Digital Performance Director

Job Overview Job Title: Digital Performance Director Salary: £60k–£80k Location: Leeds (Hybrid – 3 days) Employment Type: Full-time Reporting Line: Group Managing Director - Media Why media talent join AC Media AC Media is part of Audience Collective, a group of 140 specialists working with brands including Secret Escapes, BT, PizzaExpress, Amazon, Seiko and Kellogg’s. We combine creative thinking with performance precision to deliver campaigns that challenge the algorithm not just optimise it. Media talent join us to shape ideas early, influence strategy, and play an active role in pitching, new business and growth, not sit behind the scenes. Backed by the scale of Audience Collective and the autonomy of a specialist agency, AC Media offers real influence, visibility and the chance to help build what’s next. Through the Audience Collective, our clients access a full ecosystem of expertise to move faster, think smarter, and grow beyond expectations. The Role This role is for someone who wants to shape and build, not maintain. As Digital Performance Director, you’ll define and lead AC Media’s digital performance capability, playing a central role in our next stage of growth. You’ll set the performance vision, lead senior client conversations, and stay close to delivery to ensure results translate into real commercial impact. You’ll also be a visible force in pitching and new business helping shape propositions, contribute to integrated pitches, and build performance thinking into how we win and grow accounts. It’s a hybrid, hands on leadership role, balancing strategic direction with practical execution, and offering the opportunity to build a performance offering that’s fully integrated into a creative media environment, not siloed from it. Own the performance. Build the capability. Deliver commercial impact. What good looks like Someone who: Owns digital performance end‑to‑end, with clear accountability for results Leads senior clients with confidence and authority Gets hands on fixing issues and drive improvement when needed Turns data into clear decisions that focus on growth Builds a credible, scalable director‑level performance function. Responsibilities Performance Strategy & Commercial Outcomes Accountable for defining and owning AC Media’s digital performance strategy across Search, Paid Social and YouTube Ensure all performance activity is explicitly aligned to client commercial objectives and growth targets Establish clear success measures across CPA, ROAS, LTV, incrementality and contribution to revenue Maintain performance quality and commercial rigor across all accounts Objective: Performance activity consistently demonstrates measurable commercial impact and clear return on investment. Campaign Ownership & Delivery Excellence Personally accountable for the setup, optimisation and performance of priority client campaigns Own budget allocation, bidding strategy and optimisation frameworks across platforms Identify underperformance early and take decisive, data led corrective action Ensure performance standards are upheld regardless of scale, budget or client size Objective: Campaigns are actively managed, not passively overseen, with sustained performance improvement. Measurement, Attribution & Insight Accountable for ensuring accurate tracking, tagging and attribution across all performance activity Lead the use of GA4, GTM, offline conversion data and attribution models to inform decision‑making Define and maintain outcome‑focused reporting that moves beyond platform metrics Ensure insights are translated into clear actions and recommendations Objective: Clients and internal teams clearly understand what is working, why, and what happens next. Client Leadership Own senior client relationships from a performance perspective Lead strategic conversations with confidence, clarity and commercial credibility Challenge client thinking where required, using evidence and performance insight Act as a trusted performance partner rather than a delivery‑only contact Objective: Clients trust AC Media’s performance leadership and see it as integral to their business growth. Build, Embed & Scale the Performance Function Accountable for defining performance processes, standards and best‑practice frameworks Introduce scalable ways of working that improve efficiency and quality as the function grows Manage freelancers and contribute to future hiring decisions Embed performance thinking across strategy, creative and media disciplines Objective: A clearly defined, scalable performance capability that can grow with the agency. Growth & New Business Contribution Lead digital performance strategy input into pitches and growth opportunities Build credible forecasts and performance narratives that support commercial decisions Strengthen AC Media’s reputation as a serious, outcome‑driven performance partner Objective: Performance capability directly supports agency growth and new business success. Future Capability & Innovation Maintain awareness of emerging platforms, formats and performance models Apply AI and automation pragmatically to improve quality, insight and efficiency Continuously evolve performance approaches to remain competitive and relevant Objective: AC Media’s performance offering remains progressive, credible and future‑ready. Skills & Capabilities Strategic problem solving – able to identify root causes, not just symptoms Performance storytelling – frames results, insight and trade‑offs in a commercially compelling way Operational rigor – sets and maintains clear standards, processes and expectations Cross‑disciplinary leadership – works effectively across media, strategy, creative and analytics Adaptability under pressure – maintains quality and momentum in fast‑moving environments Progressive mindset – applies AI, automation and emerging approaches pragmatically Tools & Platforms Paid platforms: Google Ads (incl. YouTube), Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Programmatic (i.e. Stackadapt) Measurement & analytics: GA4 with strong conversion and event setup Tagging: Google Tag Manager (confident implementation and QA) Attribution: UTM governance and attribution logic Reporting: Looker Studio (or equivalent) with platform data extraction Data & automation: Advanced Excel/Google Sheets; familiarity with scripts, feeds and automation Experience & Requirements Proven Digital Performance Director / Lead experience within a media or performance agency Deep expertise across core performance channels, with hands‑on ownership of significant budgets (£50k+ per month) Strong commercial and strategic mindset, able to translate business goals into performance outcomes Confident leading senior client conversations and influencing decision‑makers Builder mentality, motivated to shape, scale and improve performance capability 7+ years’ experience, including leadership of freelancers or small teams What We Offer Hybrid working (Leeds office Tuesday–Thursday) 25 days’ holiday + 3 celebration days 37.5‑hour working week Pension, life insurance and income protection EAP and 24/7 virtual GP access