Senior Paid Social Specialist (Freelance)

We are looking for an experienced Freelance Paid Social Specialist to manage and optimise paid media campaigns across key digital advertising platforms.

This role is suited to a performance-driven digital marketer who has hands-on experience in the retail and e-commerce environment, understands the customer journey from awareness through to conversion, and is comfortable managing large advertising budgets.

The successful candidate must be highly analytical, detail-oriented and able to work independently, with minimal supervision. You should be confident taking ownership of campaigns from planning and setup through to optimisation, reporting and performance recommendations.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, manage and optimise paid social campaigns across Meta, TikTok and Google Ads.
• Manage campaigns across the full customer journey, including awareness, consideration, traffic, engagement, lead generation, conversions and sales.
• Develop paid media strategies aligned to retail and e-commerce objectives.
• Manage and optimise large paid media budgets, ensuring efficient allocation and strong return on investment.
• Set up, monitor and troubleshoot Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel and other conversion tracking technologies.
• Understand and work with events, audiences, retargeting, lookalike audiences, conversion tracking and attribution.
• Work closely with e-commerce teams to ensure campaigns are aligned with website performance, product availability, promotions and the customer journey.
• Understand and implement UTM tracking and campaign measurement.
• Monitor campaign performance and proactively identify opportunities for optimisation.
• Conduct ongoing audience, creative, placement and performance analysis.
• Provide regular performance reports and clear, actionable insights.
• Translate data and campaign performance into recommendations that can improve business and commercial outcomes.
• Stay up to date with platform changes, advertising best practices and developments within the retail and e-commerce landscape.
• Collaborate with internal marketing, creative, e-commerce and agency teams where required.

Required Experience & Skills

Retail experience is essential.

The ideal candidate must have a strong understanding of how the retail environment operates, including:

• Retail marketing and promotional cycles.
• Consumer behaviour and the retail customer journey.
• E-commerce conversion journeys.
• Product-led campaigns and promotional activity.
• Online-to-offline and omnichannel customer journeys.
• Working with large product ranges, promotions and commercial targets.
• Understanding how paid media contributes to traffic, conversions, revenue and overall business performance.

Experience working with a large retail brand or high-volume e-commerce business will be highly advantageous.

Paid Media Expertise

The candidate must have strong hands-on experience with:

• Meta Ads / Meta Business Manager
• TikTok Ads Manager
• Google Ads
• Campaign setup, optimisation and reporting.
• Conversion campaigns and performance marketing.
• Retargeting and prospecting strategies.
• Audience segmentation.
• Pixel and event implementation.
• Conversion tracking and attribution.
• Budget management and optimisation.
• A/B testing and performance optimisation.

Google Ads certification is required.

Technical & Analytical Skills

The successful candidate should have a solid understanding of:

• Meta Pixel and Events Manager.
• TikTok Pixel and Events.
• Google Analytics / GA4.
• Google Tag Manager.
• UTM tracking.
• Conversion tracking.
• Audience creation and remarketing.
• Campaign attribution.
• Performance reporting and analysis.
• E-commerce analytics and conversion metrics.

Personal Attributes

We are looking for someone who:

• Pays exceptional attention to detail.
• Can work independently and take ownership of their responsibilities.
• Does not require constant supervision or micromanagement.
• Is proactive and solution-oriented.
• Is comfortable working with deadlines and high-pressure campaign environments.
• Is commercially minded and understands that paid media is ultimately connected to business performance.
• Can analyse data and turn insights into clear actions.
• Communicates clearly and professionally.
• Takes accountability for campaign performance and deliverables.
• Is organised and able to manage multiple campaigns and priorities simultaneously.
• Is curious, continuously learns and keeps up with changes across advertising platforms.
• Can confidently identify issues, troubleshoot problems and recommend solutions.

Portfolio & References

Applicants will be required to provide:

1. An up-to-date portfolio showcasing recent paid media work.
2. Examples of retail and/or e-commerce campaigns managed.
3. Details of campaigns where the applicant managed significant advertising budgets.
4. Examples of campaign performance and measurable results where possible.
5. Trusted professional references who can verify previous work and experience.
6. Proof of relevant Google Ads certification.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a seasoned Paid Social Specialist with strong retail and e-commerce experience, who is comfortable working with substantial advertising budgets and understands both the strategic and technical sides of performance marketing.