Paid Digital Media Lead in Melbourne

We’re looking for an experienced paid media operator who is ready to take the next step in their career. This isn't a role where you'll move away from the platforms and spend your time managing spreadsheets and people. We want someone who still loves being close to the work, solving difficult campaign problems and finding better ways to drive performance.

You'll own and lead paid media strategy and execution across a portfolio of Next&Co clients, primarily across paid search, paid social and programmatic. But the role goes beyond your own accounts. Working closely with our Head of Media, you'll also play an important role in improving how we do paid media across the agency. That means testing new approaches, exploring new platform capabilities and technology, sharing what works with the broader team and helping us continually improve our media product.

If you're currently a Senior Performance Manager, Senior Paid Media Manager, Associate Director or similar and want more influence without giving up the hands-on part of the job, this could be a great next step.

About Next&Co

Next&Co is an independent performance agency based in Melbourne. We work with ambitious Australian & global brands across paid media, SEO/GEO, strategy, creative, CRO, analytics and digital experience. Our philosophy is pretty simple: make things Measurably Better. We're commercially focused, curious and constantly looking for better ways to do things. We care about the work, but we care even more about whether that work delivers a commercial outcome for our clients. We're big enough to work with major brands and solve interesting problems, but small enough that good ideas don't need to travel through five layers of management before something happens.

What you'll actually do

• You'll manage a portfolio of clients and take responsibility for their paid media performance, from strategy and planning through to implementation, optimisation, reporting and ongoing improvement.
• You'll be expected to get into the platforms yourself. This is a hands-on role.
• You'll build strong relationships with clients, present strategies and results confidently, and be able to turn complex media performance into a simple commercial conversation.
• You'll work alongside our Head of Media and broader team to continually improve how Next&Co approaches paid media.
• You don't need to arrive with all the answers. You do need to be naturally curious and motivated to find them.

Share what you know

You'll be one of the senior technical voices within our media team. We want someone who enjoys helping other people get better, whether that's troubleshooting an account, sharing something you've learned or helping establish better ways of working across the team.

Who we're looking for

We're less interested in a particular job title and more interested in what you can actually do. You'll probably have 5+ years' experience in paid digital media, ideally within an agency environment, and be at the point where you're ready for more ownership and influence.

• Deep hands-on experience across Google Ads and Meta
• Strong knowledge of paid search and paid social, with experience or a good working knowledge of programmatic
• A strong understanding of measurement, attribution, tracking and how media connects to commercial outcomes
• Experience owning meaningful client accounts and budgets
• The confidence to present to senior clients and explain complicated things simply
• A track record of testing, learning and improving campaign performance
• Genuine curiosity about where paid media is heading

You don't need to have managed a large team. You don't need to call yourself a media innovator. And you don't need experience with every advertising platform ever created. We're looking for someone who is really good at the fundamentals, commercially minded, excellent with clients and constantly curious about how the work could be done better.

Why Next&Co?

You’ll get the opportunity to step into a senior role with genuine influence, while staying close to the part of paid media you actually enjoy. You’ll work directly with senior agency leadership, have access to interesting clients and meaningful budgets, and have the freedom to test ideas rather than simply follow an established playbook. Most importantly, there is room to make this role your own. If you're currently a strong senior operator wondering what the next step looks like, but don't necessarily want that step to mean becoming a full-time people manager, we’d love to hear from you.