Senior Digital Design Manager – Paid Media (All Genders)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Digital Design Manager – Paid Media

Company: zooplus SE

Location: Madrid, Spain

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Marketing Operations / Creative Operations / Paid Media Management

Date Posted: 2026-06-10T11:18:56.949

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the creative strategy and execution for all paid media campaigns, ensuring conceptual strength and brand consistency across platforms like Meta and Google Ads.

• Drive performance marketing initiatives through advanced creative optimization, including rigorous A/B testing and data-informed iteration strategies.

• Own and advance the creative automation framework, leveraging platforms like Smartly.io to enhance efficiency, scalability, and the quality of design outputs.

• Develop and maintain scalable creative frameworks, modular templates, and automation logic to streamline the production and delivery of campaign assets.

• Foster innovation in creative processes, explore new technologies (including AI), and collaborate cross-functionally to drive continuous improvement in creative effectiveness and operational maturity.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a hybrid between a Senior Digital Designer, a Creative Operations Manager, and a Paid Media Specialist, with a strong emphasis on structured processes, automation, and performance-driven outcomes. The "Senior" title suggests significant autonomy and the expectation to set strategic direction.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Oversee the end-to-end creative development process for paid media campaigns across Meta, Google Ads, Affiliate, and App channels, from initial brief to final asset delivery.

• Define and execute creative directions, scalable frameworks, and innovative solutions that align brand goals with performance marketing objectives.

• Ensure brand consistency across diverse platforms, audiences, and markets while adapting creative concepts to specific channel requirements and performance data.

• Proactively identify and implement opportunities for creative automation using Smartly.io or similar platforms, managing feeds, conditional rules, and modular template development.

• Drive continuous creative optimization through systematic A/B testing and performance analysis, translating insights into actionable improvements for creative quality, speed, and effectiveness.

• Plan, prioritize, and structure creative projects, simplifying complex workflows and ensuring clear, consistent, and outcome-focused communication of deliverables.

• Act as a key creative decision-maker, confidently guiding stakeholders and teams toward effective solutions and driving improvements in operational maturity.

• Collaborate closely with Paid Media, Brand, and other cross-functional teams to ensure integrated campaign strategies and provide structured feedback, clear direction, and confident communication.

• Proactively identify and experiment with new tools, AI applications, and process improvements to enhance creative efficiency, scalability, and overall impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic creative direction and hands-on operational execution, particularly within the paid media and automation context. The emphasis on "ownership," "proactive," and "driving improvements" indicates a need for a candidate who can operate with a high degree of autonomy and strategic foresight.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Media Design, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in digital design, creative operations, or performance marketing, with a strong focus on paid media.

• Demonstrated track record of developing and executing high-impact creative for performance marketing channels.

• Proven experience managing creative workflows, optimizing processes, and ensuring high-quality creative output at scale. Required Skills:

• Advanced proficiency in Figma for designing modular templates and scalable creative assets.

• Expert-level skills in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects).

• Hands-on experience with creative automation platforms, specifically Smartly.io, or comparable solutions.

• Deep understanding of paid media channels (Meta, Google Ads, Affiliate, App) and their creative requirements.

• Strong conceptual thinking and ability to translate brand and performance insights into compelling creative executions.

• Proficient in A/B testing methodologies and data-driven creative optimization.

• Familiarity with HTML5 ad development and performance-driven creative formats.

• Excellent planning, prioritization, and project structuring skills.

• Strong communication, presentation, and stakeholder management abilities.

• Fluent in English, both written and verbal. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with other digital design tools and collaboration platforms.

• Understanding of AI applications in creative development and automation.

• Familiarity with e-commerce specific creative strategies.

• Experience in managing creative feeds and conditional logic for automated campaigns.

