Associate, Paid Media (Boston)

Associate, Paid Media – Boston

Hybrid (3 days in-office)

Rival is a marketing consultancy for challengers—and we’re looking for an Associate to join our Boston team.

This isn’t a role for someone who wants to do “business as usual.” Our clients come to us because they need breakthrough marketing strategies that cut through complexity, beat incumbents, and create disproportionate impact.

As an Associate, you’ll learn exceptional media, data and technology skills with creative challenger thinking—helping brands unlock growth with premium, high-impact solutions.

What You’ll Do

• Hands-On Media Execution & Trafficking: Manage the end-to-end setup, trafficking, and daily pacing of digital media campaigns across platforms (e.g., Meta, Google Search and Display). Ensure strict adherence to creative specs, formats, and platform best practices before launch.
• Campaign Optimization & A/B Testing: Monitor daily campaign performance and manage budget allocations. Actively execute A/B tests to identify the most resonant creative directions for target audiences and improve the ROI of lower-performing campaigns.
• Data Reporting & Performance Tracking: Pull, format, and QA performance data directly from ad platforms. Assist the broader data team in maintaining strict data hygiene and contribute to regular reporting dashboards to highlight actionable, campaign-level insights.
• AI Tool Utilization & Operations: Apply established AI-driven tools and automated workflows to streamline tactical operations like campaign setup, keyword mining, and bid management. Focus on executing the "brilliant basics" quickly and accurately while actively learning new capabilities to improve daily efficiency.

Why Rival, Why Now

• A consultancy built differently. We’re four years in, growing fast, and proving there’s a premium alternative to the bloated incumbents.
• Global perspective. Work with ambitious clients across North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
• Small team, big impact. With boutique sizing, every project is high visibility and high impact—no hiding in the back row.
• Direct influence. Work alongside Rival’s founders, shaping the consultancy’s future as much as our clients’.

Who Thrives Here

We don’t hire CVs, we hire people who think and act like challengers.

• You’ve run paid media campaigns, built your own projects in Claude Code, or worked in agencies or consultancies on marketing campaigns
• You bring some skills or a serious interest in paid media buying, agentic AI solutions, or data & analytics
• You’re highly organized and deliver excellence without compromise.
• You think like an entrepreneur—curious, bold, and unafraid to get stuck in.

Extra points if…

• You’ve helped scale a start-up, agency, or consultancy.
• You’ve lived the battle of challengers vs. incumbents.

Premium Compensation, Real Upside

We believe in rewarding excellence with premium upside, not average paychecks.

• Base Salary: Competitive within consultancy/agency benchmarks.
• Profit Share: Twice-yearly distributions (eligibility after 90 days), tied to performance.
• Employee Liquidity Plan (“shadow stock”): Share in Rival’s long-term success—without the friction of traditional options (eligibility after 1 year)

At Rival, our approach to compensation is mid-market base, top-market upside — we invest in our people and ensure everyone shares in the success we build together.

• Health & Dental Insurance – 50% employer-covered
• 401(k) Match – up to 4% of pay
• 21 Days Paid Vacation+ public holidays
• Profit Share – paid twice yearly
• Employee Liquidity Plan (ELP) – shadow stock with real upside
• Paid Family & Medical Leave (MA employees)
• Office-first, flexible work model (3 days in office)
• All the tech + tools to do your best work, wherever you are
• Quarterly Team Weeks & global collaboration
• All-expenses-paid Rival Retreats
• Year-round “surprise & delight” experiences

About Rival

Rival is a marketing consultancy built for challengers. Incumbent best practices deliver average results—we don’t do average. We apply challenger brand thinking to help CMOs achieve outsized impact with smarter, leaner, bolder marketing strategies.

Our Hiring Philosophy

We’re building a consultancy that’s both premium and progressive—a home for the world’s best marketing talent and a model for diversity in our industry.

Our commitments:

• Clarity and fairness in every process
• Respect for candidates’ time (including paid tasks)
• Speed and transparency in communication
• Feedback opportunities throughout
• You’ll speak to a range of people in different roles, to give you a flavour of what it’s like here

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We know diverse perspectives drive better strategies. Rival is committed to building a consultancy where individuality fuels innovation. Authenticity isn’t an initiative—it’s a requirement.