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Ads are the lifeblood of DTC brands and agencies. The person in the account can fundamentally grow the business or hurt it.
With Meta Andromeda, the button-clicker media buyer is dying. Creative matters more than it ever has before. The media buyer role and the creative strategist are blending into one person. That blend costs more. It is also better because one operator = less complexity. Searching the job title “media buyer” is a bad way to find them. Most people with that title are not useful. What most companies actually need is a really good creative strategist who knows media buying.
With Meta Andromeda, the button-clicker media buyer is dying. Creative matters more than it ever has before. The media buyer role and the creative strategist are blending into one person. That blend costs more. It is also better because one operator = less complexity. Searching the job title “media buyer” is a bad way to find them. Most people with that title are not useful. What most companies actually need is a really good creative strategist who knows media buying.
Zabota has placed these seats for ads agencies, ecom brands, holding companies, and restricted-industry books. The hires that work are not “Meta certified” from a job board. Instead the really competent media buyer open a messy account, say what they would pause, and can walk you through their thought process.
25+
countries
$12M+
in payroll saved
400+
placements
This is the process Zabota uses when a founder is done being the media buyer.
Every media buyer hire is really two jobs
Depending on the type of business the term "media buyer" mean different things. An ecom or DTC brand needs a media buyer/creative strategist. Someone who’s in the ad account daily, in Slack with a creative team, and focuses on ROAs.
An ads agency often wants something else: an account manager / media buyer blend (media buying plus client comms), or a media buyer plus separate account managers. Client calls belong only if this person is also the account manager. Do not post “media buyer” and then be surprised they will not sit on a client Zoom and defend last month’s poor performance. Do not post “account manager” and hope a media buyer applies.
If your business works in a restricted vertical you might just need a pure media buyer. Restricted verticals are often extremely competitive, so you'll want someone who only focuses on media buying. Aiminity is restricted niche marketing agency.
An ads agency often wants something else: an account manager / media buyer blend (media buying plus client comms), or a media buyer plus separate account managers. Client calls belong only if this person is also the account manager. Do not post “media buyer” and then be surprised they will not sit on a client Zoom and defend last month’s poor performance. Do not post “account manager” and hope a media buyer applies.
If your business works in a restricted vertical you might just need a pure media buyer. Restricted verticals are often extremely competitive, so you'll want someone who only focuses on media buying. Aiminity is restricted niche marketing agency.
This is the process Zabota uses when a founder is done being the media buyer.
What the media buyer actually does
Always
Daily pacing and spend allocation. Campaign structure on the primary platform. Bidding. Audiences and retargeting. Reporting on the number the business actually runs on (CAC, MER, contribution) — not only platform ROAS.
Often
Creative testing cadence: hooks, angles, kill rules, briefs for editors. Offer and landing-page tests. Platform vs actual reconciliation. Weekly spend forecast. After Andromeda, creative is not a side task. It is most of the job.
Sometimes
A second or third channel. Shopping feed. Influencer whitelisting. Managing an agency leftover. Annual budget. Client calls — only if this person is also the account manager.
If the “sometimes” list is the real job, say so in the job description/posting. Not being clear in the job description will limit the amount of applicants who are interested in your job.
The Scorecard
Score
What “good” looks like
What to ignore
Score
Owned outcomes
What “good” looks like
Accounts they ran, spend band, the KPI they owned, what they changed. “I was on the Meta team” is not an outcome.
What to ignore
Years, titles, “managed $X million” with no ownership.
Score
Platform mix
What “good” looks like
Depth on the primary platform (usually Meta or Google). A second platform is a bonus.
What to ignore
Five logos, no depth. Certs as a proxy for judgment.
Score
Creative testing
What “good” looks like
A cadence: hook / angle / format, kill rules, how they brief editors. They treat creative as the lever, not “the designer’s job.”
What to ignore
“I’d test more creatives” with no system.
Score
Incrementality
What “good” looks like
They separate platform ROAS from MER, blended CAC, and payback. They can explain a 4x campaign that left revenue flat.
What to ignore
Last-click screenshots. Vanity CTR.
Score
Account hygiene
What “good” looks like
Naming, audience overlap, CAPI / conversion quality, a budget structure they can defend.
What to ignore
Pretty reports, no diagnosis.
Score
Communication
What “good” looks like
Point of contact only when the seat is the agency blend. Required there. Optional on a brand.