• Knowledge of web analytics tools for performance tracking.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications emphasize a blend of creative execution skills (Figma, Adobe Suite), technical operational skills (Smartly.io, automation), strategic thinking (conceptualization, A/B testing), and strong personal attributes (ownership, proactivity, communication). The "5+ years" experience aligns with a senior individual contributor role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a strong portfolio demonstrating a blend of conceptual creativity and high-quality execution specifically for paid media campaigns.

• Include case studies that highlight your ability to translate performance data and marketing objectives into successful creative strategies and scalable solutions.

• Provide examples of your experience with creative automation platforms (e.g., Smartly.io), illustrating how you've built and managed automated workflows, templates, and feeds.

• Demonstrate proficiency in designing for various paid media channels (Meta, Google Ads) and showcase adaptability across different formats and audiences.

• Include examples of process improvements or operational efficiencies you've implemented within creative workflows. Process Documentation:

• Be prepared to discuss your methods for planning, prioritizing, and structuring creative projects to ensure efficient delivery and high quality.

• Detail your approach to A/B testing creative variations, analyzing performance data, and iterating on designs to achieve optimal campaign results.

• Explain your experience in building and maintaining modular Figma templates and automation logic, ensuring alignment with platform capabilities and performance goals.

• Articulate how you ensure brand consistency while adapting creative assets across different platforms, markets, and campaign objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: A strong portfolio is crucial for this role, particularly one that can visually communicate not only design skills but also process maturity, automation capabilities, and performance impact. Candidates should be ready to walk through their projects and explain the "how" and "why" behind their creative and operational decisions.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• The provided salary range for this position is EUR 40,800 - EUR 61,200 annually. Benefits:

• Hybrid Working: A flexible model combining 60% office-based work and 40% remote work to balance collaboration and personal flexibility.

• Work Abroad Option: Opportunity to work remotely from approved countries for up to 20 days per year, facilitating international exposure and work-life balance.

• Career Development: Access to development opportunities designed to help shape individual career paths and foster professional growth.

• Training and Support: Comprehensive training programs and ongoing support to enhance skills and knowledge.

• Wellbeing Offers: A range of initiatives and resources focused on employee well-being.

• Subsidised Transport: Assistance with commuting costs.

• Bike Leasing: A program to encourage cycling and sustainable commuting.

• Product Discount: A significant 20% discount on all zooplus products, offering substantial savings for pet owners.

Working Hours:

• Standard working hours are 40 hours per week, with flexibility offered through the hybrid working model.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is specific to the Madrid, Spain location and reflects a Senior Individual Contributor (Expert) level within the Sales & Marketing department. The benefits package is comprehensive, emphasizing work-life balance, professional development, and employee perks.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: E-commerce (Pet Supplies)

Company Size: Zooplus SE is a significant player in the pet e-commerce industry, with a global presence and over 25 years of experience, indicating a well-established and growing organization. The company employs a substantial number of people, suggesting a robust operational structure and diverse teams.

Founded: Founded over 25 years ago, zooplus SE has a long history of innovation and adaptation in the fast-evolving e-commerce landscape. This longevity suggests a culture that values resilience, continuous improvement, and a deep understanding of its market.

Team Structure:

• The role sits within the Sales & Marketing department, likely reporting to a Marketing Director or Head of Paid Media/Performance Marketing.

• The Senior Digital Design Manager will likely lead a specialized function within the creative team, focusing on paid media creative operations and automation.

• Close collaboration with Paid Media specialists, Brand Managers, Performance Marketing teams, and potentially other creative functions (e.g., content, video) is expected. Methodology:

• Zooplus SE emphasizes a data-driven and performance-oriented approach, as evidenced by the focus on optimization, A/B testing, and automation in this role.

• The company culture values collaboration, continuous learning, and embracing change to achieve better outcomes.

• A structured approach to work, simplifying complexity, and driving scalable impact are key operational principles.

