Vice President, Paid Media & Digital Strategy

Avoq is seeking a Vice President to serve as a senior member of the AIP team providing leadership and mentorship to growing team of strategists and leading work for clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies and global brands to top universities, foundations and coalitions. This role can be based out of either our Washington D.C., New York, Asbury Park, NJ or Chicago office.

WHO YOU ARE

- You are a senior media strategist who can translate business, communications, and public affairs objectives into audience strategies, channel recommendations, investment plans and measurable outcomes.
- You are a trusted advisor to senior clients, confident presenting in client meetings and new business pitches, providing rationale for recommendations, navigating ambiguity and resolving challenges with sound judgment.
- You take ownership of client engagements, ensuring strategy, execution, timelines, reporting and budgets align with client expectations and Avoq standards.
- You are an experienced people leader who develops the team and other senior media leads, sets clear expectations, delegates effectively and holds teams accountable for quality and results.
- You collaborate across research, analytics, creative, organic social and account strategy to build integrated programs that connect channels and audience touchpoints.
- You combine deep knowledge of campaign measurement and analytics with sound strategic judgment, using data to guide investment decisions and translate performance into clear, actionable recommendations.
- You take pride in educating clients and colleagues, adapting to their levels of paid media expertise and building their confidence in using digital strategies to advance their goals.
- You are curious, adaptable and entrepreneurial, staying ahead of emerging tools, tactics and trends and identifying practical ways to strengthen client programs and Avoq’s digital and paid media capabilities.
- You thrive in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment, bringing structure to competing priorities, anticipating challenges and aligning teams and resources to deliver high-quality work on time and within budget.
- You bring a commercial mindset, balancing client outcomes, team capacity and account economics while identifying opportunities to grow client relationships and the practice.
- You are excited about partnering closely with our Research, Integrated Analytics, and Insights teams, drawing on Avoq’s proprietary AI-powered intelligence solutions to strengthen audience understanding, inform media strategy and drive measurable client outcomes. You are comfortable applying emerging AI platforms, agentic workflows, and marketing technology to improve how our AIP Paid Media team plans, activates and optimizes campaigns.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

- Serve as the senior paid media advisor across a portfolio of client accounts, owning strategic direction, the quality of recommendations, and senior client relationships. Lead investment discussions and manage escalations in partnership with account and practice leadership.
- Lead integrated media strategies grounded in audience intelligence, with clear objectives, channel roles, budgets, and measurement plans. Guide investment across paid social, search, programmatic display and native, online video, CTV and streaming, digital audio, and publisher partnerships, integrating offline media where relevant.
- Oversee planning, activation, optimization, and reporting through account teams. Review major plans and deliverables, challenge assumptions, diagnose performance issues and provide hands-on guidance when needed.
- Partner with insights and analytics colleagues to establish KPIs and measurement frameworks, assess results against campaign objectives, and translate findings and data limitations into clear recommendations for clients.
- Manage and coach team and senior media leads and strategists. Set goals, provide actionable feedback, lead performance conversations and support hiring, development, and advancement in partnership with practice leadership.
- Partner with account and practice leadership on scopes of work, staffing plans, resource allocation and account profitability. Ensure teams manage media budgets, pacing, forecasts and reconciliations accurately, and address delivery or scope risks early.
- Lead paid media strategy for new business and expansion opportunities, including discovery, proposals, investment recommendations and pitch presentations.
- Build relationships with media platforms, publishers, and technology partners to evaluate inventory, targeting capabilities, pricing and measurement approaches that improve client programs.
- Strengthen planning standards, quality assurance, workflows and knowledge sharing across the practice.
- Evaluate emerging channels, AI-enabled tools, and changes in targeting, privacy, measurement and advertising policies.
- Develop practical points of view and testing recommendations relevant to clients, including public affairs and advocacy campaigns.

Requirements

YOUR EXPERIENCE

As a qualified candidate, you have experience in all areas below:

- 12+ years of experience in paid media, digital strategy, or integrated media planning, with progressive responsibility and substantial agency experience managing multiple clients and competing priorities.
- 5+ years of direct people management experience, including experience managing managers or senior media leads and developing high-performing teams.
- A demonstrated record of independently leading complex client engagements, advising senior stakeholders, managing escalations and earning trust through strategic counsel and reliable delivery.
- Experience developing and overseeing multimillion-dollar media programs, allocating investment across channels and aligning plans with client objectives and measurable outcomes.
- Deep expertise across paid social, search, programmatic and video, with experience integrating CTV and streaming, digital audio and publisher partnerships. Familiarity with offline media integration is a plus.
- Prior hands-on campaign execution experience and current platform fluency sufficient to evaluate plans, troubleshoot issues and guide activation teams. Experience leading delivery through others is essential.
- Strong understanding of audience research, segmentation, advanced targeting, media measurement, attribution and optimization, including the limitations of platform-reported results.
- Experience partnering on scopes, staffing, resource planning and financial management, with an understanding of how delivery decisions affect account profitability.
- A record of contributing to new business wins and account growth through compelling proposals, presentations and recommendations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical concepts and performance data into clear guidance for nontechnical audiences. Fluency with analytics, visualization, and reporting platforms.
- Experience in public affairs, issue advocacy, corporate reputation or campaigns reaching policymakers and policy influencers is strongly preferred.
- A bachelor’s degree in advertising, marketing, business, or a related field or equivalent relevant professional experience.

Candidates need not possess every attribute listed above to qualify for a role. If you identify with this profile but don’t quite meet all of the criteria we strongly encourage you to apply to joining our winning team!

Benefits

WHO WE ARE

Avōq prides itself on the kind of innovation that is only achieved through inclusive collaboration and equal opportunity. Maintaining a diverse staff of first-class talent (including those from BIPOC, LGBTQ communities, and others from historically underrepresented groups), and conferring a sense of value and belonging on each team member is central to our mission as expert communicators and advocates.

The salary range for this role starts at $200,000

We offer a uniquely rich benefits package to support our team’s quality of life outside of work that includes:

· 100% Company-paid Medical, Dental and Vision insurance

· Paid parental leave

· 401(k) contributions

· Flexible, hybrid work arrangements (4 days in office)

· 12 paid company holidays per year, up to 39 days individual paid time off

· Winter break: Offices close the last week of the year

Avōq also provides necessary assistance or modifications to the application process for prospective candidates. If you need support, please reach out to [email protected] and include your full name and the accommodation needed to assist you with the application process. Decisions to grant reasonable accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis.