Director, Paid Media, Hybrid

The Director, Paid Media will lead the strategy, orchestration and performance of Belk’s $60–80M annual paid media investment, driving profitable growth across stores and eCommerce. This role will connect media investment to Belk’s business priorities and retail rhythms, ensuring dollars are dynamically deployed against the customers, channels and moments with the greatest opportunity.

The Director will bring deep expertise in media investment, customer data and measurement while leading the continued transformation of Belk’s paid media capabilities. This leader will orchestrate across Paid and Owned channels, agencies, platforms and internal teams to maximize sales, incremental return and long-term customer value.

Media Investment & Business Performance

• Own strategy and stewardship of $60–80M in annual media investment, establishing allocation across channels, customers and business priorities to drive store and eCommerce sales, ROAS and incremental ROAS.

• Lead annual, seasonal and in-quarter forecasting, budget management and pacing, dynamically shifting investment based on performance, business trends, retail priorities and incremental opportunity.

• Partner with Finance and Analytics to connect media investment to business outcomes through MMM, LTC, incrementality and attribution, translating measurement into clear investment decisions.

Retail & Cross-Channel Orchestration

• Develop integrated media strategies aligned to the retail calendar and business cycle, including key events, promotions, category priorities, store needs and eCommerce growth opportunities.

• Orchestrate investment across Search, Shopping, Social, Affiliate, Programmatic and emerging channels, understanding the distinct role each plays across awareness, consideration, traffic and conversion.

• Balance short-term business needs with longer-term growth, ensuring media can flex quickly to support changing sales trends, inventory opportunities and enterprise priorities.

Customer, Data & Personalization

• Lead the use of first-party customer data, third-party data and platform signals to advance audience strategy, personalization, acquisition and customer growth.

• Develop strategies that differentiate investment, messaging, products and experiences based on customer cohorts, lifecycle, behavior and business opportunity.

• Build a deep partnership with Owned Media to orchestrate Paid and Owned customer experiences, optimizing contact strategy, audience activation and the role of each channel across the customer journey.

Transformation & Capability Expansion

• Lead the continued transformation of Belk’s paid media capabilities, identifying opportunities to modernize channels, technology, measurement, operating models and ways of working.

• Establish a rigorous test-and-learn agenda that identifies new sources of incremental growth and creates clear pathways from pilot to scaled investment.

• Build business cases for new channels, capabilities and investments while ensuring the organization evolves with changing customer behaviors, platforms and media economics.

Agency, Team & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead media agencies and strategic platform partners with clear accountability for investment strategy, forecasting, optimization, innovation and measurable business performance.

• Develop a high-performing internal media team with strong channel expertise, analytical capability and understanding of how media connects to broader business performance.

• Partner deeply across Owned Media, Marketing Planning, eCommerce, Merchandising, Creative, Analytics and Finance to ensure media strategy is integrated into enterprise priorities and go-to-market planning.

Position Contribution Level

Minimum Education & Experience

• 10+ years of progressive experience in paid media, performance marketing or integrated media, including leadership of significant $50M+ media investments in retail or another high-volume consumer business.

• Deep cross-channel expertise with demonstrated understanding of store and eCommerce growth, retail business cycles, first- and third-party data, audience strategy and personalization.

• Strong financial and analytical acumen with expertise in forecasting, budget management, MMM, LTC, attribution, ROAS and incremental ROAS.

• Demonstrated success leading media transformation, channel expansion and adoption of new capabilities.

• Proven ability to lead agencies, platforms, teams and senior cross-functional stakeholders through complex business priorities.

• Ability to translate customer, media and business performance into decisive recommendations on where to invest, when to shift and how to drive incremental growth.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong leadership and team development skills

• Strong financial and analytical acumen with expertise in forecasting, budget management, MMM, LTC, attribution, ROAS and incremental ROAS.

• Demonstrated success leading media transformation, channel expansion and adoption of new capabilities.

• Proven ability to lead agencies, platforms, teams and senior cross-functional stakeholders through complex business priorities.

• Ability to translate customer, media and business performance into decisive recommendations on where to invest, when to shift and how to drive incremental growth.

• Track record of gaining collaboration and alignment across diverse, cross-functional teams

Physical

• Available and able to travel as needed

Reporting Relationships

Supervisor

Supervises

Pay Range

$131,000-$175,000

Reflected is the base pay range offered for this position. Pay may vary depending on factors including but not limited to achievements, skills, experience, or work location. The range listed is just one component of the compensation package offered to candidates.

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