Paid Search Account Director

With a history that dates back over 80 years, Starcom is a global communications planning and media leader. We are an agency still grounded in our founding principle that people are at the centre of all we do. Each day, we apply this belief to harness the transformative power of data and technology to inspire and move people and business forward. With more than 7,000 employees in over 100 offices around the world, we are the flagship Publicis Media agency that uses our ‘Power of One’ business model, with teams that span multiple disciplines across clients such as Aldi, P&G, Primark, Samsung, Stellantis, and Visa.

We place a huge focus on our People, and have driven flagship D&I and L&D programmes within Publicis Media; our goal is to help every individual reach their fullest potential, and we encourage everyone to make “Brave Plays” in how they approach their work and their own career development. As a result, we have an exceptionally energised and committed talent base, all of us proud of our welcoming and supportive culture, as evidenced by our recognition as one of Campaign’s Best Places to Work for five years in a row, Media Week's Agency of the Year 2025 and one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025.

Overview

We are hiring a Search Account Director to lead paid and social search across six brands and seven European markets. You’ll guide the day-to-day operation through an important transition, protecting performance while turning a Connected Search strategy into consistently strong delivery. Working with specialists across paid search, SEO, GEO, content, retail and social, you’ll help create a more connected view of how people discover brands. This is an opportunity to shape high-quality work, develop a talented team and build trusted stakeholder relationships.

Responsibilities

Lead the onboarding and transition of paid search activity, covering account audits, access, tracking validation, knowledge transfer and launch readiness.

Turn the Connected Search strategy into clear brand, market and campaign plans across Google, Microsoft and relevant social search platforms.

Protect performance during transition by managing risks, resolving issues and introducing market-by-market optimisation at the right time.

Set standards for campaign structure, bidding, audiences, feeds, measurement and quality assurance across all accounts.

Own performance reporting, budget pacing and financial governance, translating complex data into clear recommendations and actions.

Connect paid search insights with SEO, GEO, content, retail and social teams, identifying opportunities to reduce wasted spend and support growth.

Lead and develop Account Managers and Executives while coordinating onshore and offshore teams through clear roles, workflows and expectations.

Strong paid search experience gained through leading complex, multi-brand or multi-market accounts.

Advanced working knowledge of Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, SA360, Smart Bidding, tracking and campaign architecture.

Experience managing account transitions, access changes or significant restructures while maintaining delivery and performance.

Sound commercial judgement, including experience with budget pacing, billing, purchase orders and financial reconciliation.

The ability to interpret performance data and turn it into focused, practical recommendations for senior stakeholders.

A collaborative leadership approach, with experience supporting the development of Account Managers and Executives across different delivery teams.

An understanding of social search, SEO or GEO and how paid search contributes to a connected consumer journey; large FMCG or similarly complex agency experience would be helpful.

Starcom 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 Starcom, 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.

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