Paid Media Strategist

Data Story Limited – Queenstown, South Island Data Story is a fast-growing agency that specialises in growing organisations through analytics and insights, website optimisation, and driving high-converting traffic. Everything we do is driven by an iterative, customer research-led process, known internally as the Data Story system. We work with service and experience-based organisations. We're proud to partner with some of New Zealand's leading brands including NZSki, Destination Queenstown, Te Hiringa Hauora,Wētā Workshops, Colliers Otago, Women's Refuge and The Co-operative Bank. Now we need your help to grow our clients even more. The role We're looking for a Paid Media Strategist who treats paid media as a learning machine. Paid media is changing fast. AI now handles more of the execution. That makes the thinking matter more. The value sits in the strategy AI cannot do: designing the client context, interrogating the brief, and choosing the tests that will grow our clients' revenue. Anyone can run ads now. We want a strategist who uses paid as a growth engine, measures it as a whole acquisition function, and judges success by business outcomes, not channel metrics. Most paid media is reactive. Budgets shift, ads get swapped, and nobody can tell you why one month worked and the next didn't. We do it differently. We build a strategy layer that turns every campaign into evidence for the next one, so client acquisition costs improve as our knowledge compounds. You'll own that thinking. You'll build the client context, interrogate the brief, and design the tests. You'll decide what to test, what to stop, and what the last campaign taught us about the next one. Then you'll execute. You'll use MCPs to build and manage campaigns, tracing why an audience did or didn't convert, and connecting paid performance back to real business outcomes like profit and lifetime value. You'll help evolve how Data Story runs paid media as the platforms keep changing. Why you'll want this You've been looking for a chance to do work that matters. To move the business, not just the clicks and impressions. You know the power of these platforms and you want the runway to structure campaigns and customer journeys that outperform the competition. You want the full-funnel data, to optimise at a strategic level, to make a real difference. You know you've got more to give. You want to run geo-based lift measurement, multiple channels, and the chance to own new platforms like ChatGPT ads. You understand that ads don't have to spam people. Good creative and sharp targeting can be a delight. You know how to test a message and match a market to a USP. You think about why people buy and where they are in the buying journey. You don't copy what other brands are doing. You want to know the customer better than anyone. You geek out on this and you give a damn. You know you can build ads that are next-level. This job is for you. What we're looking for You're a paid media strategist with around 4–8+ years of experience. You understand full-funnel strategy, audience building, and how to read performance data properly. You think in systems. You want to know the pattern behind the result, not just the result. You enjoy both strategy and execution. You can design the plan, and you like being in the platforms making it happen. You care about real outcomes, not vanity metrics. You ask why, not just what. You're comfortable working across industries and managing multiple clients. You're technically capable and comfortable with the tools used in paid media and digital marketing. You're humble, collaborative and focused on helping the team succeed. You seek to serve clients and teammates, not chase personal credit. You're adaptable and excited to work in an environment where marketing is evolving quickly. What's in it for you? We do growth and strategy work. We help clients scale. We blitz targets, and damn it feels good! You'll have the tools to do it properly. CAPI and server-side tracking, best-in-class performance marketing and analytics tools, and a mature paid media system already running and maintained by our AI developer. You'll get strategic support and a team of ads specialists and strategists alongside you. Everything you need to deliver the work you know you're made for. Work-life balance. We're flexible with your work time and encourage you to get away from the laptop. We trust you to manage your workload and communicate your expectations. Be a part of a growth story. We've got a clear vision to master marketing and use our powers for good. You'll be a foundational member in taking Data Story to the next level. Paid learning time. Customised career pathways. Fortnightly team breakfasts. Quarterly celebrations and offsites. Flexible working. Bottomless snack drawer. Paid birthday off. Be a part of a tight knit team in a high trust environment. We'll provide a competitive salary package. But we want you to take the job for the growth opportunity; the cash is just a bonus. This is an investment in you as a person. We work from the most beautiful place in the world. Want to ski before work? Go MTB-ing after work? Climb mountains and descend valleys on the weekend? Then this is the job for you. Location: 211A Glenda Drive, Queenstown Pay range: $90,000 – $120,000 salary PA + bonus scheme Hours of work: 40 hours a week, 8 hours a day, Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 5pm This is a permanent role. The role is based in Queenstown. #J-18808-Ljbffr