Lead Digital Marketing Manager

About the Role
In this position, you will decide where the company's paid media budget will be allocated and demonstrate the returns on investment. You will oversee the cross-channel budget envelope, define the allocation rules for channel leads, establish measurement standards for decision-making, and create accurate forecasts. You will be responsible for running the incrementality program and managing the marketing mix model. Your decisions will be backed by data, allowing you to justify your choices effectively to the VP of Marketing and Finance.

You will report directly to the Director of Marketing and collaborate with lead channels for Paid Search, Paid Social, Influencer Marketing, and others. While you will not be responsible for running campaigns, you will set the parameters for budget allocation, measurement, and optimization. Your closest collaborators will be in Business Intelligence, Data, Growth, and Finance, with Commercial and Retail Media serving as your main internal clients for data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Own the paid media budget envelope across various channels (Paid Search, Paid Social, Display, Programmatic, Affiliates, Influencer) in multiple markets, meeting GMV, new-customer, CAC, and efficiency targets.
• Establish allocation rules and thresholds for marginal efficiency, growth, and CAC that channel leads will adhere to, adjusting funds as data indicates necessary, with documented reasoning.
• Lead the reallocation cycle, performing a weekly pacing review, monthly rebalance, and quarterly reset aligned with reforecasts. Optimize and manage the budget control tower.
• Differentiate brand-funded spending from the company's-funded spending to ensure clean Net DM reporting with Finance.
• Balance immediate efficiency needs with an investment shift toward upper funnel strategies, including modeling costs and payback timelines.
• Define the measurement standards that dictate budget allocation decisions, overriding platform attributions when necessary, and determining when to deploy lift studies or geo holdouts for channel scaling.
• Execute the incrementality program consisting of geo holdouts or lift studies per major channel, developed in partnership with BI, with documented justifications for budget decisions that follow.
• Analyze insights from the marketing mix model and incorporate findings into your strategies.
• Integrate platform attribution, GA4, app MMP (Adjust), and mix model data into a cohesive framework, publishing diminishing-returns curves per channel and market.
• Collaborate with Tech and BI teams to ensure tracking integrity, covering server-side events, consent compliance, and app attribution (SKAdNetwork), acknowledging that errors can have significant implications on budget decisions.
• Manage the paid media forecasting process (weekly, monthly, and annually) by channel and market, with forecast accuracy being a key performance metric.
• Contribute to the annual budget and each reforecast with actionable scenarios for Finance, clarifying the impact of additional or reduced funding (e.g., AED 5m) and where to allocate those funds.
• Set channel and market targets collaboratively with channel leads and advocate for these targets during the planning cycle.
• Present performance reports to the VP of Marketing and Finance, outlining movements in numbers, their implications, and strategic adjustments made. Maintain a single source of truth developed with BI, avoiding parallel reporting.
• Convert data insights into actionable recommendations for Commercial and Retail Media, confirming readiness for special events (e.g., private sales, Ramadan, Eid, peak periods).
• Automate reporting processes, pacing alerts, and allocation recommendations, while regularly leveraging AI tools for efficiency gains.
• Oversee platform automation by setting parameters, defining guardrails, and measuring effectiveness against manual processes.
• Lead measurement initiatives including the MMM, lift studies, and coordination with Marketing Platform’s measurement teams.
• Safeguard brand integrity by rejecting inappropriate placements or tactics that could diminish brand value, even if the CPA appears favorable.
• Document standards for allocation rules, testing designs, and forecasting methods to ensure consistency in operations, whether you are present or not.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in performance marketing with a strong track record of managing a multi-channel paid media budget, preferably within a scaled e-commerce or consumer business.
• Experience designing and analyzing incrementality tests (e.g., geo holdouts, conversion lifts) that informed budget decisions, with examples from the past 12 months detailing tests conducted, measurements taken, and outcomes observed.
• Proven experience in building, utilizing, and critiquing marketing mix models and managing budget forecasts with strict accuracy goals.
• Proficiency in SQL and statistical methods for experiments (including sample size, power, significance, holdout design) with the ability to interpret raw data independently. Familiarity with Python or R is a plus.
• Working knowledge of GA4, an app MMP (Adjust or AppsFlyer, including SKAdNetwork), and a BI tool (Tableau or Looker); able to detect data discrepancies and investigate thoroughly.
• Hands-on experience managing Google Ads and Meta campaigns at scale, along with basic knowledge of Snap and TikTok platforms, demonstrating the ability to challenge channel leads effectively regarding setup, bidding, and attribution.
• Experience with multi-market budget allocation, ideally involving an application component and exposure to markets similar to KSA.
• Proven ability to collaborate across various functions such as Finance, Commercial, BI, and Data, with a solid understanding of their respective metrics (margin, CAC, payback, CLV, contribution).
• Effective communication skills in writing and presentations, capable of creating actionable recommendations for leadership and weekly updates for channel teams.
• Experience utilizing AI in daily workflows, with tangible examples of efficiency gains.
• Degree in marketing, economics, statistics, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Fluency in Arabic (written and spoken) and familiarity with KSA and UAE markets.
• Background in luxury, fashion, or beauty e-commerce, especially within the GCC region.
• Proficient in Python or R, experience with modern data stacks (dbt, Athena, or BigQuery), and capability in using Looker Studio or Tableau at a builder level.
• Experience authoring decision documents in an organization that emphasizes this format (e.g., Amazon-style narratives).
• Familiarity with brand-funded, co-op, or retail media initiatives, including partner reporting.