What to ignore
“I just stay in the account” — a hard pass if they will own the client.
We hired against this exact scorecard for a multi-company portfolio. What mattered: three-plus years running Meta at real spend, and range across industries from agency work.
What we ignored: TikTok Shop experience, growth-lead titles, and anything that just looked senior on paper.
What we ignored: TikTok Shop experience, growth-lead titles, and anything that just looked senior on paper.
How to hire a media buyer: 5 steps
1. Write what they will actually be responsible for
Primary platform, monthly spend band, vertical (ecom vs lead-gen vs agency book), how much of the job is creative strategy vs execution, and whether they talk to clients.
If the list keeps growing (“also TikTok, also copy, also three brands”), you’re shopping for two jobs.
If the list keeps growing (“also TikTok, also copy, also three brands”), you’re shopping for two jobs.
2. Pick the talent market
US in-house if you need someone on-site and will pay what US job posts actually show (often six figures for the person worth hiring — more in the cost section). Direct-hire in LATAM when you want a dedicated operator on US hours. Eastern Europe when the work is more technical. Hiring geography.
A freelancer is, but isn’t the right fit for a growing business. They often need a lot of QA and oversight from internal resources. Alternatively an ads agency that costs $5–20k / month is often right for a smaller brand because they have multiple resources & team members to run the account. That can also be a negative because you'll never have as much control with an agency as you do with an in-house employee.
A freelancer is, but isn’t the right fit for a growing business. They often need a lot of QA and oversight from internal resources. Alternatively an ads agency that costs $5–20k / month is often right for a smaller brand because they have multiple resources & team members to run the account. That can also be a negative because you'll never have as much control with an agency as you do with an in-house employee.
3. Screen for ownership, not fluff
On an interview, start with these questions:
- “Walk me through an account you owned — spend, offer, what you changed, what the blended number did.”
- “Platform ROAS looks great and revenue is flat. What do you check first?”
- “How do you decide it’s creative vs targeting vs the offer?”
Weak: “I’d test more audiences.” Strong: they ask about margin, landing-page conversion, CAPI quality.
4. Pay them to open a live, messy account
Once they’ve passed your initial interview, pay them for two or three hours of audits. Give them view-only on a real Meta or Google account, or an anonymized clone with the same mess. Score them based on their decision making process and thoroughness of explanations.
5. References, then a 90-day scorecard before the offer
Ask a former manager: “On a 1–10, how would you rate them, and what did they struggle with?” Then write 30/60/90 before they start: Maintain account hygiene, testing cadence, make reporting someone actually reads, and other important KPIs — not “keep ROAS above X in Ads Manager.”
Red flags
They “managed millions” but cannot say which KPIs they influenced directly.
They lead with certifications or a personal brand, then can’t explain in depth what they mean.
They want to rebuild everything from day one.
They cannot reason/walkthrough an offer they have not run.
What it costs
The numbers below are what public US job posts and salary indexes show, plus the bands Zabota sees on direct-hire and vendor work.
Model
You employ them?
Fits when
Cost shape
The catch
Model
US in-house
You employ them?
Yes
Fits when
Local / on-site, or a US remote seat the company will pay market for
Cost shape
US job posts and LinkedIn listings often land at six figures+, especially for senior / paid-media-manager seats. Public indexes still show a wide range: generic media-buyer medians about $65k–$85k; paid-media-manager averages about $85k–$134k depending on the source; senior LinkedIn posts well above $100k.
The catch
Slow search. US ticket. The useful person is the expensive one.
Model
LATAM / EU direct-hire
You employ them?
Yes
Fits when
Recurring spend, US hours, operator on the team
Cost shape
$4–7k+
$4–7k+ / month, depending on restricted industry and seniority
The catch
Still need the live-account test & interview.
Model
Freelancer
You employ them?
No
Fits when
Burst work, one platform, someone in-house can QA
Cost shape
Cheap
Cheap: low hourly or project rate, split attention
The catch
No 90-day replacement.
More of a gamble as they are working on multiple client accounts.
More of a gamble as they are working on multiple client accounts.
Model
Ads agency
You employ them?
No
Fits when
Smaller brand or shop that still needs marketing help, not a dedicated seat
Cost shape
$5–20k
$5–20k / month, depending on ad spend and skill
The catch
High retainer fees. Less control.
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