Solis | Paid Media Recruitment Agency
Helping Brands and Agencies Hiring Exceptional Paid Media professionals
Solis Recruitment is your specialist partner for finding high-impact talent.
Paid media is where performance meets precision. It can require professionals to work across search, social, programmatic, and retail platforms. We help brands and agencies hire the channel specialists, marketing generalist and leaders who lift ROAS, reduce CAC, and scale spend responsibly.
Paid Media is a core strength, and our expertise extends to sourcing top talent across the full spectrum of Digital Marketing for teams in the UK, US, and UAE.
Visit our marketing hub to learn more about our marketing recruitment services.
What is Paid Media?
Paid Media refers to any marketing channel where brands pay to distribute content or ads
Paid Search (PPC)
Paid Search (PPC) is a digital advertising technique where businesses pay to appear immediately at the top of search results (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and can extend to visual Shopping ads for e-commerce and various ad formats on YouTube.). It is a pay-per-click model, allowing you to bid on specific keywords to capture users who are actively demonstrating high commercial intent.
PPC is essential because it delivers instant, targeted traffic. Unlike SEO, PPC campaigns can drive qualified leads and sales within hours, providing rapid results and crucial market data. Its complete tractability allows for precise budget control and real-time optimisation.
Ultimately, paid search is a powerful, data-driven engine for predictable and scalable business growth. It ensures every dollar is spent on driving measurable conversions, making it a cornerstone of modern digital marketing strategy.
Paid Social
Paid Social involves paying platforms (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest) to serve targeted ads into users' feeds. Unlike search, this captures users based on profiling and behavior rather than immediate intent, allowing UK businesses to drive brand awareness and generate demand across the British audience at scale.
Businesses need specialized professionals because these platforms are now governed by sophisticated AI and automation tools like Meta's Advantage+ (ASC). Professionals ensure Signal Quality (accurate conversion data) is clean, which is essential for the AI to effectively spend budget. They also implement rigorous Creative Testing Frameworks to feed the algorithm a steady supply of high-performing ads aligned with clear Conversion Objectives.
In essence, these professionals are required to tame the AI, translating business goals into platform language. They ensure that marketing pounds (£) are allocated intelligently, rapidly scale what works, and efficiently maximize Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) by aligning creative assets and data signals with high-value UK audiences.
Programmatic / DV360 Professionals
Programmatic professionals manage the automated, data-driven buying of display, video, and Connected TV (CTV) advertising at massive scale using Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) like DV360 and The Trade Desk. Their work focuses on building precise Audience Strategies using first-party data, securing exclusive PMP/PG deals for premium publisher inventory, and enforcing Brand Safety to protect reputation.
They are essential because they provide the technical expertise to tame the algorithms, translating high-level business goals into profitable execution. They utilize machine learning for continuous optimization, ensuring media spend is highly cost-efficient and that performance-driven video and display campaigns maximize ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) across the open internet.
Retail Media
Retail Media professionals are the specialists who manage a brand's presence and advertising budget directly on e-commerce platforms like Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, and other Retail Media Networks (RMNs). Their unique value lies in their ability to leverage a retailer's first-party purchase data to target consumers who are actively shopping, right at the point of purchase.
They are essential because they ensure products are visible to high-intent buyers, which directly translates to sales (closed-loop attribution). By managing feed readiness, they guarantee product data is clean and optimized for both search/display mix campaigns (like Sponsored Products vs. Sponsored Display) and dynamic ad creatives. Furthermore, they are masters of financial strategy, often responsible for utilizing co-op budgets (marketing funds shared between the brand and the retailer) to drive mutual growth and maximize the return on trade spend.
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Salary Benchmarks for Paid Media Roles (UK, 2025)
Salaries vary significantly depending on company size, industry, location, and product/business maturity. The figures below represent aggregated data from multiple sources and conversations with professionals. These benchmarks should be used as directional guidance only.
Note: Salary ranges are indicative and may vary based on company size, industry, location, and product/business maturity. These figures are intended to guide recruitment strategy.
What Recruiting a Great Paid Media Professionals Looks Like
A modern paid media team is structured hierarchically to ensure both granular execution and overarching strategic vision. At the base are the Executives and Specialists (PPC Executive, Paid Social Executive, Programmatic Trader), who are the hands-on and responsible for the delivery of campaigns. They handle the daily execution, focusing on campaign building, A/B testing, creative rotation, and constant bid optimisation within their specific platforms (Google Ads, Meta, DV360).
Above them, the Managers (Paid Media Manager, PPC Manager) are responsible for strategic planning and resource allocation. They translate high-level business goals into channel-specific targets, manage the overall team workflow, and ensure budget is effectively distributed across search, social, and display. They will still get hands on with the tools.
Finally, the Leads and Directors (Head of Paid Media, Director of Performance) own the commercial and data strategy for the entire function, responsible for the team’s overall profitability, technology stack integrity, and long-term vision.
What separates a good team from a great one is the commitment to technical excellence and data discipline. Great teams exhibit profound Channel Depth, holding top-tier platform badges and utilising advanced features like shopping feeds and automated bidding.
Their strategy is fueled by Disciplined Testing, maintaining a continuous roadmap for challenging current creative and bidding strategies to find incremental performance gains. This precision is only possible through Clean Tracking, where they prioritize flawless data consistency using tools like GA4 and CM360 to ensure accurate cross-channel attribution and reporting.
Ultimately, this rigor leads to superior Budget Management, allowing them to dynamically reallocate spend to the highest-performing channel in real-time, maximizing ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) and driving scalable growth for the business.
How Solis Headhunts Paid Media and Performance
Marketing Leaders
Hiring the right Paid Media and Performance Marketing talent is critical for businesses aiming for rapid, measurable growth and strong ROI. Whether you need a Head of Performance Marketing, Director of Growth, or a channel expert in PPC, Paid Social, or Programmatic, these roles directly influence your ability to drive qualified leads, manage multi-million-pound budgets, and optimize the entire customer journey.
At Solis Recruitment, we connect companies with leaders who combine analytical rigor and strategic channel expertise to deliver sustainable, profitable campaigns.
Our Paid Media Recruitment Approach:
1. Define Your Paid Media & Performance Marketing Hiring Needs
We start by understanding your CAC targets, LTV metrics, and growth objectives. From advanced bid strategies and ad tech implementation to attribution modeling, we identify the skills and experience your ideal candidate needs to scale performance across all paid channels.
2. Targeted Market Mapping for Paid Media Talent
Our team maps the Paid Media and Performance Marketing talent landscape across industries such as DTC/eCommerce, Fintech, and B2B SaaS. We source candidates with proven experience in PPC, Paid Social, Programmatic, and Affiliate Marketing, ensuring access to both active and passive talent.
3. Strategic Candidate Engagement for Leadership Roles
We position your opportunity as a career-defining move, highlighting scope for full-funnel optimization, budget ownership, and MarTech integration. Our outreach is personalized to attract high-performing Paid Media professionals who excel at commercial forecasting and enterprise-level growth.
4. Rigorous Assessment for Analytical & Strategic Fit
We assess candidates on:
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Commercial acumen: ability to manage multi-million-pound budgets and forecast ROI.
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Strategic capability: cross-channel planning, attribution modeling, and collaboration with Product and Data teams.
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Leadership qualities: building and scaling high-performing teams.
This ensures your new hire can deliver predictable, profitable performance and lead continuous optimization efforts.