• Support campaign setup, A/B testing, and day-to-day execution in Meta Ads Manager • Conduct market-level performance analysis across assigned regions • Manage and maintain task cards across the media buying workflow • Track creative performance, KOL ad rights timelines, and campaign scheduling proactively • Draft creative briefs based on performance data • Run competitor audits across offer, creative, copy, and landing pages • Prepare first-draft weekly performance narratives • Coordinate between media buying, creative, and PR/KOL teams • Proactively flag issues and surface recommendations • Perform ad hoc tasks as needed

• Develop and execute a comprehensive demand generation strategy aligned to pipeline, revenue, and growth objectives across multiple business lines. • Own full-funnel performance across awareness, engagement, lead capture, nurture, conversion, pipeline acceleration, and revenue contribution. • Design and optimize integrated, multi-channel programs across email, paid media, content, SEO, webinars, events, partnerships, landing pages, and lifecycle marketing. • Partner closely with sales leadership, product marketing, and business stakeholders to refine audience segmentation, buyer personas, value propositions, and go-to-market messaging. • Translate business priorities into campaign plans, conversion pathways, and sales enablement tools that support distinct customer segments and buying journeys. • Strengthen alignment with sales on lead definitions, qualification criteria, handoff processes, and shared pipeline goals. • Lead, coach, and develop the existing team while assessing structure, capabilities, and future hiring needs. • Drive a disciplined test-and-learn approach to improve campaign effectiveness, lead quality, conversion rates, and marketing ROI. • Partner with marketing operations and sales operations to improve CRM processes, automation, reporting, attribution, and funnel visibility. • Provide regular business reviews, performance insights, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.

• Manage end-to-end paid media campaigns • Develop media strategies driven by business metrics • Create strategic briefs in collaboration with the Design and Video teams • Prepare media plans, performance analyses, and budget reallocation recommendations • Build and maintain performance dashboards (HubSpot, Power BI or similar) • Monitor marketing data quality • Plan and execute A/B tests for creatives, audiences, and offers • Collaborate with Content, CRM, Automation, and Sales teams • Use AI tools to increase productivity • Act as a technical reference, proposing strategies and improvements

Role Description The Director of Paid Search is the end-to-end owner of Cars.com's consumer SEM program (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and emerging AI search surfaces), responsible for strategy, budget/KPI ownership, execution quality, and team leadership. It exists because SEM is an 8+ figure, business critical acquisition channel that needs a single accountable owner to drive volume and efficiency while navigating the shift to AI-driven search. - Own the consumer SEM program end-to-end. - Set strategy, execution standards, and the performance roadmap for an 8+ figure annual SEM budget. - Define channel goals, forecasts, budgets, and KPI frameworks in partnership with Marketing leadership, Finance, and Analytics. - Oversee campaign architecture, bidding strategy, keyword coverage, audiences, feeds, ad copy and creative testing, and landing page optimization daily. - Drive feed-based automation, API integrations, Smart Bidding, signal-based strategies, scripting, and emerging AI-agent workflows. - Partner with Product, Engineering, Design, and Lifecycle to improve landing pages, conversion rates, and onboarding. - Anticipate how AI is reshaping discovery and ensure Cars.com maintains strong visibility across traditional and AI-driven search surfaces. - Define and maintain the SEM measurement framework and translate performance into executive-ready narratives. - Set quality-assurance standards for ad copy, destination URLs, tracking parameters, and budget controls. - Own agency and platform relationships, including strategic roadmaps and performance improvement plans. - Develop a team of SEM specialists, setting clear ownership and consistent operating rhythms. Qualifications - 10+ years in performance/growth marketing with deep, hands-on paid search expertise. - Expert-level command of Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising. - Experience in marketplace, classifieds, e-commerce, or high-volume B2C lead-gen businesses. - A builder-operator who has built scale through automation and AI. - Demonstrated results growing paid search volume while improving CPL/CPA and ROAS. - Fluent in attribution, incrementality, MMM, etc.; comfortable with large datasets. - Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience. Requirements - Experience at a two-sided marketplace or classifieds business. - Hands-on experience building SEM automation via the Google Ads API or scripts. - Experience managing SEM through periods of platform change. - Familiarity with adjacent biddable media (paid social, shopping). Benefits - Medical, Dental & Vision Healthcare Plans. - New Hire Stipend for Home Office Set-Up. - Generous PTO. - Paid Holidays, Floating Holiday, Volunteer Day, Recharge Day.