Associate Manager, Digital Paid Media

We are looking for a detail-oriented and performance-driven Search Engine Marketing/Pay Per Click expert to support the execution and optimization of paid search campaigns, partnering closely with peers across the Paid Media & Social Media teams at Canada Life. 

This role is ideal for someone with minimum 5 years of hands-on experience in Google Ads, who can independently manage campaigns end-to-end while contributing thoughtful insights and recommendations. This team member will play a key role in driving campaign performance, executing tests, and ensuring best practices are applied, while supporting broader strategic approach set by the Director, Digital Paid Media. 

The ideal candidate has strong experience in campaign execution, optimization, and reporting, with a solid understanding of automation, audience targeting, and performance measurement in today’s privacy-first landscape. 

What you will do:

• Build, manage, and optimize Paid Search campaigns across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads
• Execute campaign builds and updates based on direction from Director, Digital Paid Media ensuring accuracy and adherence to best practices
• Leverage automated bidding strategies and campaign types (e.g., Performance Max, broad match with signals) to improve efficiency
• Conduct ongoing optimizations including keyword management, search query mining, bid adjustments, and ad copy testing
• Execute A/B tests and structured experiments across ad copy, landing pages, and targeting strategies
• Identify performance trends and recommend incremental improvements based on data insights
• Partner with UX and content teams to support conversion rate optimization efforts
• Monitor campaign performance and ensure alignment with KPIs such as CPA, conversions, and volume
• Develop regular reporting and highlight key insights, trends, and optimization opportunities
• Support team in preparing performance summaries and stakeholder updates
• Assist with budget pacing, monthly forecasting, and spend tracking; support billing processes including spend validation and invoice reconciliation; flag performance risks or budget discrepancies in a timely manner 
• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure smooth campaign execution and delivery
• Work closely with Digital Media team members to support day-to-day execution bringing forward observations and recommendations, collaborate with cross-functional teams including creative, analytics, and web teams
• Contribute to team knowledge sharing and help maintain campaign documentation and best practices 

What you will bring:

• 2-5 years of hands-on experience managing Google Ads campaigns, with proven performance results 
• Experience working with Microsoft Ads; exposure to DV360 or programmatic is an asset
• Experience managing multiple campaigns with varying budgets and objectives
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • Google Ads (Search, Performance Max, automated bidding)
  • Keyword strategy, match types, and query mining
  • Conversion tracking and Google Tag Manager (or similar tools)
  • Experience with analytics platforms (e.g., Adobe Analytics, GA4)
  • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, lookups, basic data analysis)
• Ability to interpret business goals and translate to marketing/SEM objectives
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to manage and optimize campaigns independently
• Comfortable analyzing performance data and identifying clear, actionable insights
• Experience executing testing and optimization plans
• Clear communicator with the ability to summarize performance and recommendations
• Comfortable working in a cross-functional team environment
• Organized and able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines
• Eagerness to stay current with evolving SEM trends, automation, and platform updates; open to feedback and interested in developing more advanced strategic and analytical skills