Media Director

Job Description

Job Description

Salary : $140k-$165k DOE

About John McNeil Studio

John McNeil Studio (JMS) is a full-service creative agency that transforms ambitious brands through storytelling, design, and experience. We believe powerful ideas thrive when strategy, creativity, and media execution work together seamlessly. We are a studio-based culture where creativity and collaboration thrive in shared space. We embrace flexibility, but we believe our best work happens when were connected in person.

The Role

We are seeking a Media Director to help define and grow our current media capabilities as a core part of our integrated offering. As the Media Director, you will shape and scale a new practice area, manage paid media for existing clients, and play a central role in winning new business.

This role is deeply collaborative : youll work shoulder-to-shoulder with our creative and strategy teams to ensure media isnt just a channel, but a contextual extension of brand ideas. Youll also act as a connector across disciplines, ensuring media planning, creative development, and brand strategy are fully aligned in both process and outcome.

This is also a builders role. Were looking for someone with an entrepreneurial drive, able to operate independently while inspiring collaboration across the studio.

Key Responsibilities

• Help us navigate for a best-in-class practice, with emphasis on brand advertising and upper-funnel channels.
• Recruit, inspire, and grow a high-performing media teamor source and manage best-fit external agency / vendor partnerships.
• Oversee media strategy, planning, and buying, reporting and optimization across diverse clients.
• Establish processes, tools, and best practices that foster innovation, agility, and accountability.
• Drive the media component of new businessdeveloping strategies, shaping pitches, and showcasing JMSs capabilities.
• Track emerging platforms, technologies, and behaviors to keep our approach sharp and future focused.
• Serve as media advisor, offering trusted counsel, clarity, and measurable results.
• Partner with our clients demand media agencies to deliver cohesive, end-to-end media strategy throughout the funnel.
• Partner with finance and operations to ensure transparency, accuracy, and profitability in managing media spend.
• Work in partnership with the creative team to develop innovative media activations and partnerships to maximize the efficiency and visibility of our creative efforts.
• Work in partnership with the strategy department to ensure message consistency, align target audience insights and enhance creative effectiveness.

Qualifications

This is a full-time position with a generous benefits package including healthcare benefits, FSA, PTO and 401k+ match.Location is onsite full time at our Studio in Berkeley, California.