Senior Paid Media Management Services
Strategic paid media leadership for teams scaling past $50k-$500k/mo in spend. A senior performance marketing manager who owns the program, coordinates specialists, and reports to your CEO/CMO.
EverestX places senior paid media leadership in your business as a managed service. This isn't a Meta specialist running ads — it's a senior leader who owns the strategy, runs the budget across channels, manages junior specialists or agencies in your existing org, and reports up to executives. The right move when channel-level specialists exist but no one is making portfolio-level decisions.
Also known as
Senior Performance Marketing Management·Head of Paid Media Services·Paid Media Director Services·Fractional Head of Performance
What's Included in Senior Paid Media Management
Every deliverable scoped + executed by a vetted specialist. No agency markup, no scope creep.
Channel mix + budget strategy
Quarterly budget allocation across channels based on portfolio-level CAC, growth phase, and incremental profitability.
Channel-specialist management
Hires, manages, and reviews channel specialists (whether on your team, agency, or EverestX). Sets standards, KPIs, and accountability.
Measurement infrastructure ownership
GA4, server-side tagging, MMM (where applicable), incrementality testing — the unsexy work most accounts under-invest in.
Executive reporting
Monthly readout to CEO/CMO: portfolio CAC, payback period, channel mix changes, what to expect next quarter. In language executives use, not platform jargon.
New channel evaluation
When to test a new channel, when to kill it, what success criteria look like at each phase.
Vendor + agency management
If you work with agencies or freelancers, this role manages them — sets briefs, reviews work, holds accountable.
Quarterly strategy planning
90-day plans tied to business goals (revenue, CAC, growth phase), with specific channel actions, budget shifts, and capability investments.
How Senior Paid Media Management Runs Month-to-Month
Same operational cadence every month. You always know what week we're in and what's shipping next.
Week 1 — Onboarding & Audit
- •Portfolio audit across channels
- •Measurement infrastructure review
- •Goals + KPI alignment with leadership
- •Current specialist/agency capability review
Week 2 — Strategy & Launch
- •Strategy doc: quarterly plan + budget allocation
- •Standards + KPI framework for channel specialists
- •Measurement gaps queued for fixing
- •Executive-reporting cadence set
Weeks 3+ — Ongoing Optimization
- •Weekly specialist 1:1s + accountability reviews
- •Cross-channel budget shifts as data dictates
- •New channel tests where appropriate
- •Executive escalations + cross-functional coordination
End of Month — Reporting & Planning
- •Executive report to CEO/CMO
- •Portfolio CAC + payback analysis
- •Quarterly checkpoint vs annual plan
- •Next-month: capability gaps, hires, channel shifts
KPIs We Track
The metrics that actually drive senior paid media management success — reported monthly in plain English, not buried in dashboards.
Blended CAC trend
The number this role is hired to move. Quarter-over-quarter improvement is the goal.
LTV/CAC ratio
Tells us if we're building a sustainable acquisition engine or buying revenue at a loss. Healthy ratios are 3+ for SaaS, 2+ for DTC.
Payback period
Months to recover acquisition cost. Critical for cashflow-sensitive businesses.
Channel diversification index
How concentrated is spend on a single channel. >70% concentration is a single-point-of-failure risk.
New-customer revenue %
Revenue attributable to new (vs returning) customers — tracks whether the acquisition engine is actually adding net new growth.
Why EverestX for Senior Paid Media Management
Senior performance marketers placed via EverestX have $1M+/year program experience, not $50k/mo accounts
You get strategic leadership at $1,700-$2,100/mo (full-time managed rate) — comparable in-house hires are $200k+/year loaded
Talent Success Manager backstops the engagement — replacement guarantee if the fit is wrong
No agency layering — this person works inside your org, not from a distant account-management chair
Cancel anytime. Most engagements run 6-18 months until full-time hire is justified.
Senior Paid Media Management — Pricing
Full-time (40 hrs/wk)
$1,700–$2,100/mo
$10–$12/hr · Mon–Fri, 8 hrs/day
Part-time (20 hrs/wk)
$1,200–$1,400/mo
$14–$16/hr · Mon–Fri, 4 hrs/day
No upfront fees · no recruitment fees · no platform fees — you pay only for hours worked. Cancel anytime. Replacement guarantee included.
Start Senior Paid Media ManagementSenior Paid Media Management — FAQs
How is this different from hiring a Meta or Google specialist?
A channel specialist runs one channel. This role runs the program — across channels, including specialists you may already have. The right move when you have $50k+/mo in paid spend split across 2+ channels and no single person owns blended CAC. If you only have one channel and one specialist, you don't need this role yet.
When do we hire this as a full-time CMO instead?
Roughly when paid spend exceeds $500k/year AND the role expands to include brand, lifecycle, content, and PR. Below that, fractional / managed senior paid media is usually a better economic fit. We help our managed clients make that transition when it's time.
Will the senior manager manage our existing agencies and freelancers?
Yes — standard scope. We set briefs, review work, hold them accountable to KPIs, and recommend changes (including replacement) when justified. Most clients see their existing agency performance improve when there's a senior in-house counterpart actively managing the relationship.
How quickly can the Senior Paid Media Management engagement start?
Most Senior Paid Media Management engagements start within 48-72 hours of intake. We match you with a vetted senior paid media specialist whose experience matches your industry, spend tier, and toolstack — then schedule a kickoff call. The first week is onboarding and audit; deliverables typically start hitting in week two.
What if the specialist isn't a good fit?
Replacement guarantee is included at no cost. If the match isn't right — communication, output quality, or technical fluency — flag it through your Talent Success Manager and we replace with another vetted specialist, typically within 5-7 business days. No re-recruitment fees, no gap in service. We get the match right ~95% of the time on the first try, but the safety net is built in.
Is there a long-term contract?
No. Senior Paid Media Management services from EverestX are month-to-month. Cancel anytime with 30 days notice. Most clients stay 6-12+ months once the service is producing results, but we don't lock you in — we earn the renewal monthly.
How does the pricing compare to hiring full-time or using an agency?
Through EverestX, Senior Paid Media Management runs $1,700–$2,100/mo for full-time engagements (40 hrs/week) or $1,200–$1,400/mo for part-time (20 hrs/week). Comparable US-based full-time hires cost $6,000-$12,000/mo loaded (salary + benefits + tools + recruitment fees). Agency retainers for similar scope start at $4,000-$8,000/mo with multi-account dilution. The savings come from a managed-talent model, not a quality compromise — every specialist is vetted on platform certifications, account history, and a working test before placement.
Before You Decide
Vendor comparison and original research that informs the decision.
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