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Joe GarbuttCEO & co-founder
Not a real doctor. Has been asked to stop introducing himself as one at weddings. Will not stop.
Garbutt, J.
Filled · Paid media
Head of Paid Media
Lead our Meta strategy and media buyers from day one, then take our paid media onto every channel worth being on.
NoticePosition filledPaid media
- Full time
- Hybrid
- 2 Hardman Boulevard, Manchester
Not hiring for this oneOpen jobs →
Doing the job2 Hardman Boulevard
01The roleThis job is filled
The role
You own paid media across the whole business. From day one you lead our Meta strategy and our team of three media buyers. Then you take us onto every channel worth being on.
Most people in this seat inherit a team and some accounts and are asked to keep them ticking over. You inherit a Meta operation that already works, and the mandate to take it onto every other channel.
Why this is not a normal Head of Paid Media job
- 01Demand already waiting.Existing clients we can offer it to, and new clients signing every month.
- 02Sale-level data from day one.Our own API pulls quoted and sold deals out of each client's CRM and feeds them back into the ad platforms. You optimise for cost per sale, not cost per click.
- 03More creative than anyone in the auction.YouTube and video formats are usually where search agencies run dry. Here they are the easy part.
- 04A direct line to the CEO.No committees between your idea and it going live.
What you'll do
- 01Own our Meta strategy from day one.How we structure, test, allocate budget, kill and scale across every client account. Raise the bar on accounts that already perform, and make sure none is left behind.
- 02Lead and grow the team.Manage our three remote media buyers: set the standard, coach them and balance their books. As new channels grow, hire the people to run them, and decide how many accounts each person can hold properly.
- 03Build new channels into services.The offer, account structures, tracking, playbooks, onboarding and reporting, for each new channel. Run the first accounts yourself and prove it works before it scales.
- 04Expand into every channel worth being on.Google Search, YouTube, Microsoft Ads, ChatGPT ads, TikTok ads and whatever comes next. You decide what is worth testing and when.
- 05Sell it through results.Work with sales and our client success managers so clients see what each new channel can do for them.
The first year
- 01Day one:own Meta and the three media buyers.
- 02Next:your first new channel live on client accounts, and proved.
- 03Then:it's sold as a service.
- 04By the end of the year:more channels, and the team to run them.
What you'll bring
- Significant hands-on Google Ads experience, Search and Local Services Ads especially, with real money behind it.
- Paid media in an agency, across many client accounts at once.
- Strong measurement: conversion tracking, offline and CRM conversion imports, and making sure the platform optimises for the right thing.
- You enjoy the numbers, know noise from signal, and make decisions quickly.
- You understand how Meta and Google work together, and have opinions about both.
- Ideally you have led media buyers before, remotely. If not, you are excited to do it for the first time.
- You can explain your thinking in plain writing to someone who is not a marketer.
Local service lead generation is a strong advantage, home improvement especially. You do not need to have launched a new channel as a service before; strong execution and the appetite to build one is enough.
How we work
Built by people who left big corporates. Joe came from Unilever, Jude from Škoda. Here, a decision made on Monday morning gets tested on Monday afternoon and rolled out on Tuesday.
AI does the admin. Every night our own system pulls in the numbers from every platform we run on. Ask it a question in plain English and it answers. Leo Rocha, our Systems Architect, builds whatever you need, so less of your week goes on admin.
What we score you on. You own your results. You turn up the same every week. You say what's going on before anyone asks. You run your desk without being chased. Your work makes money you can point to. You lift the people around you. If that energises you, you're who we need. If it puts you off, that's genuinely okay.
Real room to climb. Charlotte Allcard joined as our first full-time hire in August 2025 as a Creative Strategist, was promoted to Senior Creative Strategist in December 2025, and in September 2026 moved into Client Success & Delivery Lead. This role starts with a team of three and new channels to launch. If it works the way we expect, it becomes a department, and you lead it.
What you get
- £42,000 to £50,000 a year, plus individual bonuses tied to your team and the channels you launch, and team-wide bonuses when we hit company milestones.
- 28 days paid holiday, with Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve off on top.
- Hybrid: two days a week in our Manchester office, the rest from home, plus 10 days a year working remotely from abroad.
- The latest software and equipment, MacBook included.
- Socials that actually happen: masterminds, nights out in Manchester and the odd premiere.
- Clients who are genuinely good fun: many are ex-trade who got off the tools and built their own businesses. No stuffy "circle back" conversations.
How to apply
Watch this first: Working at On steroids, a short video about the team and how we work.
- This application.Two minutes: a few short questions and your contact details. A CV helps, but it's optional.
- A short phone call with us.About you, the job and the pay.
- A video introduction.Filmed on your phone, unpolished is fine. It's not optional: it tells us more than any CV.
- A one-hour trial task with Joe Garbutt, our co-founder and CEO.
- An interview with our co-founders,Jude Cornish and Joe Garbutt.
Everyone hears back within 7 days, yes or no.
Not hiring for this one. See the open jobs, or talk to us anyway.