Paid Media and Acquisition Manager

Location: Hybrid remote. Three days in the office per week.

Contract: Permanent

Basis: Full-time

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Salary: Competitive

Reporting to: Global Head of e-Commerce

For nearly 50 years, Rough Trade has been trusted by customers and the music industry to shine a spotlight on the best new music from all over the world. This has afforded Rough Trade a unique role and scope of opportunity within the UK and Global music retail industry. There is no other music retail shopping experience quite like that offered by Rough Trade. This role is a unique chance to be part of something truly special within the music retail landscape, and for the right candidate to truly make their mark.

The results-driven Paid Acquisition Manager will lead our paid media, referral, and affiliate marketing initiatives. They will have a deep understanding of digital acquisition strategies, a data-informed mindset, and a passion for music and culture. This role will be critical in driving customer acquisition, revenue growth, and brand visibility through paid channels.

Responsibilities

• Campaign Management: Develop, execute, and optimize paid search and social campaigns across platforms including Google Ads, Meta Ads, and other emerging platforms such as TikTok, Spotify ads etc.

• Affiliate & Referral Marketing: Manage and grow Rough Trade’s affiliate and referral programs to maximize ROI and reach.

• Performance Analysis: Continuously monitor campaign performance, analyze KPIs, and generate actionable insights through regular reporting.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Campaign Support: Work closely with brand, creative, and e-commerce teams to ensure paid efforts align with broader marketing and business goals.

• Growth Strategy: Proactively identify new opportunities, trends, and technologies to enhance campaign performance and drive customer acquisition.

• Industry Trends: Stay informed on the latest digital marketing trends, platform updates, and best practices.

• Brand awareness: Responsible for brand recognition and acquisition through paid media.

• Budget Oversight: Manage and track media spend to ensure budget efficiency and performance targets are met. Own acquisition forecasting, target-setting, and reporting to the Global Head of e-Commerce, ensuring budgets deliver against growth and ROI goals.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams: Work closely with the CRM team on retention and lifecycle campaigns to ensure alignment with acquisition goals.

• Drive results: Develop and refine attribution models and testing frameworks to measure incremental impact of acquisition activity.

• Manage agency relationships and contractors as needed, ensuring high performance and ROI.

Qualifications and Experience

• Proven experience in managing paid digital campaigns across Google, Meta, and other major ad platforms.

• Commercial acumen - ability to link paid spend to revenue growth, not just traffic.

• Experience with affiliate marketing and referral program tools/platforms.

• Experience with tracking and reporting tools including GA4, Looker Studio.

• Experience with handling data, and data processing tools (e.g. Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, Channable).

• Understanding of data privacy and compliance with particular focus on GDPR.

• Experience with Shopify and Shopify app integrations.

• Strong analytical skills and familiarity with tools like Google Analytics, Meta Ads Manager, and Excel/Sheets.

• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

• Excellent communication and project management skills.

• Passion for music and alignment with Rough Trade’s brand values is a plus.

At Rough Trade we value diversity and inclusion across everything that we do. From the records that we sell to the events that we hold, to the incredible people that work in our business every day, we are committed to delivering the best possible experience for everybody.

We are a Real Living Wage employer.