Company Website: https://www.zooplus.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Zooplus SE operates in a competitive e-commerce market. Their longevity and success suggest a culture that prioritizes efficiency, customer focus, and a forward-thinking approach, particularly in digital marketing and operations. The "power of plus" slogan implies a focus on adding value and exceeding expectations.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as a "Senior" position within the "Individual Contributor (Expert)" career stream. This indicates a high level of specialization and autonomy, with the expectation of providing expert-level guidance and driving significant impact within the paid media creative domain.

Reporting Structure: The role is part of the Sales & Marketing department and likely reports to a manager or director overseeing performance marketing or creative operations. The Senior Digital Design Manager is expected to lead and influence within their specialized area, rather than directly manage a large team.

Operations Impact: The Senior Digital Design Manager is critical for translating marketing objectives into high-performing creative assets that directly influence campaign effectiveness, customer acquisition, and ultimately, revenue for zooplus SE. By optimizing creative performance and streamlining operations, this role contributes significantly to marketing ROI and overall business growth.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization Deepening: Opportunity to become a recognized expert in creative automation, paid media design, and performance marketing creative strategies within the e-commerce sector.

• Process Innovation Leadership: Drive the development and implementation of new creative operational processes and automation techniques, potentially influencing broader marketing operations.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across different marketing functions and potentially contribute to global creative strategy development.

• Leadership Potential: While an individual contributor role, success in this position can pave the way for future leadership roles in creative operations, marketing strategy, or broader marketing management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Individual Contributor (Expert)" designation means growth will likely come from increased scope of responsibility, strategic influence, and mastery of specialized skills, rather than direct people management. Opportunities for innovation and process improvement are key growth avenues.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Madrid, Spain, and operates under a hybrid model. This suggests a modern office environment designed to support both collaborative work and focused individual tasks. The company also has offices in Munich, Krakow, Wroclaw, London, and Vienna, indicating a multinational operational footprint.

Office Location(s): The primary office location mentioned is Génova 17, 5plta, Madrid, Spain. This central location in Madrid likely offers good accessibility and proximity to amenities.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model necessitates an office space conducive to teamwork, brainstorming, and cross-functional meetings, particularly with the Paid Media and Brand teams.

• Technology & Tools: Employees will have access to the necessary design software (Adobe Suite, Figma) and automation platforms (Smartly.io), along with IT support for these tools.

• Team Interaction: The 60% office time is designed to foster strong working relationships, facilitate knowledge sharing, and enable quick problem-solving sessions with colleagues.

Work Schedule: The standard working hours are 40 hours per week, with flexibility managed through the hybrid work arrangement. This allows for structured work planning while accommodating personal needs and optimizing productivity.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is a significant aspect of the work environment, requiring employees to be comfortable managing their time effectively between office and remote settings. The multinational presence of zooplus SE suggests an exposure to diverse working styles and potentially international collaboration.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your application, focusing on your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the required skills and experience, particularly in paid media design and automation.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager to delve deeper into your experience, conceptual thinking, operational approach, and understanding of performance marketing. Expect questions about your portfolio projects.

• Skills Assessment/Case Study: Potentially a practical exercise or case study where you'll be asked to demonstrate your design skills, strategic thinking, or problem-solving abilities related to paid media creative and automation. This might involve presenting a creative concept or outlining an automation strategy.

• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with key stakeholders from Paid Media, Brand, or other relevant teams to assess collaboration style, communication effectiveness, and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: A concluding conversation, possibly with a more senior leader, to confirm suitability and discuss overall fit with the company vision and team dynamics.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate for Relevance: Select 3-5 strong projects that directly showcase your expertise in paid media design, creative automation (Smartly.io experience is a plus), and performance-driven creative.

• Highlight Process & Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the brief, your strategic approach, the creative solutions developed, the tools used (especially Figma and automation), and most importantly, the measurable results achieved (e.g., improved CTR, conversion rates, efficiency gains).

• Showcase Automation Work: If possible, include examples of modular templates, automated campaign setups, or workflow improvements you've implemented. Explain the logic and benefits.

