Media Buyer - Digital Direct Response

Direct Response Media Buyer

About Cygnus Education

Cygnus Education is a performance-driven marketing and technology company serving the higher education industry. We use data, technology, creative strategy, and direct-response marketing to help colleges and universities connect with prospective students and drive measurable enrollment outcomes.

We are looking for an experienced Media Buyer to join our Performance Media team. This role is ideal for a hands-on digital marketer who understands how to build, manage, analyze, and optimize direct-response paid social campaigns at scale.

What You’ll Do

As a Media Buyer, you will manage paid digital campaigns from planning through execution, optimization, and reporting. You’ll work closely with media, creative, analytics, compliance, and client-facing teams to continually improve campaign performance.

Key responsibilities include

· Plan, launch, manage, and optimize direct-response digital campaigns across Meta, TikTok, Google/YouTube Shorts, Snapchat, and other emerging platforms

· Manage campaigns directly within native advertising platforms, including campaign setup, audience targeting, budgeting, creative deployment, and optimization

· Analyze campaign performance and translate data into clear recommendations and actionable optimization strategies

· Optimize toward performance metrics such as CPA, CAC, CPC, CPM, conversion rate, and ROI/ROAS

· Assist in developing media strategies and media plans, including audience segmentation, targeting, messaging, flighting, and budget allocation

· Continuously test audiences, creative, messaging, placements, landing pages, and other campaign variables to improve performance

· Develop creative briefs and work collaboratively with creative teams to produce assets aligned with media strategy and direct-response objectives

· Review creative performance and identify trends and opportunities to improve results

· Stay current on changes to advertising platforms, new ad products, beta opportunities, emerging social platforms, and digital media best practices

· Maintain an understanding of how paid social, search, native, display, and other digital channels work together

· Collaborate with creative and compliance teams to ensure campaigns meet performance and advertising requirements

· Build productive relationships with advertising platforms, technology partners, and vendors

· Share direct-response media buying best practices with team members and contribute to overall team efficiency and performance

· Manage multiple campaigns and deliverables while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment

What We’re Looking For

· 2–3 years of hands-on digital media buying experience, preferably within higher education for an advertising agency, performance marketing organization, or direct-response environment

· Demonstrated experience managing paid social and direct-response campaigns

· Strong hands-on experience with Meta Ads Manager and TikTok Ads Manager

· Experience with Google Ads and/or Google/YouTube short-form video campaigns

· Understanding of direct-response marketing and the ability to optimize campaigns against measurable acquisition and conversion goals

· Strong understanding of digital media KPIs, including CPA, CAC, CPC, CPM, CTR, conversion rate, and ROAS

· Experience developing and executing structured A/B and test-and-learn strategies

· Experience writing creative briefs and analyzing creative performance

· Ability to translate campaign data into actionable recommendations

· Strong organizational and project-management skills

· Intermediate Excel or Google Sheets skills, including Pivot Tables and lookup functions

· Strong written and verbal communication skills

· Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment

· Detail-oriented, analytical, curious, and comfortable making data-driven decisions

Education

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, communications, business, or a related field preferred. Equivalent relevant professional experience will also be considered.

Nice to Have

· Experience marketing to prospective students or within the higher education industry

· Experience working in an agency environment

· Familiarity with emerging social and short-form video advertising platforms

Pay: $75,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Remote