Full-Time

Associate Director

Paid Social

Posted on 9/11/2025

Barkley

Barkley

501-1,000 employees

Full-service marketing agency delivering brand campaigns

No salary listed

Kansas City, MO, USA + 1 more

More locations: Denver, CO, USA

Hybrid

Category
Growth & Marketing (1)
Requirements
  • 5+ years of Social Media Buying experience required
  • Knowledge and prior use of buying software (Strata preferred)
  • Experience working in and leading team in a Demand-Side Platform (The Trade Desk preferred)
  • Knowledge and utilization of 1st and/or 3rd party data
  • Strong organizational and mathematical skills
  • Ability to multi-task and deliver work on-time for set deadlines
  • Ability to work effectively with a variety of internal teams and business groups, including Creative, Account Management, Finance and Project Management
  • Ability to communicate effectively within a team environment, with outside media reps as well as with current clients
  • Must be prepared for a fast-paced environment and be comfortable making decisions
  • Position Status: Exempt
  • Years of Experience: 5+ Years
  • Reports To: Director
  • Leadership Responsibilities: Supervises
Responsibilities
  • Leads and/or oversees campaign development, stewardship, optimization, and reporting within various platforms, such as Facebook/Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.
  • Designs optimal buys in terms of cost efficiency, forecasting, account segmentation, bid management, goal delivery and vendor agreements.
  • Negotiates the best possible rates, placements, and added value across managed service and PMP placements, documenting accordingly to share out with the larger team.
  • Identifies new opportunities to supplement goals and formulate strategies to capitalize on new opportunities.
  • Builds relationships and maintains ongoing communications with media representatives.
  • Integral activation lead in key client communication.
  • Manage, review, and perform daily account responsibilities for client portfolio.
  • Updates Director on status of current accounts and team on an ongoing basis and elevates issues in a timely manner.
  • Responsible for overseeing all campaign tracking set-up and implementation before launch of a campaign, with support from Ad Operations.
  • Demonstrates thought leadership and professional communication skills by developing and delivering client facing materials.
  • Provides oversight and works closely with other team members to meet client goals.
  • Supports creation of all reporting dashboards and is integral in presentations to clients on an ongoing basis.
  • Leads in collaboration with finance team members to resolve media billing issues.
  • Ensures strict adherence to client budgets while meeting client objectives.
  • Manages junior staff with training, projection prioritization, and client deliverables.
  • Stays current on all media trends and opportunities in the industry.
  • Other duties/responsibilities may be assigned from time to time.
Desired Qualifications
  • Knowledge and prior use of buying software (Strata preferred)
  • Experience working in and leading team in a DSP (The Trade Desk preferred)

Barkley is a full-service marketing and advertising agency serving sectors such as consumer goods, finance, healthcare, hospitality, and travel. It offers services including advertising, communications, product innovation, media strategy, talent management, experience design, digital platform optimization, influencer activations, and creative campaign development, combining brand-building with performance marketing. Using deep consumer insights, Barkley designs campaigns and experiences and executes them across channels—from creative development to media planning, digital optimization, and influencer programs—while supporting product innovation to keep campaigns relevant. Its goal is to help brands connect with modern consumers, launch new products, drive engagement, and improve performance across marketing channels.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

M&A

Total Funding

$5.1M

Headquarters

Kansas City, Missouri

Founded

1964

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Adlucent acquisition adds performance marketing via Ashwani Dhar.
  • MissionOne Media scales creative-media integration for clients.
  • Smiths Agency bolsters food-beverage expertise with Premier Protein.

What critics are saying

  • Adlucent integration fails, causing talent exodus in 12 months.
  • OKRP merger triggers key creatives to join Wieden+Kennedy.
  • Holding companies like Publicis acquire BarkleyOKRP in 24 months.

What makes Barkley unique

  • BarkleyOKRP ranks seventh-largest independent U.S. advertising agency.
  • Proprietary Whole Brand Thinking uncovers clients' core purpose.
  • Big Indie model blends large-scale resources with independent soul.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Life Insurance

Unlimited Paid Time Off

401(k) Retirement Plan

Company News

MarTech Cube
May 3rd, 2024
BarkleyOKRP acquires Performance Media and MarTech Company Adlucent

BarkleyOKRP, one of the largest full-service independent marketing firms in the U.S., announced today the acquisition of Adlucent, from Advantage Solutions.

The Business Journals
May 3rd, 2024
Austin marketing firm Adlucent acquired by BarkleyOKRP

Adlucent CEO Ashwani Dhar will join the BarkleyOKRP executive team as chief performance officer.

Adweek
Apr 23rd, 2024
BarkleyOKRP Selected by Hormel Foods' Applegate Brand as AOR

BarkleyOKRP will launch initial campaign efforts for Applegate this summer.

Adweek
Mar 6th, 2024
Barkley and OKRP Are Merging to Become BarkleyOKRP

The two agencies now form one of the biggest independent shops.

The Business Journals
Oct 16th, 2023
Chicago firm invests in advertising agency Barkley

Barkley has landed an investor that takes a long-term approach, sticking with companies through "good times and bad."

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