• Be Ready to Present: Prepare a concise presentation or narrative for your key projects, focusing on your role, decision-making process, and the impact of your work. Practice explaining complex concepts clearly.

• Demonstrate Ownership: During the review, showcase your proactive mindset, problem-solving skills, and ability to take ownership of creative outcomes.

Challenge Preparation:

• Paid Media Creative Strategy: Be ready to discuss how you would approach developing a creative strategy for a new paid media campaign, considering target audience, channel specifics, and performance goals.

• Creative Automation Problem-Solving: Prepare to address hypothetical scenarios related to optimizing creative automation workflows, troubleshooting issues, or scaling creative production.

• Stakeholder Alignment: Practice articulating how you would collaborate with Paid Media specialists to ensure creative aligns with campaign objectives and performance targets, and how you handle feedback.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will place a strong emphasis on practical skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to demonstrate tangible results through your portfolio. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their process, decision-making, and impact clearly and concisely.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Essential for designing modular templates, scalable creative assets, and collaborative workflows. Proficiency in advanced features like components, auto-layout, and prototyping is expected.

• Adobe Creative Suite: Mastery of Photoshop for image editing and manipulation, Illustrator for vector graphics, and potentially After Effects for motion graphics or dynamic ads.

• Smartly.io: This is a critical tool for this role. Expertise in setting up and managing creative automation, building dynamic templates, managing feeds, and leveraging conditional logic is paramount.

• HTML5 Ad Creation Tools: Familiarity with platforms or methods for creating dynamic and interactive HTML5 ads for performance channels.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Performance Marketing Platforms: Deep understanding of the reporting dashboards within Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads, and other paid media platforms to extract performance data for creative optimization.

• Data Visualization Tools (Implied): While not explicitly stated, the ability to interpret and potentially contribute to dashboards (e.g., using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker Studio) that track creative performance would be beneficial.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot - Indirectly): While not directly managing CRM, understanding how paid media creative impacts lead generation and customer journeys within a CRM context is important.

• Workflow Automation Tools (Beyond Smartly.io): General understanding of how automation can streamline processes within a marketing department.

• Integration Platforms (Implied): Awareness of how creative assets are integrated into various marketing platforms and potentially how data flows between systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack heavily emphasizes creative production (Figma, Adobe) and performance marketing automation (Smartly.io). Candidates must demonstrate hands-on experience with these specific tools, particularly Smartly.io, as it's central to the role's operational responsibilities.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Ownership & Proactivity: A core value is taking responsibility for outcomes and proactively identifying and addressing challenges or opportunities within paid media creative.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasizing the use of performance data and insights to inform creative direction, optimization strategies, and process improvements.

• Efficiency & Scalability: A commitment to developing streamlined processes, scalable frameworks, and automated solutions to maximize output and impact.

• Collaboration & Communication: Fostering strong working relationships with cross-functional teams, ensuring clear, consistent, and constructive communication.

• Continuous Improvement & Innovation: A mindset geared towards learning, experimenting with new technologies (like AI), and constantly seeking ways to enhance creative quality and operational effectiveness.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Works closely with Paid Media specialists, Brand teams, and potentially other marketing functions to ensure creative aligns with broader campaign strategies and brand guidelines.

• Feedback & Iteration Culture: Engages in constructive feedback loops to refine creative work and optimize campaign performance, embracing an iterative approach to problem-solving.

• Knowledge Sharing: Actively shares insights, best practices, and learnings related to paid media creative and automation to elevate the team's overall capabilities.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture appears to value a blend of individual drive and collaborative effort. Success in this role will depend on the ability to champion new ideas, drive them forward with a sense of ownership, and effectively integrate with various teams to achieve shared goals.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Creative Quality with Performance Demands: Continuously ensuring that creative assets are both conceptually strong and highly effective at driving key performance metrics in a fast-paced paid media environment.

• Managing Creative Automation Complexity: Effectively managing and evolving the Smartly.io setup, including feeds, rules, and templates, to keep pace with campaign needs and platform updates.

