and recommendations
• Fewer breakdowns between strategy and execution, with clearer sequencing and priorities across teams
• Consistent identification of growth opportunities that align to client needs and agency capabilities

Performance and Evaluation Criteria

The Group Media Director’s performance will be measured across a recurring evaluation structure. Key metrics include:

1. Strategic Quality & Rigor

• Strategies are cohesive, research-backed, and tied to measurable client outcomes.
• Recommendations are clear, prioritized, and executable across channels.
• Both clients and team leads understand the strategies as ideated, can speak to the reasoning behind, and can help monitor for performance while live.

2. People Leadership & Team Development

• Team Leads and senior staff are engaged, coached, challenged, and retained.
• Growth plans, focus areas and core deliverables, service level agreements, operational processes, rules of engagement, pricing, etc. exist within each service area - and are continually updated and optimized in collaboration with team leads.
• Performance management, goals, and KPIs across service areas and individuals within are recorded and discussed in a timely, fair, and clearly documented manner.

3. Client Trust & Communication

• Clients and internal stakeholders report strong confidence in strategic guidance.
• Discovery, assessments, and executive recommendations land with clarity and usefulness.
• Difficult conversations are not shied away from and are conducted the moment we sense or experience a conflict or issue.

4. Financial & P&L Performance

• The Media department meets or exceeds targets for revenue, cost, overhead, and margin - and if/when trending behind, conversations are had with team leads quickly and plans put in place to resolve issues.
• Utilization and staffing costs are consistently monitored and remain aligned to revenue and capacity plans.
• Financial reporting to agency leadership is accurate, timely, and decision-ready.

5. Cross-Functional Effectiveness

• Strong partnership with Sales, Client Account Managers, Creatives, and all team & service area leads.
• Fewer breakdowns between strategy and execution, with clear sequencing and priorities.
• All assets, tactics, deliverables, etc. created in support of a strategic initiative by individual teams will be thoroughly QA’d and tested prior to going live.

6. Opportunity Identification

• Regular identification of expansion opportunities and strategic next steps that align to client needs and agency capabilities.
• Proactive review or distribution of recommendations without being told.

7. Adaptability & Market Awareness

• Strategy evolves appropriately based on market conditions, platform changes, and emerging technology.
• Ability to remain curious and open-minded while having both client and the business’ best interests in mind.

About Session Interactive

Session Interactive is a Denver-based digital marketing agency. We grow mid-market and enterprise-level brands who have all of the raw materials to succeed but need extra innovation, expertise, and data-driven strategies to truly flourish in the digital landscape.