PAID SOCIAL & DIGITAL ADVERTISING MANAGER (U.S.) Contract / Retainer Role

Posted 9 hours ago

How To Academy is a leading live events and digital content platform presenting world-class thinkers, writers, artists, and cultural leaders in conversation.

Founded in 2013, we produce high-profile live events across the UK and the United States, bringing big ideas to major stages in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. Our programming spans books, film, politics, culture, and public life, featuring globally recognised voices from across the arts and intellectual landscape.

Alongside our live events programme, we produce a chart-leading podcast and digital content platform, extending the reach of every conversation far beyond the theatre.

How To Academy is part of FANE Group, an international live events producer and talent-led cultural platform. Together, we are committed to delivering premium cultural experiences, building engaged audiences, and scaling through innovative, data-driven marketing strategies.

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The Opportunity

How To Academy is seeking a highly analytical and strategic Paid Social & Digital Advertising Manager to lead paid social campaign planning and execution across our U.S. events program.

This is a contract/retainer role for a specialist who understands how to scale audience acquisition through paid media while maintaining a premium cultural brand. You will oversee paid social strategy and execution across multiple campaigns and markets, working closely with our U.S. programming and marketing teams to drive ticket sales, audience growth, and brand awareness.

We are looking for someone who combines agency-level rigour with entrepreneurial agility: data-driven, highly responsive, and capable of managing multiple campaigns across different cities and talent profiles simultaneously.

Key Responsibilities

Paid Social Strategy & Planning

Develop and execute paid social strategies across Meta (Facebook & Instagram) and other relevant platforms (e.g. YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest where appropriate).
Build full-funnel campaign structures designed reminding conversion across awareness, consideration, and ticket-purchase stages.
Align paid social activity with broader marketing efforts including email, partnerships, PR, and organic social.
Advise on budget allocation by market, talent profile, and sales trajectory.
Identify audience growth opportunities across key U.S. cities and touring markets.

Campaign Execution & Management

Lead day-to-day management of paid social campaigns across multiple live events.
Create and test ad variations (copy, creative, audience targeting, placements).
Monitor performance daily and optimize for conversion, cost efficiency, and scale.
Manage retargeting, lookalike audiences, and pixel tracking to improve performance.
Ensure all campaigns are aligned with ticket on-sale timelines and sales pacing.

Data, Insights & Reporting

Conduct audits of campaign performance and recommend improvements.
Provide clear, actionable weekly reporting on:

Spend vs revenue
Cost per conversion
Audience performance
Market comparisons

Use data to inform creative direction, targeting strategy, and budget decisions.
Advise on website and funnel optimization to ensure campaigns are “ad-ready” and conversion-focused.

Collaboration & Advisory

Work closely with U.S. leadership, producers, and designers to align marketing with commercial goals.
Advise on creative best practices for paid social assets.
Recommend testing strategies and new platform opportunities.
Provide occasional strategic audits or campaign deep dives as required.

Who You Are

You are a paid social specialist with strong strategic instincts and deep platform knowledge. You understand performance marketing within a premium brand context and can balance data, creative, and audience insight to drive results.

Essential Skills & Experience

Proven experience managing paid social campaigns with measurable ROI.
Strong expertise in Meta Ads Manager and conversion-driven campaign structures.
Experience scaling campaigns across multiple markets simultaneously.
Highly analytical with strong reporting and optimization skills.
Ability to interpret performance data and translate into actionable strategy.
Excellent communication and responsiveness in a remote working environment.
Experience working independently on a contract/retainer basis.

Nice to Have

Experience marketing live events, tours, cultural programming, or ticketed experiences.
Familiarity with U.S. cultural, literary, or media audiences.
Experience integrating paid social with email and broader digital marketing.
Understanding of premium brand positioning and audience targeting.

Scope & Structure

Contract/retainer role (hours and scope scalable based on campaign volume).
Fully remote.
Monthly retainer or project-based structure depending on experience and availability.
Immediate start preferred as U.S. programming continues to expand.

Reporting Line

This role will report into the Head of Marketing, Fane Group, and work closely with How To Academy’s U.S. leadership, producers, and creative teams.

How to Apply

Please send a short introduction, relevant experience, and examples of campaigns you’ve managed (particularly conversion-driven campaigns) to: [email protected]