Head of Paid Media
Grandstand is looking for a senior Head of Paid Media to lead the strategy and execution of its paid acquisition engine, spanning SEM, paid social, native, programmatic, and affiliate marketing. This is a high-impact leadership role with direct ownership of a significant paid media budget and full accountability for the volume, quality, and efficiency of customer acquisition.
The Head of Paid Media will build and scale a high-performing team, drive rigorous testing and attribution discipline across channels, and act as the paid acquisition voice in cross-functional planning with Product, Analytics, CRM, and Commercial teams. The role also involves ensuring every campaign meets regulatory and responsible gaming standards across all jurisdictions in which Grandstand operates.
- Lead the development and execution of multi-channel paid acquisition strategy, SEM, paid social, native, programmatic, and affiliate/partner marketing, to drive high-value customer acquisition at scale.
- Own the paid media budget end-to-end, building a portfolio-based approach to spend allocation that dynamically shifts investment across channels to maximise ROI against aggressive performance and revenue targets.
- Evaluate and scale performance marketing campaigns through rigorous testing, data analysis, and attribution modelling to continuously improve efficiency and growth.
- Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team of acquisition, channel, and affiliate/partner leads, fostering a culture of accountability, creativity, and excellence.
- Partner closely with CRM, Product, SEO, Content, Analytics, and Commercial teams to ensure paid acquisition strategy aligns with lifecycle, retention, and broader revenue goals.
- Drive innovation and experimentation, testing new tools, partners, channels, and creative approaches to stay ahead in a competitive paid and affiliate marketing landscape.
- Leverage marketing analytics and user insights to identify growth opportunities and report on channel and campaign KPIs to senior leadership.
- Manage relationships with key media partners, agencies, and affiliate networks, while building internal capability to reduce reliance on external vendors.
- Ensure all paid acquisition and affiliate marketing activity complies with regulatory and responsible gaming standards across all applicable jurisdictions and platforms.
- Serve as a key strategic partner to the business, contributing paid acquisition expertise to broader marketing and growth strategy.
- 8–10+ years in performance marketing, paid media, or affiliate marketing (required).
- 3+ years leading teams of 6 or more (required).
- Proven ownership of a significant media budget, ideally $10M+ annually, across multiple paid and partner channels (required).
- Deep expertise across at least two of: SEM, paid social, programmatic, native, or affiliate/partner marketing (required).
- Experience in regulated industries such as gaming, betting, fintech, or insurance (preferred).
- Familiarity navigating responsible gaming or compliance requirements (nice-to-have).
- Strong command of attribution modelling, testing frameworks, and marketing analytics to inform channel-level decisions (required).
- Track record of building in-house performance marketing capability and reducing dependency on external agencies (required).
- Excellent cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to align paid acquisition strategy with CRM, retention, product, and commercial priorities (required).
- Comfortable operating as a senior voice in marketing strategy discussions with the judgment to flag risk and opportunity to leadership (required).
- Comprehensive private Healthcare Insurance.
- Flexible work environment and home office available.
- Home office allowance.
- Gym and Leisure Allowance.
- All the hardware and software needed to be successful.
- Regular company events and social outings, activities, Spot Awards, and a Monthly Social Club.
- Access to courses for Personal and Career Development.
- Company Paid Volunteer Day.
Grandstand is a multi-award-winning performance marketing company and a leading provider of digital marketing services active exclusively in the online gambling industry. The Group has a workforce of more than 300 and operates from offices in Ireland, the United States and Malta. Through its proprietary technology platform, the Group publishes a portfolio of premier branded websites, including Gambling.com and Bookies.com. Founded in 2006, the Group owns and operates more than 50 websites in seven languages across 15 national markets covering all aspects of the online gambling industry, including iGaming and sports betting, and the fantasy sports industry. Grandstand is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker GRSD.