Senior Manager, Paid Acquisition

About the role

Stepful is seeking a Senior Manager for Paid Acquisition to lead and oversee the company's paid media channels. This role involves developing, executing, and optimizing paid advertising strategies across multiple platforms to support aggressive growth objectives. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing large-scale campaigns, analyzing performance data, and collaborating with creative teams and external agencies to produce high-quality ad assets. The role requires a combination of strategic planning, hands-on campaign management, and data-driven decision-making to ensure the company's marketing efforts are efficient, scalable, and aligned with overall business goals. The Senior Manager will play a key role in driving customer acquisition and full-funnel growth initiatives, directly impacting the company's expansion in a competitive market.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead the planning, execution, and ongoing optimization of paid media campaigns across various platforms such as Meta, Google, and emerging channels, ensuring alignment with company growth targets.
• Develop and implement a rigorous testing framework to evaluate different tactics, audiences, creative assets, messaging strategies, and landing pages, translating insights into actionable improvements.
• Manage relationships with external Search agencies, providing clear briefs, setting performance expectations, and ensuring they meet defined goals while adhering to the strategic roadmap.
• Monitor daily campaign performance metrics, including CAC and ROI, making real-time adjustments to maximize efficiency and scale successful initiatives.
• Produce detailed weekly KPI reports that analyze campaign performance, identify trends, highlight efficiencies, and recommend opportunities for scaling or optimization.
• Investigate significant shifts in campaign performance to identify the specific channel or business factors responsible, and implement corrective actions as needed.
• Collaborate closely with internal creative teams and external agencies to develop high-performing ad assets, including videos, user-generated content (UGC), influencer collaborations, and static ads, ensuring rapid turnaround and high quality.
• Stay informed about the latest platform updates, algorithm changes, and industry trends to maintain a competitive edge in paid social strategy.
• Generate innovative acquisition ideas and full-funnel growth concepts, actively participating in designing and executing experiments to test new approaches and channels.
• Manage and oversee the allocation of advertising budgets, ensuring optimal distribution across channels to maximize customer acquisition while maintaining cost efficiency.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams such as product, marketing, and data analytics to align paid acquisition efforts with broader company initiatives.
• Use performance marketing analytics tools to analyze campaign data, generate insights, and inform strategic decisions.
• Maintain documentation of campaign strategies, testing plans, and performance results to support continuous learning and knowledge sharing within the team.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to junior team members involved in paid media activities, fostering a culture of data-driven experimentation and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• At least 4 years of experience managing paid social and paid search campaigns for a direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup or similar fast-paced environment.
• Proven success in scaling paid media campaigns with monthly budgets exceeding $1 million, demonstrating efficiency in CAC, ROI, and customer lifetime value improvements.
• Deep understanding of paid advertising platforms such as Meta Ads, Google Ads, and YouTube advertising, with hands-on experience in campaign setup, optimization, and reporting.
• Strong project management skills, capable of managing multiple campaigns and initiatives simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills, able to clearly convey campaign performance, risks, and opportunities to internal stakeholders and external agencies.
• High attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and consistency across all campaign elements and reporting.
• Experience working with external creative agencies, providing clear briefs, actionable feedback, and managing iterative improvements.
• Highly analytical, with the ability to interpret complex performance data, identify optimization levers, and translate insights into strategic actions.
• Ability to work both strategically and tactically, balancing long-term planning with hands-on campaign management.
• Familiarity with performance marketing analytics tools and data visualization platforms to track and report on campaign success.
• Strong problem-solving skills and adaptability to rapidly changing platform algorithms and industry trends.

Nice to have

• Experience in EdTech, healthcare, or other mission-driven B2C sectors, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities within these markets.
• Enthusiasm for testing frameworks, UGC trends, and active participation in performance marketing communities.
• Knowledge of additional digital marketing channels beyond paid social and search, such as programmatic advertising or affiliate marketing.
• Experience managing larger teams or cross-functional projects related to growth marketing.
• Passion for innovative marketing approaches and continuous learning to stay ahead of industry developments.

Skills & tools

• Meta Ads
• Google Ads
• YouTube advertising
• Performance marketing analytics

Practical notes

• This role offers a meaningful equity stake, providing an ownership component aligned with company success.
• The company provides subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance options to support employee well-being.
• Additional benefits include a 401(k) plan, Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA), and commuter benefits to assist with daily expenses.
• The vacation policy is flexible, with an approximate guideline of 15 days of paid time off annually, plus a week off at the end of December.
• Employees are granted 15 work-from-anywhere days per year, allowing flexibility in location.
• The company observes 10 public holidays in 2025, ensuring time off for important dates.
• The interview process involves an initial introductory call, a hiring manager interview, a take-home assignment, a virtual panel interview, and an on-site panel interview, designed to assess both technical skills and cultural fit.

About the company

Stepful is reimagining allied healthcare training by offering affordable, online, instructor-led, and AI-supported programs that help learners - regardless of background or circumstance - launch high-demand healthcare careers. In addition to our direct-to-consumer training, Stepful partners with leading healthcare institutions to address the growing national shortage of healthcare workers.