Manager, Paid Acquisition

The opportunity

We’re looking for a data-driven and creative Manager to take full ownership of some of our key paid channels. This role is perfect for someone who thrives in a startup environment-rolling up their sleeves, testing fast, scaling what works, and pushing boundaries to hit ambitious growth targets.

You’ll manage high-velocity campaigns across Meta, Google, YouTube, and emerging platforms, with direct access to our in-house production studio and a talented creative team to bring bold ideas to life. If you love pairing data with storytelling-and want to see your work drive measurable impact on thousands of students’ lives-this is your stage.

This hybrid opportunity is based out of our NYC office, reporting directly into our VP of Growth.

What you’ll do

• Own end-to-end paid media strategy across Meta, Google, and potential new channels. From planning through launch, optimization, and scale.
• Build and drive a continuous testing roadmap across different tactics, audiences, creative, messaging, and landing pages, translating results into actionable insights.
• Manage our Search agency, holding them accountable to performance goals and roadmap execution.
• Monitor performance daily, optimizing toward CAC and ROI targets while proactively identifying new growth opportunities.
• Own weekly KPI reporting, surfacing trends, efficiencies, and scaling opportunities, and sharing learnings across the team.
• Diagnose performance fluctuations and pinpoint the channel and business-level factors driving them.
• Partner with the creative teams and external agencies to rapidly produce high-performing video, UGC, influencer, and static assets.
• Stay current on platform updates, algorithm shifts, and industry trends to keep our paid social strategy ahead of the curve.
• Drive new acquisition and full-funnel growth ideas, playing an active role in shaping and running experiments.

What you’ll bring

• 4+ years of hands-on experience scaling paid social and paid search at a D2C startup, ideally managing $1M+ monthly budgets.
• A track record of driving efficient growth (CAC, ROI, LTV) while scaling spend.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple initiatives at the same time.
• Comfort with tactical execution and strategic thinking-you can set the plan and run it yourself.
• Sharp communicator, able to flag risks and opportunities to internal stakeholders and manage day-to-day agency relationships.
• High attention to detail, with a habit of catching and preventing errors before they become problems.
• Experience managing external creative agencies, briefing them effectively, and providing sharp, actionable feedback that helps them iterate toward higher-performing ads.
• Ruthlessly analytical. You dig into performance data to uncover insights, and know exactly which levers to pull to optimize campaigns at scale.
• Able to translate data into a clear narrative, making it actionable for both day-to-day decisions and broader team alignment.

Bonus points if

• You’ve worked in EdTech, healthcare, or another mission-driven B2C industry
• You geek out over testing frameworks, UGC trends, and performance marketing communities

Interview Process

• Introductory call with Talent Acquisition team member
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• Take-Home Assignment
• Virtual Panel Interview
• On-Site Panel Interview

Benefits and Compensation

• Meaningful Equity Stake
• Subsidized Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plan options
• 401(k)
• FSA, HSA and commuter benefits
• Open vacation policy, including:
• Guidance of 15 days PTO annually
• Stepful closed the last week of December
• 15 work-from-anywhere days
• 10 public holidays observed for 2025

The target base salary range for this opportunity is $120,000 - $140,000, and is part of a competitive total rewards package including performance-based bonus, equity and benefits. Individual pay may vary from the target range and is determined by a number of factors including experience, internal pay equity and other relevant business considerations.

In light of recent hiring scams, if you're selected to move onto the next phase of our hiring process, a member of our Talent Acquisition team will reach out to you directly from an @stepful.com email address to guide you through our interview process.