Head of Paid Ads / Performance Marketing Lead (TikTok Ads)

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head of Paid Ads / Performance Marketing Lead (TikTok Ads) based in Romania.** Join a fast-growing, seed-funded EdTech startup developing an AI-powered learning platform used by more than 1.5 million students worldwide, with approximately 40,000–50,000 new students joining every week. As the Head of Paid Ads, you will take ownership of paid acquisition strategy and execution for a global consumer subscription product. You will lead TikTok Ads performance while optimizing campaigns across multiple channels and international markets. Combining data-driven decision-making with creative experimentation, you will drive sustainable growth by improving customer acquisition costs, return on advertising spend, and lifetime value. Working closely with creative teams, you will shape user-generated content campaigns and translate performance insights into actionable growth strategies. This fully remote opportunity offers significant ownership, autonomy, and the chance to influence the growth trajectory of an innovative AI-powered learning business. ### Accountabilities - **Paid Acquisition Strategy:** Own and scale paid user acquisition for a consumer subscription app across international markets, including the UK, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia. Develop strategies that support sustainable subscriber growth and efficient acquisition. - **TikTok Ads Leadership:** Manage and optimize TikTok Ads campaigns as a core acquisition channel, overseeing campaign structures, budgets, targeting, testing, and performance improvements. - **Multi-Channel Campaign Management:** Coordinate paid acquisition across TikTok Ads, Meta Ads, Google Ads and Universal App Campaigns (UAC), and Apple Search Ads, identifying opportunities to improve channel performance and diversify acquisition. - **Budget and Performance Optimization:** Manage significant advertising budgets and make investment decisions based on customer acquisition cost (CAC), return on ad spend (ROAS), and customer lifetime value (LTV). Continuously evaluate campaign profitability and allocate spending to the strongest-performing opportunities. - **Creative Strategy and Testing:** Collaborate with designers and creative teams to develop advertising concepts, brief user-generated content (UGC), and implement structured creative testing. Analyze performance results to refine messaging, formats, and creative direction. - **Analytics and Reporting:** Build and maintain performance reports using spreadsheets, SQL, and dashboards. Independently analyze campaign data, identify trends, and translate findings into clear recommendations for acquisition and growth. - **Marketing Technology and Measurement:** Use analytics and customer engagement platforms such as Mixpanel, , and PostHog to understand user behavior, evaluate acquisition quality, and improve marketing effectiveness. - **International Growth:** Optimize campaigns across different countries, currencies, and audience segments, adapting acquisition strategies and creative assets to local markets. - **Cross-Functional Collaboration:** Work closely with creative, product, and other relevant teams to align paid acquisition with business objectives, subscription growth, and user engagement. - **Hands-On Execution:** Take direct responsibility for campaign management, experimentation, analysis, and continuous improvement in a fast-paced startup environment. ## Requirements - **Performance Marketing Experience:** At least 4 years of hands-on performance marketing experience, primarily focused on paid user acquisition for consumer or mobile applications. - **Advertising Budget Ownership:** Proven experience personally managing paid advertising budgets exceeding $100,000 per month. - **TikTok Ads Expertise:** Strong practical experience managing TikTok Ads campaigns, including direct responsibility for at least $50,000 per month in TikTok advertising investment. - **Relevant Subscription Business Experience:** Demonstrated experience marketing a consumer subscription app outside e-commerce, gaming, and fintech. Experience exclusively within these excluded sectors will not meet the requirement. - **Creative Testing Expertise:** Experience developing, briefing, testing, and optimizing UGC-style advertising, with the ability to use performance data to guide creative decisions and iterations. - **Performance Metrics and Commercial Acumen:** Strong understanding of CAC, ROAS, and LTV, with a proven ability to use these metrics to guide campaign optimization, budget allocation, and growth strategy. - **Analytical and Reporting Skills:** Ability to independently build reports, analyze marketing performance, and extract actionable insights using spreadsheets, SQL, and/or dashboards. - **Marketing Analytics Tools:** Familiarity with platforms such as Mixpanel, , or PostHog. - **International Campaign Management:** Comfort managing campaigns across multiple markets, currencies, and audience segments, with an understanding of international acquisition challenges. - **Additional Channel Expertise:** Experience with Meta Ads, Google Ads/UAC, and/or Apple Search Ads is advantageous. - **Creative Localization:** Experience adapting advertising messages and creative assets to different markets and cultural contexts is a plus. - **Professional English:** C1-level English or equivalent professional fluency, with the ability to collaborate effectively in an international team. - **Working Style:** A proactive, hands-on, autonomous, and pragmatic approach, with strong ownership, analytical thinking, and the ability to thrive in a fast-moving startup. - **Location and Availability:** Currently based in Europe and available to start within two months. Candidates based in Lisbon are preferred, although no mandatory office attendance has been specified. **Additional experience considered an advantage:** - Experience managing campaigns across multiple countries for the same advertiser. - Background in EdTech, digital learning, or subscription-based educational products. - Advanced expertise in Meta Ads, Google Ads/UAC, or Apple Search Ads. - Experience with B2B paid acquisition and demand generation, including LinkedIn Ads and Google Ads for lead generation. - Experience localizing performance marketing campaigns for diverse international audiences. ## Benefits - **Competitive compensation:** Annual compensation ranging from €50,000 to €100,000, depending on experience. Salary period, gross/net basis, and contract terms are to be confirmed. - **Stock options:** Equity participation is indicated as part of the opportunity, subject to applicable terms. - **Fully remote work:** Work remotely from within Europe, with Lisbon preferred and no mandatory office attendance specified. - **International exposure:** Help scale an AI-powered learning platform serving a global audience across multiple countries. - **High-impact ownership:** Take direct responsibility for paid acquisition strategy, advertising investment, and measurable growth outcomes. - **Strategic and hands-on role:** Combine leadership-level decision-making with direct campaign execution, testing, and optimization. - **Creative collaboration:** Work closely with creative professionals to shape advertising concepts, develop UGC campaigns, and improve creative performance. - **Data-driven environment:** Use marketing analytics, reporting, and experimentation to influence acquisition strategy and business decisions. - **Professional growth:** Build expertise in international performance marketing, subscription economics, AI-powered EdTech, and scalable user acquisition. - **Fast-growing startup environment:** Join an ambitious business experiencing rapid user growth, with the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to its continued expansion.