Social Paradigm Group
Head of Paid Media
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THE SHORT VERSION
Most agencies sell ROAS screenshots. We sell control.
Social Paradigm Group runs a Reality-Based Operating System for ambitious ecommerce brands: every decision grounded in unit economics, TAM constraints and margin reality, not gut feel, opinions, or attribution theatre. We're looking for a Head of Paid Media to lead the department that runs it.
This is a leadership role first. You'll own the performance of 8 media buying pods covering 60+ brand partners and £50M+ in annual ad spend. The standard those pods operate to, the results they deliver, and the people they become: that's your number. You'll keep your edge sharp with 1-2 flagship accounts, maximum, but if you're looking for a hands-on-keyboard media buying role, this isn't it.
WHO WE ARE
Social Paradigm Group is the merger of two of the UK's leading D2C agencies, Social Nucleus and Paradigm Media. One group, one goal: helping ambitious ecommerce brands grow profitably.
- 60+ brand partners.
- £50M+ in annual managed ad spend.
- Proprietary tech built in-house: eCompass (diagnostics and benchmarking backed by £500+ in tracked revenue data) and AdSynth (mass ad-building that frees buyers from button-pushing so their time goes to strategy that compounds).
- Elite teams across paid media, creative, email and strategy.
No other agency group in the UK has this under one roof.
THIS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
We'd rather you self-select out now than six months in. So, plainly:
- Your performance is your pods' performance. Eight teams, every account, every client outcome. If a pod underdelivers, it's yours to fix.
- You'll be judged on outcomes, not effort. Retention, margin, and the calibre of people you develop. Not hours logged or decks produced.
- Our clients are founders who want truth, not comfort. When a pod needs backup telling a client their TAM is capped or their offer is the problem, you're the one who steps in with the data.
- We don't do attribution theatre. If your instinct is to defend a dashboard rather than interrogate it, we'll frustrate you.
- Nobody here builds your task list. You'll have clear targets, full autonomy, and total accountability for the gap between the two.
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No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
If that reads as pressure, this isn't your role. If it reads as freedom, keep going.
THE ROLE
As Head of Paid Media, you own the paid media function across the group: 8 pods, each led by a Senior Growth Strategist, each responsible for a portfolio of DTC brands.
Your job is to make every pod operate like the best pod.
Pod & Department Leadership
- Own performance across all 8 media buying pods: results, standards, and consistency
- Set and enforce the operating standard: account structure, testing frameworks, creative volume, reporting quality
- Run performance management for pod leads: clear KPIs, weekly accountability, honest feedback
- Use our live churn prediction engine to spot at-risk accounts early and direct pod attention before clients feel pain
- Own escalations: when an account wobbles or a client pushes back, you're the senior voice in the room
- Drive capacity planning: which pod takes which client, when to split, when to hire
People & Development
- Develop pod leads into genuine strategists using our eight-rung career ladder
- Run hiring for the department as the group scales
- Own onboarding of new buyers so quality is consistent from week one
- Build a culture where high performers want to stay and underperformance is addressed, not tolerated
Strategic Leadership
- Own the vision and roadmap for the Paid Media department
- Embed scalable frameworks for testing, optimisation and creative strategy across all pods
- Protect profitability and margin across the entire paid book
- Contribute to agency strategy and new business pitches
Flagship Accounts (the smaller part of the job)
- Direct strategic ownership of 1-2 flagship accounts, maximum
- Enough to stay sharp, credible with the team, and current on the platforms. Not enough to hide in.
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WHAT YOU'LL MASTER
This role is also an apprenticeship in a system that doesn't exist anywhere else:
- The Reality-Based Operating System
- iROAS: our proprietary attribution metric scoring ads by ecosystem contribution, not last-click theatre
- eCompass: diagnostics and benchmarking against niche and AOV-band peers
- AdSynth: mass ad-building that turns an 8-pod department into something that executes like 20
You'll leave more valuable than you arrived, whether that's in three years or ten. Most agencies can't make that promise honestly. We can.
WHO YOU'LL WORK WITH
You'll report directly to Will, founder and CEO. He built the methodology this group runs on and still operates at account level when it matters. Expect direct feedback, fast decisions, zero corporate filter, and a leader who cares more about whether you're right than whether you agree with him.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
- 5-8+ years in paid media, agency or high-growth ecommerce
- Prior leadership of multiple teams or a department, not just a portfolio. This is the non-negotiable hire criteria alongside Meta depth.
- Deep Meta expertise, with strong working knowledge of TikTok, YouTube and Paid Search
- Proven track record on £100k+ monthly budgets
- Commercially literate: you read a P&L as comfortably as an ad account
- Demonstrable history of developing people and retaining clients
- Ownership mentality. Eight pods' results are your results. If that sentence excites you rather than scares you, apply.
WHAT YOU GET
- £50,000 - £60,000 base + uncapped commission
- Defined progression on the SPG career ladder
- 30 days holiday + bank holidays + your birthday off (41 days total)
- Fully remote
- Dedicated development budget and all training provided
- iPhone and MacBook provided
- Monthly team socials, all expenses paid
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