Senior Paid Media Activation Manager

Welcome to one of the most dynamic and high-impact areas at Microsoft—Global Media Team. This business is not just growing fast—it’s redefining the future. The Microsoft Global Media Team is responsible for planning, activating, governing, and fiscally managing media investments across Microsoft. The team partners with stakeholders across marketing, analytics, finance, media platforms, and advertising technology to deliver business outcomes while maintaining operational excellence, compliance, and scale.

Microsoft’s Global Media Team is a diverse, collaborative, and solutions-oriented organization committed to innovation, continuous learning, and creating an inclusive culture where all employees can thrive. We are building a modern marketing organization that connects strategy, activation, operations, measurement, and technology. As Microsoft’s in-house media capabilities expand, operational rigor and platform governance are increasingly important to delivering efficient, compliant, and scalable media programs. To support this evolution, we are seeking a Senior Paid Media Activation Manager to join Microsoft’s in-house paid social activation team and operations.

Do you have experience with paid social planning and hands-on activation, paid social reporting and insights, and managing in-house paid social operations?

In this role, you will lead in-house paid social media strategy, planning and hands-on campaign execution, and the operational ecosystem, governance, and scalable infrastructure that enables Microsoft paid social activation.

What will our team do for you?

• Provide a supportive environment to bring your authentic self to work and amplify your strengths.
• Offer opportunities to gain new experiences, stretch your skills, and grow your career. Successes will be celebrated at every level of leadership.
• Prioritize your development – with mentorship, training (in both media and emerging areas like AI), and a culture of continuous learning.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, and we’re dedicated to this mission across every aspect of our company. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their highly qualified contributions each day. Join us and help shape the future of the world.

Let’s build the future—together.

The Senior Paid Media Activation Manager is responsible for the following:

• Bringing high profile, business critical, quick-turn campaigns to life through hands-on paid social activation, optimization, and reporting.
• Actively monitoring campaigns for optimization opportunities across platforms, creative sets, audience segments, and bidding strategies.
• Diving deep into analytics to identify trends and learnings across audiences, placements, channels, ad sets/variants, and any additional variables that could impact campaign performance.
• Providing agile, responsive, collaborative, and transparent communications with internal and external business partners to ensure campaigns remain agile while delivering on the required business outcomes.
• Own the strategic operating model for Microsoft’s in-house paid social activation infrastructure, ensuring platforms, processes, governance frameworks, and operational capabilities can scale to support evolving business priorities.
• Collaborating with the Paid Media Director, Channel Specialists, Analytics, Digital Brand Safety, Finance Operations, and our platform and ad tech partners to ensure strategic & compliant activations.
• Define and evolve operational governance standards across social media platforms, advertising accounts, business managers, handle ownership, access controls, payment methods, data integrity, and compliance requirements as it pertains to in-house and Global Media’s Agency of Record
• Identify opportunities to use automation, AI, workflow tools, and process redesign to reduce manual effort and improve accuracy.
•  Lead operational readiness planning for new platform capabilities, campaign types, testing initiatives, and media innovations.
• Establish operating rhythms, documentation, training programs, and governance mechanisms that strengthen operational excellence.

Other

• Embody our culture and values.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Advertising, Marketing, Communications, or related field AND 4+ years experience in media, marketing, or advertising on the client or agency side
  • OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters Degree in in Business, Advertising, Marketing, or  Communications related field AND 6+ years experience in media, marketing, or advertising on the client or agency side
  • OR equivalent experience.

• 7+  years hands-on-keys paid social activation experience, preferably within an agency environment.
• 7+ years experience supporting large-scale in-house media organizations or agency activation operations.
• 5+ years experience driving process improvement, operational transformation, automation, or scale initiatives within a complex organization.
• Experience with media financial operations, procurement processes, payment governance, budgeting, spend management, or cross-charge frameworks.
• Knowledge of how to use native platform governance, audience planning tools & suite of ad products including: Meta, X, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, and TikTok
• Proficient analytical, problem-solving, and program management capabilities.
• Proficient written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level communication.
• Experience administering and governing enterprise social media management platforms such as Sprinklr.
• Proven ability to influence stakeholders and drive alignment across multiple teams without direct authority.
• Proficient written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level communication.
• Experience implementing automation, workflow technologies, AI-enabled solutions, or operational process redesign initiatives.
• Familiarity with enterprise governance, risk management, compliance controls, and access management processes.

• Campaign execution excellence: Launch high-profile paid social campaigns accurately, on time, and in alignment with approved strategy, budgets, platform requirements, and brand-safety standards.

• Performance optimization: Establish a consistent optimization rhythm that identifies actionable opportunities across audiences, creative, placements, bidding, and campaign structure—and translates insights into measurable performance improvements.
•  Operational governance and integrity of Microsoft’s paid social activation ecosystem. Reduction of operational risk, platform access issues, compliance gaps, and campaign readiness challenges.

Media IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $106,400 - $203,600 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $137,600 - $222,600 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.