• Adapting to Evolving Digital Landscape: Staying ahead of trends in paid media, digital design, and automation technologies (including AI) to maintain a competitive edge.

• Stakeholder Alignment Across Diverse Teams: Ensuring alignment on creative vision and objectives with various stakeholders who may have different priorities or perspectives.

• Streamlining Ambiguous Workflows: Taking complex or undefined creative needs and translating them into clear, structured, and scalable processes.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Mastery of Creative Automation: Deepen expertise in Smartly.io and other automation tools, potentially becoming a go-to expert within the organization.

• Advanced Performance Creative Strategies: Develop cutting-edge creative strategies tailored for specific paid media channels and evolving consumer behaviors.

• AI in Creative Operations: Explore and implement AI-powered tools and techniques to enhance creative production, testing, and personalization.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Gain broader understanding of marketing operations, brand strategy, and performance marketing, potentially leading to more strategic roles.

• Industry Exposure: Participate in relevant industry conferences, webinars, and training to stay current with best practices in digital design, paid media, and e-commerce marketing.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role presents an excellent opportunity for professionals looking to specialize deeply in the intersection of creative design, performance marketing, and automation. The challenges are significant but offer clear pathways for professional growth and skill enhancement.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Creative Strategy Development: "How would you approach developing a creative strategy for a new paid media campaign for [a specific zooplus product category], focusing on driving conversions?" Be prepared to discuss target audience segmentation, key messaging, visual direction, and how you'd integrate performance insights.

• Automation Implementation: "Describe a time you implemented or significantly improved a creative automation workflow using a platform like Smartly.io. What was the challenge, your solution, and the impact on efficiency and performance?"

• Performance Optimization: "Walk me through your process for A/B testing creative assets in paid media. How do you decide what to test, how do you analyze results, and what actions do you take based on the data?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• Understanding zooplus: "What excites you about the pet e-commerce industry and zooplus specifically? How do you see your role contributing to our mission?"

• Collaboration Style: "Describe your ideal working relationship with a Paid Media Manager. How would you ensure effective collaboration and alignment?"

• Handling Ambiguity: "This role requires turning ambiguity into clear plans. Can you give an example of a time you had to navigate an unclear project or requirement and what steps you took?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure is Key: For each project, clearly outline: 1. The Challenge/Brief, 2. Your Role & Strategy, 3. The Creative Solution (including design choices and automation elements), 4. The Results/Impact (quantified with metrics), and 5. Key Learnings.

• Highlight Automation: Specifically call out any projects where you utilized or developed automation features. Explain the technical setup and the efficiency/performance benefits achieved.

• Showcase Figma Proficiency: If applicable, briefly demonstrate how you structure your Figma files for scalability and collaboration, perhaps showing modular components or template logic.

• Focus on Performance: Emphasize how your creative work directly contributed to business objectives (e.g., increased CTR, conversion rates, reduced CPA).

📝 Enhancement Note: Prepare to discuss your portfolio projects in detail, focusing on your strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, technical execution, and quantifiable results. The interviewers will be looking for a candidate who is not only a strong designer but also a strategic, process-oriented, and data-driven professional.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the SmartRecruiters platform.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords and responsibilities that directly align with "Paid Media Design," "Creative Automation," "Smartly.io," "Figma," "Performance Marketing," and "Creative Operations." Quantify your achievements whenever possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Ensure your portfolio prominently features relevant paid media creative work, case studies on performance optimization, and examples of your experience with creative automation platforms like Smartly.io. Be ready to present this effectively.

• Research zooplus SE: Understand their brand, their product offerings, and their market position. Consider how your creative approach aligns with their customer base and business goals.

• Prepare for Technical & Behavioral Questions: Anticipate questions about your design process, automation experience, performance analysis, problem-solving skills, and collaboration style. Practice articulating your thought process and impact.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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